Inferno No Harlem

You know how people say "don't quit your day job" when you want to do something very much, but haven't got the talent, skills or resources? Cult/exploitation masters Larry Cohen and Fred Williamson definitely turned this expression upside-down! They owned all the required skills to make a great sequel to the massively successful "Black Caesar", and yet they still opted NOT to abandon their regular day jobs in order to do so! Around the time of filming, not even half a year after the release of "Black Caesar", Williamson was working hard on "That Man Bolt", whereas Cohen was making his beloved horror-oddity "It's Alive". The studio persisted to have the sequel ready asap, and so Cohen and his crew just filmed "Hell Up in Harlem" during the weekends. Now, that's what I call dedication!

Much later, Larry Cohen admitted in an interview that "Hell Up in Harlem" was a largely unprepared effort. Well, that must be the understatement of the (previous) century! From the opening sequences, and until the end-credits start rolling, the script of "Hell Up in Harlem" appears to be improved on the spot, and the dialogues/monologues ad-libbed. This resulted in a film with a minimalistic plot and an incredibly hectic narrative structure, but with also a lot of awesome and ingenious action sequences. Numerous pieces of action footage are downright unforgettable, contrary to thin storyline of Tommy Gibbs introducing his father to the criminal world and his warfare against the corrupt NY district attorney. The fantastic opening scene, for instance, in which Tommy's friends take an entire hospital hostage at gunpoint in order to prevent him from getting arrested immediately after his treatment to remove a bullet. There's also the violent invasion of a Florida Keys' island, complete with trigger-happy black maids and Kung-Fu bikini babes. And so many more highlight, including a chase on the airport luggage transporter, a "he-died-with-a-hotdog-in-his-mouth" moment, and - my ultimate favorite - Gibbs impaling a sunbathing gangster (during broad daylight at a crowded Coney Island) with a sharp beach umbrella.

No, this is not one of the greatest blaxploitation movie ever made; and yes, it has its flaws. But man, is this one a fun ride or what? It's an hour and a half of pure action with one of the greatest action hero of all time. It's ass kicking after ass kicking, as Tommy Gibbs takes revenge on everybody that have ever been dumb enough to mess with him. The fight scenes are great, inventive and plentiful. The cinematography is quite decent too and the story fun enough to keep you interested in it. Larry Cohen once more delivers the goods in this one. It's actually much better then most action stink fest that Hollywood produce this days. So sit tight and enjoy the roller coaster ride while it last.

Go Fred Williamson!

Fun sequel takes off where Black Caesar took off...lots of violence...soul soundtrack not as good as James Brown's work on Black Caesar, but passable. Overall this movie has an even more fantastic plot than the first but is still basically enjoyable...particularly the island ambush scene and the chase in which Williamson runs after his opponent, who boards an airplane to L.A. from New York...Fred doesn't sweat it and gets a flight that just happens to leave a few minutes after the first gets off. We see scenes of the two men in planes...upon landing, at the same time, Williamson finds his quarry in a crowded airport and picks up where he left off in New York. As I said, ridiculous, but fun.

Another kick ass blaxploitation classic, director Larry Cohen really knows his stuff! "Hell Up in Harlem" features even more action than it´s great predecessor "Black Caesar" does! It´s a fast-paced crime story about the rise and fall of an Afro American godfather and everybody who loves such blaxploitations goodies like "Dolemite", "Blacula" or "Foxy Brown" should give it a look! Once more, main actor is the ultimate coolness and it´s no wonder why Quentin Tarantino digged him out for his funny "From Dusk Till Dawn" movie. Unfortunately, they don´t make stuff like this anymore! Movies like "Dead Presidents" or "New Jack City" are nothing else but failed attempts to exhume the blaxploitation genre! Better watch the originals again, they are da real deal!

Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson) is also known as Black Caesar, he finds himself shot by a corrupted police officer in the middle of the street in New York City. Since Gibbs is an well-known gangster, he has the ledger with the name of every bad cop and government officials on the mob's payroll. Gibbs is now public enemy number one in the city. He brings his father (Julius W. Harris) to the mob, Gibbs teaches his father every he knows. But someone in the gang is double-crossing Gibbs and he knows, there will be hell to pay. Revenge looks sweet for Black Caesar.

Written, Produced and Directed by Larry Cohen (It's Alive Trilogy, A Return to Salem's Lot, Q:The Winged Serpent) made an amusing, violent, if sometimes unintentionally funny sequel to "Black Caesar". Cohen is at his best, during some of the action sequences, the quick-paced editing and hand-held camera work. Williamson and Harris are fun to watch in this movie. Although the movie looks rushed, the story isn't as clear as its supposed to be and the film is quite sloppy at times.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an decent Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Sound. The DVD's best feature is the humorous and informative commentary track by Cohen. At times, his commentary track seems to be more entertaining than the movie! DVD also includes the original theatrical trailer and an teaser trailer. "Hell Up in Harlem" is a lot of fun, despite some real flaws. Some of Edwin Starr's songs are quite good. If you are an fan of Soul Cinema in the 1970's. Don't miss it. (*** ½/*****).