Amazon.com

Diana Ross stars as legendary blues singer Billie Holiday in this biopic that chronicles her rise and fall. It begins with her late childhood, a stint as a prostitute, those early days as a blues singer, her marriages, and her drug addiction. Overly glossy and lacking depth, this is worth seeing only for the performances. Diana Ross was nominated for an Oscar for her acting debut. A dynamo with sparkling screen presence, she realistically conveys the confusion and unhappiness that caused Holiday so much grief. Her performance is almost matched by romantic interest Billy Dee Williams. Watch for Richard Pryor, who is most powerful in a dramatic supporting role as the piano player in a brothel. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Awesome story, even better acting and producing!!!
I have always been a huge fan of Diana Ross and Lady Day, but putting that aside this movie is truly worth every penny, every minute you spend watching. The Billie Holiday story stands by itself as an incredible testimony to what it was like to be black in 1930's America, but add to that Diana's vulnerability and beautiful voice and you have one of the best stories ever put on film!!!! I just can't wait until it is put on DVD with 5.0 dolby digital sound..........does anyone out there know when that might happen????? :) Buy the movie, you will not regret it.

Not Billie's real story, but I give Diana props
I'm not a Diana Ross fan, but in this movie, she was excellent and convincing as Lady Day. Dynamic performances by Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor as well. My only fault with this movie that it was not Billie Holiday's real story. It was filled with inaccuracies and purely fictional situations. Even Berry Gordy, Ross' one-time lover and mentor, admitted that the script was bogus, but it still was very riveting. This was Ross' first film and even though she never took a drama lesson in her life, she pulled this off with no problem. Definitely worth checking out.

Not only is the film historically inaccurate,
but it's an absolute DISGRACE to the memory and legacy of the real Lady Day. Diana was a decent (solo) to great(Supremes) soul singer, but she's no great actor. She's simply competent ... watching Mahogany proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt. To do the story of Billie Holiday, easily one of the most influential and lasting jazz/torch singers of the 20th century, and not cast a known quantity was a serious mistake on Gordy and Motown's part. Not only didn't Ross look the part, she certainly didn't act it, and her voice is nothing like Billie's;it's far weaker and devoid of the "body" Lady Day had. The only bright spot in this was Rochard Pryor's part, even though, again, it was 99% fiction. Save your time, save your money. Buy a Billie Holiday CD, her autobiography, and enjoy the real thing. Maybe one day someone will make a REAL film bio of the Lady.

Inaccurate, but the performances are powerful
The complex life of jazz singer Billie Holiday cannot be summed up in a two-and-a-half hour film unless it's a documentary. Therefore, LADY SINGS THE BLUES misses the boat in portraying Billie's life, but hits the target in casting Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor. The chemistry between these three thespians are a joy to behold. And Ms. Ross sings Billie's songs very well without resorting to imitating the jazz legend.

MINUS 2 STARS FOR INACCURACY...
But a STRONG 3 stars for Diana's acting and rendering of Billie's tunes (I got chills when she sang "Strange Fruit"). This story doesn't represent the life of Billie Holiday AT ALL, but it was a nice fantasy. I must admit that Billie Dee Williams' over-the-top performance was really annoying, hokey and downright laughable. Richard Pryor added a lovable and humorous spark to the flick that was unforgettable! I'm hoping the reason it's taking so long for this movie to come out on DVD is that they are going to make it fabulous with all sorts of extra features and whatnot. Otherwise:

WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG FOR THIS MOVIE TO COMING OUT ON DVD?!?!?!?! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Spencer Tracy's last performance was in this well-meaning, handsome film by Stanley Kramer about a pair of white parents (Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) trying to make sense of their daughter's impending marriage to an African American doctor (Sidney Poitier). The film has been knocked over the years for padding conflict and stoking easy liberalism by making Poitier's character in every socioeconomic sense a good catch: But what if Kramer had made this stranger a factory worker? Would the audience still find it as easy to accept a mixed-race relationship? But there's no denying the drawing power of this movie, which gets most of its integrity from the stirring performances of Tracy and Hepburn. When the former (who had been so ill that the production could not get completion insurance) gives a speech toward the end about race, love, and much else, it's impossible not to be affected by the last great moment in a great actor's life and career. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (64)

An All-time Classic
Aside from calmly, reasonably confronting a social taboo of the '60s -- racially mixed marriages -- in a thoughtful, touching manner, this film features career-high performances from several of Hollywood's finest. Spencer Tracy is absolutely brilliant in his final screen appearance as the avowed liberal newspaper publisher Matt Drayton, who, along with his idealistic wife (a role that earned Katherine Hepburn her second Best Actress Oscar) learns that their barely-20-year-old daughter is planning to elope with a black physician (played with cool passion by Sidney Poitier). The story evolves from Poitier's confidence in the two shocked parents that, without their full approval, the marriage will not go on -- and there are only hours to decide. Add his parents to the mix, and as the list of dinner guests grows so does the tension. Aside from the marvelous script, memorable performances and outstanding direction, photography and music there is a chemistry in the mix that truly creates an energy greater than the sum of its parts -- and when the parts are this good, the result is a film for the ages that goes straight to the heart of themes like love, passion, prejudice and family conflict. In the end love does conquor all in Tracey's powerful final speech, made more poignant by a visibly moved and misty Hepburn -- perhaps cognizant that she was witnessing the final curtain call of a great actor. This is the magic Hollywood is capable of, a movie that re-affirms one's faith in the ideals of love and equality, and certainly belongs in every collection.

4.5 Stars; Needs Historical/Cultural Context Remembered
The Story: Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play the parents of young Katharine Houghton, who brings home her well-educated fiancee to meet the parents. The parents are not expecting their daughter's fiancee, a physician, to be African-American, but Sidney Poitier certainly is. The film focuses on the parents' discomfort over the biracial marriage.

When the story begins, it's easy to think that the movie studios were aiming to do two things: make one more movie with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (this was his last film, and he was quite ill during its making); and make a simple statement about racial tolerance. This film could easily have ended up with a very contrived, forced air to it. But, that doesn't happen when you put Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and Sidney Poitier together in a film. The cast rises above the simplicity of the premise. Some have said that making Poitier's character a well-educated doctor weakened the racial conflict potential, but I lived just outside of Detroit in 1967, and ANY biracial marriage was a controversial idea to base a film upon. It also put the race issue right on the table, as the parents had no basis upon which to object to their daughter's marriage, except for their discomfort over the race issue.

Overall, if the viewer remembers when this film was made, the quality of the cast makes it a real winner.

Bit Prepackaged for My Taste
More like 3.5 stars. There's nothing particularly wrong with this movie but it's not the genius its been made out to be either. It's not nearly as daring as it likes to think it is. He's a wealthy, smart, sophisticated mature professional. She's an airhead. He's black and she's white. He's a catch and a half and she's a twit. The real question should not be why does she want to marry a black man but rather what he sees in her. Of course they will have problems with the intolerant aspects of society. Of course their children will be teased and mistreated by racist adults and ignorant children. But this film was made in the late 60's, not the late 30's. It's also set in San Francisco (Liberal Heaven) and not in rural Mississippi. The white girl's parents are liberals through and through. Poitier's character's parents are a working man & his wife from Los Angeles. Notice how Tracy's character does not object to his daughter marrying a black man but is deeply concerned by how a mixed couple & their children will be received in society. This movie gives itself every break it possibly can to ease its way down a receptive audience's throat.

Boring...
This movie has been hailed as being a great piece of work; I tried to watch it. I really did and I could not do it. Portier plays his role well; but then again it is not like he has to act; he just has to be himself. Stay away from this miserable piece(...).

Landmark film about racial prejudice
Considered a landmark film, it addresses racial prejudice and interracial marriage in a time when sixteen states in America still upheld laws that made miscegenation a crime. It is important to pay attention to past racial and ethnic issues, in order to understand those today and to see whether any 'progress' towards a more 'tolerant' society has been made. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is an entertaining, straightforward and well-meant film that will hopefully make students aware of the controversy of interracial relationships throughout the decades and centuries even. Being a child of mixed race parents, I find the film meaningful in showing two people of different races, being very much in love and very willing to face all the social obstacles their interracial relationship is bound to encounter.
Summary
In Guess Who's Coming to Dinner the 23-year-old, white, upper class Joanna "Joey" Drayton (Katharine Houghton) brings home her fiancé John Wade Prentice (Sidney Poitier) to meet her parents. When he turns out to be a distinguished 37-year-old black doctor, the "liberal" progressive parents (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) are forced to re-examine their beliefs regarding interracial marriage and are given one single day to do so. Before the parents can get all of their objections sorted out, they have John's parents coming to dinner as well. Both sets of parents have reservations about this union, but try to come to terms with the interracial marriage.
Discussion
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? raises several questions or issues that might be interesting to discuss after viewing it. The film's main themes are interracial relationships and prejudice, and it advocates a mixed race marriage, which makes it a very progressive movie for the 1960s. Considered progressive as well are Joey's 'liberal' parents who have raised their daughter not to be prejudiced and they have done this successfully, with her 'lack of' prejudice extending to her being able to fall in love with an African American. The parents are then left to consider whether they really believe in their acclaimed 'liberal thinking' and this may raise important questions with the viewing audience. Are human beings really as liberal or conservative as they think they are when it comes to practicing what they preach?
If it is not race that prevents the parents (the fathers in particular), both Joanna's and John's, from approving the marriage, what is?
The only objection to the interracial marriage vocalized in the film is the harsh treatment they will most likely receive from society. Although this is a valid and probably accurate objection, it is debatable on whether the fathers do not have more personal objections. The movie glosses over the subject of interracial marriage without getting too detailed, but the concern on whether the couple understands the adversity they will face if they go ahead with their interracial marriage is very clear.
The themes addressed in the film were still much of a taboo in the 1960s, so in order to merely create a 'mild controversy', the director seems to have made the relationship between John and Joey as 'acceptable' as possible. Infallible and with impeccable credentials as a prize-winning doctor and working for the World Health Organization, John is portrayed as an in-laws dream. The character is in every socioeconomic sense a 'good catch': What parent would not want him as a son-in-law? But what if the director had made the fiancé a factory worker? Would the audience still find it as easy to accept a mixed-race relationship?
Also, to reduce the seriousness of the racial themes, the film is presented as a comedy. This means that conservative viewers can laugh about it while telling themselves that these events would never really happen. Finally, Joey and John avoid their biggest challenge by intending to live abroad for John's work. Therefore, they will not have to cope with the racial tensions in the country and they will not have to combine two communities and identities or have to pick one over the other.
When it was released it 1967, Guess Who`s Coming to Dinner reflected upon the changing race relation in America. Interracial intimacy and marriage in particular were delicate themes to discuss, which makes this film so important, both at that time as well as today. The individual right to choose a sexual partner, select a spouse and raise a family could not be fully exercised in all of the United States up until the Loving decision in 1967, which banned anti-miscegenation laws. Although these laws disappeared, the prejudices that had always accompanied them, could not be banned so easily. They persisted, despite the colour blind ideal.
The fact that the Joey's father is an intellectual liberal forced to face his own buried prejudices gives the film an important message that should still be considered today. On some deeply personal level many people are still prejudiced, no matter how hard they try to tell themselves otherwise. In Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Spencer Tracy's character comes to this realization, but is able to put his objections for his daughter's happiness. The film chooses to be colour blind like Joey's father and lets pure and simple love instead of race be the basis for a successful marriage. Or as Matt Drayton argues in his 'final analysis' in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner:
"[...] in the final analysis it doesn't matter a damn what we think. The only thing that matters is what they feel, and how much they feel for each other. And if it's half of what we felt ... that's everything". ... Read more

Reviews (14)

"With you, never a quickie..."
...al-vays, a longie." This movie rocks. It's very 70's...disco dancing, Afro haircuts, joint smoking, Susan St. James, and free love. Who could ask for anything more?

George Hamilton has a great butt and makes for a dang sexy Dracula. Other than the George swooning, though, this is a movie that makes me laugh out loud just about every time I watch it. Richard Benjamen is hysterical as the jealous boyfriend who keeps unsuccessfully trying to kill the count. ("No, Rosenberg. That is for a vere-volf.") Arte Johnson is a bug-chomping bucket-o-laffs as Renfield. Susan St. James has a cute, self-effacing humor about her and is funny and lovable as the model who falls for Drac. It's just plain entertaining. I will definitely buy it if it's released on DVD.

Once bitten, always a fan.
I know this movie inside and out, having seen it on cable a million times when I was a kid. The concept is a scream! George Hamilton plays a rather hip Count Dracula and Arte Johnson his ingratiating sidekick Renfield. Drac falls madly in love with Cindy Sondheim, played by Susan St. James, a high-powered New York supermodel. He despairs of ever having her for himself, but fate deals him a lucky blow couched in misfortune: The local Communist bigwigs, who desire to convert Drac's castle into a training camp for Nadia Comaneci and her teammates, give Drac and Renfield the boot. The logical choice? To escape to America and track down Cindy in New York City, which Drac summarily does. Luckily, she falls in love with him, but before Drac can make her one of the undead, Cindy's high-strung boyfriend Jeffrey Rosenberg, played by Richard Benjamin, interferes. Jeffrey's grandfather -- the famous vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, who had been Drac's nemesis -- died without ever destroying his undead quarry, and Jeffrey is determined to finish what his grandfather started. His attempts to do so backfire hilariously! In the end -- and I was so happy for them -- Drac and Cindy make good their escape to spend the rest of their "lives" together.

No matter how often I watched this movie, it never lost its appeal or its comedy. There aren't too many movies out there that are blessed with this gift.

P.S. Was the part of the wino played by Richard Mulligan of SOAP and EMPTY NEST fame? If so, I didn't see his name listed in the credits.

Is this really better than DEAD AND LOVING IT?
NO! IT'S NOT.But it is a good movie that deserves proper DVD treatment.I'll grant you the first 10 minutes of each movie would lead you to believe that FIRST BITE is the superior comedy.But you would be wrong, DEAD (and loving it) wrong.I really admire the originality of Dracula in modern day New York and Kudos to George Hamilton who is amazingly witty.But the rest of the cast is a little sour.Arte Johnson's Renfield is not nearly as funny or dynamic as Peter MacNicol's Renfield.Susan Saint James is barely 1/10 of Amy Yasbeck in terms of class,beauty and sexuality.She gives Dracula a damn good reason to desire her so.I'll never figure out why the master prince of darkness would be so taken with such a plain jane so-called model.I guess Mel Brooks himself is up against Richard Benjamin.Don't EVEN think, Benjamin is any kind of formiddible opponent to Brooks.First Bite does have it's moments from time to time.Let's face it! You mess with Mel Brooks and your just asking for trouble.I watch both of these movies around Halloween as a fun double feature.Superior production values, stronger comedy,and classy storytelling DEAD AND LOVING IT will always be the headliner.PLUS I HATE DISCO.The waltz Leslie Nielsen asks Miss Mina to dance to at the ball is charming,delightful and worthy of ownership.Whereas THAT DISCO CRUD George Hamilton travoltas to has me gripping the arms of my chair in an intense effort not to grab the remote and end the movie right there and then.If and when they decide to release this on DVD I hope that the nauseating dance sequence is one complete scene on the scene selection list so I can skip that part and enjoy a relatively good movie.However MEL BROOKS'DRACULA DEAD AND LOVING IT is the superior cinematic effort.which is coming to DVD JUNE 29, 2004. TAKE THAT EL PASO!

"A werewolf? Really? Are you sure?"
I just saw this on AMC and it's still funny after all these years. I hadn't seen it in a while, but I just couldn't stop laughing. One of the best spoofs of Dracula to ever come out of Hollywood. It's far superior to Mel Brook's Dracula: Dead and Loving it. George Hamilton is the sauve and sophisticated count aided by his bug swilling servant Renfield...that laugh still gets me. Dracula is kicked out of his castle and decides to make for America to be with his true love...a supermodel of all people. On the way his coffin is misplaced, he gets caught by a dogcatcher, and gets drunk by drinking in an intoxicated homeless man. Richard Benjamin is hilarious as Cindy's jealous therapist, who also happens to be a descendent of Van Helsing and loses his girl and his sanity in trying to bring Drac down. Don't miss Sherman Helmsley as the unfortunate preacher who flings himself out the window upon seeing Georgie, and of course Mrs. Jefferson herself as a proud-to-be black and don't mess with me "honky" judge. The setting is perfect... the clothes, the hair, and that music! This is one of my favorite films and I hope they put it on DVD soon!

Put It on DVD and I'll Buy It!
Love at First Bite is a great movie, it's so funny and George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Arte Johnson and Richard Benjamin are all terrific.

I would like to buy this movie but only on DVD, we have DVD players now and I no longer buy my movies on video so I will wait until Love At First Bite gets to DVD and hopefully I won't have a long wait! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Best Cop Movie of all time
Words cant truly express how realistic this movie is. It faces the harsh realities of police work, most havent changed since this movie was made.

Possibly the best Police movie ever
This movie inspired me to a law enforcement career that lasted 28 years. George C. Scott (Officer Kilvinsky) delivers one of his best performances as a veteran patrolman of the L.A.P.D. He teaches a rookie cop "Stacy Keach" how to survive on the streets of L.A. Erik Estrada plays a former gang banger that turned cop, only to find himself working patrol in his old stomping grounds. The realism was great. No doubt they used police advisors when making the film. A sad movie that will make you realize that cops are human. Kilvinsky the cynical cop, shows compassion in dealing with illegal Mexican immigrants that are being taken advantage of by a money grubbing landlord. Stacy Keach suffers a failed marriage and gets involved in an interracial relationship. Truly a gut wrenching movie that shows the brutality of police work, both mentally and physically. I'd pay a hundred dollars if I could get the movie on DVD.

A must see for anyone interested in police work.
I saw "The New Centurions" on television back in the late 1970's. I thought it was a good movie about the police work. The movie is based on the book written by a former LAPD officer Joseph Wambaugh. Alot of the movie is a depressing because it deals with alcoholism, divorce, and suicide. Even though the movie was based on the LAPD back in the 1960's, alot of it still rings true today. You see several young officers in the academy going thru PT and other training. Then, they graduate the academy and are sent to a high crime division to beginning training with a TO (training officer). Immediately, Kilvinsky tells Stacy Keach character to forget about half of what he learn in the academy because it is useless. You see them going to various radio calls. The most interesting part of the movie is when George C. Scott charater starts telling Roy (Keach) how he deals with various crimes (Kilvinsky Law). The scene with the hookers in the back of the paddy wagon is funny. It is a good movie about some of what happens in police patrol cars and handling calls. It is kind of depressing but, it is still a good movie.

New Centurions
A Geart LawEnforcement Movie set in the LosAngeles 60's It Demostrates the Mental and Emotional Problems that working the Streets of LA as a Cop have to endure! This shows How Wambaugh as a X-LAPD Offficer and Writer, helped to get trama care to LawEnforcment Personal. This is also a Movie thats costars the Young James Woods and Erick Estrada in their early carrier. I grew Up in LosAngeles (The Valley) and this Movie gives a great View of LosAngeles During the Watts Riots in 63'

Great Cop Movie
I didn't realize that this movie was still in print, and I was pleasantly surprised.

I think it's one of the best movies I've seen with Stacy Keach (sp?). George C. Scott was great also. I guess the one thing I did not care for is the way it ended... with Keach getting killed. In fact, both of the main characters get nixed. Don't like endings like that. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Larry Cohen scratched out some of the most memorably offbeatexploitation films of the 1970s, including two of the most energeticblaxploitation action classics: Black Caesar and its sequel, HellUp in Harlem, which made a star of Fred Williamson. In 1996 theyreunited for this tribute to the good old days and producer-star Williamson brought along a few of his fellow 1970s blaxplo icons: Jim Brown(Slaughter), Pam Grier (Foxy Brown), Richard Roundtree(Shaft), and Ron O'Neal (Superfly). They play old friends and former members of a neighborhood gang in economically depressed Gary,Indiana, who reunite when a new generation of gangbangers using their oldstreet name, the Rebels, turns the city into a war zone. It's great fun tosee the old faces back on the screen--Williamson is still buff and tough,and Brown and Grier have become more charismatic with age--but they're letdown by a slack script and lazy direction despite an almost nonstopbarrage of gunfights and back-alley brawls. Even with revved-up 1990sfirepower, the film never really captures the explosive energy of the filmsthat made their reputations. You're better off seeing the originals. PaulWinfield and Isabel Sanford also star, and Cohen casts cult faves CharlesNapier, Wings Hauser, and Robert Forster in supporting roles. --SeanAxmaker ... Read more

Reviews (12)

good idea but bad come out
Fred Williamson(Black Ceasar, From Dusk Till Dawn) is John Bookman and he returns home after his father is shot up by a gang called the rebels, a gang he formed back in his day, led by Spyro and Damien..two ruthless thugs who changed the gang from what it used to be, the rebels think they own the streets. well Bookman and co. join forces to try to stop them. an allstar cast including Jim Brown(Mars Attacks,Salughter) Ron O'Neal(Superfly), Pam Grier(Ghost Of Mars, Foxy Brown, Jackie Brown), Paul Winfield(Mars Attacks, The Terminator), Richard Roundtree(Antitrust, Shaft, Corky Romando) and many more. takes its toll on the 70's black films but is too much uninspired with wooden performances and a lack of, anything...was expecting much more

A violent reunion from back in the day
The reason to watch this movie is the reunion for those of us who remember the protagonists from the era of blaxploitation films in which we were introduced to them/ Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, reconvene to take back their home town of Gary, Indiana from several well organized and terribly violent street gangs.

Also appearing in almost cameo roles are Ron O'Neal ("Superfly") and Richard Roundtree (the original John Shaft). Seeing them all together is a treat, but left me wondering why this quintet did not get more screen time all together. It is particularly pleasing to see Brown and Grier, who, as one of the expert reviewers noted, have aged very very well. However, the re-ignition of their former relationship is tepid and seemingly forced. By contrast, it has nowhere near the intensity seen when barely restrained Brown confronts a gang leader about the murder of his son.

I agree that the simplistic plot and the consistent (and predictable) violence keep this from being one of the great films of our time. Those who remember the first time seeing these individuals in character now some thirty years ago will enjoy seeing them all together again, and that makes this disc worthwhile.

great re-union of 70's actionmovie st ars
if your a film buff, and wanted to see just outta curiosity
what happened to the black star's of the early 70's...see this movie, sorry to say that most of the aging star's except for pam grier now could be cast in a new version of sanford and son...as fred's old buddies from the hood drinking
grape ripple. it was a good social commentary of life in gary,
indiana and how dependent that city was on the steel mills and the off shoot business's that gradually closed down, see this movie on a saturday afternoon,,,but if you have to mow the lawn or paint the house...you'd be better off doing that.

An solid comeback for an action movie vet--
Original Gangstas: Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier. Williamson is John Bookman, former football pro turned coach, who comes back to his old hometown to find it overrun by gangs. The last straw is when Bookman's dad is assaulted and his grocery store vandalized. Grier is the mom of a basketball prodigy slain by the Rebels, one of three major gangs in the city. Brown is Bookman's best friend who comes back to bury his son. In a touch of irony, the gangs are the modern day incarnation of the crews started by Bookman & his friends decades ago. But whereas the original intent was to be a teen militia of sorts, the modern crews-mostly people well over 21-- are about nothing but victimizing their neighborhood.

Filmed entirely on location in Gary, Indiana, the film uses many city landmarks to illustrate the decay that has taken place. The film rightly postulates that the abrupt downsizing of the US Steel mill in the late 60's started an economic domino effect that the city has yet to recover from. Abandoned storefronts still abound, while neighborhoods are peppered with derelict houses and other rag-tag buildings.
Supporting roles are offered by Robert Forster as a police detective, and Ron O'Neal & Richard Roundtree as longtime residents who join the effort to take the city back.

Williamson and his contemporaries first came to prominence in the black action movie trend of the 70's. Some of his real life was slipped into the script: Williamson was a Northwestern football star before turning pro; also, according to the star the film was inspired from an encounter he had while visiting his mother, who still lives in Gary.

Fred and the actors of his generation deserve better from the Hollywood industry-- folks like Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have used them in a handful of contemporary films, but they should have the status of a Clint Eastwood or Burt Reynolds..

ORIGINAL GANGSTAS Review
In a reunion of the big-name 70's blaxplotation stars, you can expect a whole lot of fun. They're all here. Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam "Foxxy Brown" Grier, Richard "Shaft" Roudntree, and Superfly himself, Ron O'Neal. A host of other infamous character actors and some of today's big name underground rappers also show up for this bullet-riddled nostalgia pic.

It's "old school" versus "new school" as the Rebels, a gang once known simply for protecting their neighborhood has transformed into a gang of thugs who specialize in drive-by shootings and drug dealing. This doesn't sit well with the gang's founding members who reunite with the support of the community to clean up the streets once and for all.

While not nearly as energetic and entertaining as many of the 70's pics that it is paying homage to, "Original Gangstas" does have fun while delivering a solid anti-violence message. Seeing all your old favorites strap up again makes for some real good times. There are also some good performances from relative unknowns like Christopher Duncan as the leader of the new Rebels and rapper Dru Down as the group's loud-mouthed "trigger man". Also look for rappers, Scarface and Bushwick Bill in cameos. A genuine good time. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The tragic rise and fall of the silent clown Billy Bright
"The Comic" is the bittersweet story of the rise and fall of Billy Bright, a comedian of the silent film era played by Dick Van Dyke. To me this story, written and directed by Carl Reiner, references many of the silent clowns, and not any particular one. Personally, I see more of Chaplin than Keaton in the story (especially in the final shot), but Billy Bright is a unique creation. Van Dyke makes the character come alive, not only in his effective recreation of classic silent comedy, but in depicting the dark side of the man as well. When Bright destroys his career and causes his friends and wife to turn away from him, you will want to do the same thing. Of course, there is also the irony of Van Dyke, whose battle with alcoholism was becoming known to the public around the time this film was released, as I recall. Clearly this is the actor's best dramatic performance while still allowing him to show his comic talents in several wonderful set pieces. The best thing about "The Comic" is that it rings true and you will come away from watching it ready to believe this was the true story of a real life that was thrown away by someone who actually lived.

Audio killed the silent screen star
A memorable composite biopic about a silent film comedy star who has trouble handling success, and then falls afoul of the advent of sound. The film quotes scenes from other famous movies. For example, the main character voices-over his own funeral, a la _Sunset Boulevard_. But it is a memorable production for its own sake. We follow the comic from success straining his marriage, to his star on the wane, to attempts at a comeback, until we leave him as a pathetic wreck, old and full of regrets, watching one of his old films on late night TV. Affecting stuff...

Scenes that will stay with you forever
I have read reviews of this film both here and on other movies sites and have never come across such a mixed bag of opinons! Everything from a misguided interpetation that it's based on the life of Buster Keaton (which it is not!) to a review here of scenes that will haunt you (which they will). I also saw this film in the 70's and have been lucky enough to catch it again 15 years ago.

Van Dyke and Rooney do it and do it well. Some of the best scenes are the Comics' later years. The closing scene you will never forget, it has haunted me since the first time I saw this movie.

For those of you who can buy it over there, get it, you won't regret it. Unfortunately it just isn't available down here. Believe me I have searched high and low for years.

Unfortunately, disappointing
I looked forward to seeing this, but have to say that it was disappointing. It seems superficial, with the acting just passable. I'd guess that Carl Reiner's writing and direction are the problems. No subtlety, or cleverness. Dick Van Dyke does his best, but the material seems very thin. Too bad.

"Huantingly Memorable"
I saw this film back in the 70's and i could not get it out of my mind. Without a doubt the best work Van Dyke has done. He and Reiner sculpt a film of unforgettable honesty & humor. This is a soft spoken study of humanity. I'd compare "The Comic" to "Chaplin" but for me more memorable in it's simplicity. About a silent film star forgotten with the years "The Comic" also creeps into film history "silently" as a Classic. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

George Peppard Rules!! Great Crime Classic!!
George Peppard rules as a Washington DC police officer whose wife and lover are murdered in bed and he takes the blame escaping to find the real murderer.It's a superb crime classic!! ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Too Funny!
Extremely hilarious. I've been searching for this movie for almost two years...every since I saw it on Lifetime. Jenifer Lewis is perfect for this "mockumentary" on a washed-up diva who tries to make a comeback. She and a full cast of well-known entertainers will have you grabbing your stomach from laughter. I'm on my third week of renewing my rental for this movie. Trust me, you will love this movie.

Dynamite and Funny as you know what, but that ending....
Loved this movie. There are SO many genuinely funny and campy moments here. Patti Austin at Peaches Yancy's funeral is a hoot; the woman just won't STOP singing! Jennifer Lewis is fabulous and so is young lady that plays Jackie's faithful daughter Entendre (Make that a DOUBLE Entendre). The only complaint I have is the ending. All of the sudden we get this bittersweet, force fed weeper ending which doesn't fit into the framework of the rest of the movie. Overall, though it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the movie. Just a minor quibble, since the ending of ANY movie does leave an impression. It almost has the feel of something that was forced on Robert Townsend by the Network. Maybe not. Please buy this DVD, though. If you appreciate the ridiculous excess of modern and classic Divas you'll love it!!

Absolutely hilarious
This SPINAL TAP-like mockumentary is absolutely hilarious and the commentary track by director Townsend is equally entertaining. JENNIFER LEWIS is amazing. She's a brilliant comedic actress who is shamefully underused in movies and this is a perfect vehicle for her. It does for her what JACKIE BROWN did for Pam Grier. The supporting cameos are laugh-out-loud funny, best being Whoopi Goldberg, Tim Curry, Loretta Devine, Isabel Sandford, Kathy Griffith, Rikki Lake, Sean Hayes, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Eva Marie Saint, Dolly Parton, Grace Slick and Diahann Carroll.

So Cliche It's Good
All the diva jokes and funny one liners are all very typical and cliche of this type of movie, but still between Jenifer Lewis and Tim Curry they manage to pull it off and still make it a damn good movie.
While reading through the other reviews for this product, I noticed that everyone constantly praises Lewis but unless I missed something, no one said a thing about Curry.
I'm not trying to take the spotlight away from Jenifer Lewis...she was amazing considering that this is her first movie. However, no one has acknowledged Tim's great work on the film.
I heard someone comment the other day that his acting was too [unrealistic]and over the top in this movie. Hello! ... He's supposed to be acting like that, considering that he plays the part of the host of a low budget documentary. Some people can be real stupid, ...
Anyway, I thought I was going to die laughing when I saw the look on Tim's face when Jackie's cross-dressing dress designer came into her dressing room. I also loved it when Jackie's playmama said that white people all smelled like wet potatoe chips. Again, Tim's face was priceless. He's the kind of actor that's good enough that he needs no words to get his point across, the expression says it all.
Another one of my favorite parts is when he admits to Jackie that when first asked to do the documentary he had never heard of her, and then she said, 'They played my records in England,' and he replies, 'Yes...but I never heard them.'
Anyway, it's filled with plenty of other gut busting scenes. I've waited and waited for this movie to be released on DVD after I first saw it on Lifetime...and finally my wish has come true.
Buy Jackie's Back today, it's so bad it's good.

Top-notch music and comedy
This movie is so well-loved by everyone who sees it, that when I sing the theme song "Yield" in public, everyone immediately recognizes it (and laughs). Definitely the funniest comedy ever...why it wasn't released to theaters is a mystery. Wish we had a soundtrack album with all the great songs. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

good idea but bad come out
Fred Williamson(Black Ceasar, From Dusk Till Dawn) is John Bookman and he returns home after his father is shot up by a gang called the rebels, a gang he formed back in his day, led by Spyro and Damien..two ruthless thugs who changed the gang from what it used to be, the rebels think they own the streets. well Bookman and co. join forces to try to stop them. an allstar cast including Jim Brown(Mars Attacks,Salughter) Ron O'Neal(Superfly), Pam Grier(Ghost Of Mars, Foxy Brown, Jackie Brown), Paul Winfield(Mars Attacks, The Terminator), Richard Roundtree(Antitrust, Shaft, Corky Romando) and many more. takes its toll on the 70's black films but is too much uninspired with wooden performances and a lack of, anything...was expecting much more

A violent reunion from back in the day
The reason to watch this movie is the reunion for those of us who remember the protagonists from the era of blaxploitation films in which we were introduced to them/ Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, reconvene to take back their home town of Gary, Indiana from several well organized and terribly violent street gangs.

Also appearing in almost cameo roles are Ron O'Neal ("Superfly") and Richard Roundtree (the original John Shaft). Seeing them all together is a treat, but left me wondering why this quintet did not get more screen time all together. It is particularly pleasing to see Brown and Grier, who, as one of the expert reviewers noted, have aged very very well. However, the re-ignition of their former relationship is tepid and seemingly forced. By contrast, it has nowhere near the intensity seen when barely restrained Brown confronts a gang leader about the murder of his son.

I agree that the simplistic plot and the consistent (and predictable) violence keep this from being one of the great films of our time. Those who remember the first time seeing these individuals in character now some thirty years ago will enjoy seeing them all together again, and that makes this disc worthwhile.

great re-union of 70's actionmovie st ars
if your a film buff, and wanted to see just outta curiosity
what happened to the black star's of the early 70's...see this movie, sorry to say that most of the aging star's except for pam grier now could be cast in a new version of sanford and son...as fred's old buddies from the hood drinking
grape ripple. it was a good social commentary of life in gary,
indiana and how dependent that city was on the steel mills and the off shoot business's that gradually closed down, see this movie on a saturday afternoon,,,but if you have to mow the lawn or paint the house...you'd be better off doing that.

An solid comeback for an action movie vet--
Original Gangstas: Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier. Williamson is John Bookman, former football pro turned coach, who comes back to his old hometown to find it overrun by gangs. The last straw is when Bookman's dad is assaulted and his grocery store vandalized. Grier is the mom of a basketball prodigy slain by the Rebels, one of three major gangs in the city. Brown is Bookman's best friend who comes back to bury his son. In a touch of irony, the gangs are the modern day incarnation of the crews started by Bookman & his friends decades ago. But whereas the original intent was to be a teen militia of sorts, the modern crews-mostly people well over 21-- are about nothing but victimizing their neighborhood.

Filmed entirely on location in Gary, Indiana, the film uses many city landmarks to illustrate the decay that has taken place. The film rightly postulates that the abrupt downsizing of the US Steel mill in the late 60's started an economic domino effect that the city has yet to recover from. Abandoned storefronts still abound, while neighborhoods are peppered with derelict houses and other rag-tag buildings.
Supporting roles are offered by Robert Forster as a police detective, and Ron O'Neal & Richard Roundtree as longtime residents who join the effort to take the city back.

Williamson and his contemporaries first came to prominence in the black action movie trend of the 70's. Some of his real life was slipped into the script: Williamson was a Northwestern football star before turning pro; also, according to the star the film was inspired from an encounter he had while visiting his mother, who still lives in Gary.

Fred and the actors of his generation deserve better from the Hollywood industry-- folks like Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have used them in a handful of contemporary films, but they should have the status of a Clint Eastwood or Burt Reynolds..

ORIGINAL GANGSTAS Review
In a reunion of the big-name 70's blaxplotation stars, you can expect a whole lot of fun. They're all here. Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam "Foxxy Brown" Grier, Richard "Shaft" Roudntree, and Superfly himself, Ron O'Neal. A host of other infamous character actors and some of today's big name underground rappers also show up for this bullet-riddled nostalgia pic.

It's "old school" versus "new school" as the Rebels, a gang once known simply for protecting their neighborhood has transformed into a gang of thugs who specialize in drive-by shootings and drug dealing. This doesn't sit well with the gang's founding members who reunite with the support of the community to clean up the streets once and for all.

While not nearly as energetic and entertaining as many of the 70's pics that it is paying homage to, "Original Gangstas" does have fun while delivering a solid anti-violence message. Seeing all your old favorites strap up again makes for some real good times. There are also some good performances from relative unknowns like Christopher Duncan as the leader of the new Rebels and rapper Dru Down as the group's loud-mouthed "trigger man". Also look for rappers, Scarface and Bushwick Bill in cameos. A genuine good time. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Hickey and Boggs
100% PURE DRECK! I am a former 35mm film collector who once had
this print in my collection. I also am a union projectionist and ran this film in Detroit area theatres when it first came out. When you buy DVD you expect DVD quality. This copy looks like a third or fourth generation dub from a worn out VHS tape in SLP mode. Some day MGM/UA will release a pristine print. In the meantime, save your money!

Great movie, bad DVD.
This is the worst DVD I've ever seen. Not the movie, that was great. It looks like it was transferred from about a third generation VHS tape. The box says Digitally Remastered, but it definitely is not. I felt really ripped off by this disc. Amazon, you should not sell this DVD to your customers.

great film, miserable DVD
This DVD is an example of two extremes. One being that he actual film is terrific, a hard boiled detective film with solid performances, especially from Bill Cosby, and a good story. But the other extreme is unforgivable. This is arguably the worst quality DVD ever presented on the commercial market. Words could not do justice in describing the wretched quality of this product. It is an absolute travesty that a movie of this calibre will probably go down in history as the worst DVD transfer of all time!!!!

The other guy is right
Do NOT buy this DVD. I have seen beeter looking bootleg tapes -- in fact, that's pretty much what this transfer looks like. The image jumps, the sound is terrible, and I'm out 13 bucks. Shame on Amazon too, for lending this piece of garbage the veneer of legitimacy by offering it.

Unwatchable Video Quality - Don't Waste Your Money
This is one of my favorite movies and had anticipated getting a DVD to replace the old tape copy I have from TV. As it turns out my old tape copy has far superior picture quality to this DVD. It appears that A.I.P. Productions have transferred a third generation tape copy to DVD and then tried to sharpen the fuzzy image with a high-pass filter. The result is a fuzzy image covered with video noise - somewhat like speckled smoke covering each frame. It is unwatchable and the audio is pathetic too. A.I.P. must know this, but they want your money anyway. I'd give this negative 10 stars if possible. ... Read more