The Final Comedown

My earliest memories of Billy Dee Williams were him as Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back. At that time I knew him as a relaxed hair heart throb to many women of color. I never knew he had a film like this to his credit.

This movie is excellent and it was 100% socially relevant for 1972.

Billy Dee plays Johnny Johnson, a frustrated young Black man like so many others at that time. He was educated, angry, and being crushed under the weight of being young, educated and Black in America. He externalized all of that frustration and acted on that frustration and that's where the movie picks up: at the point of no return.

This movie is not for everyone, Black or White. This movie is an uncensored, no holds barred reflection of American society at that time. It's a perspective that was never seen on T.V. or heard on radio. It's a perspective that one would only get by entering the ghettos and projects of America. The dialog was heavy and the actions taken were costly, but such a thing was almost inevitable.

This movie had to be made just as it was because it is a chronicling of an era. Whether the names and the people were real is immaterial. What was real was the anger, the frustration, the repression, the oppression, and the natural bubbling over from all of that being mixed together. I'm glad this movie was made and that I had the opportunity to watch it.

Though labeled as a blaxploitation film, this is essentially a preachy character study about a young man from the slums, who is pressured into becoming a militant gang member, but is fatally wounded during a police shootout. The rest of the movie is mostly told in flashbacks, leading up to the showdown between the cops and the gang members. The movie is just sluggish with its pace. Because New World Pictures lost money when they picked it up for distribution, the movie was re-shot in 1976 with new footage and released under its new title Blast!, with new footage directed by Allan Arkush.

THE FINAL COMEDOWN is a cheap blaxploitation vehicle for actor Billy Dee Williams, later to achieve worldwide fame and recognition for his role in the STAR WARS films. His appearance here is something of a star-making turn for the actor, who burns up the screen as the black revolutionary determined to stand up to the racist white cops who are making his life a nightmare.

This is an undeniably cheap film that's plenty rough around the edges, although it's an interesting picture for sure. It avoids the usual stereotypes of sex and violence that often prop up this genre, even though both are present throughout the running time, most noticeably during a lengthy and gratuitous sex scene. Instead it provides a kind of social commentary exploring the issues of the times, and the racism inherent in 1970s society.

The grungy vibe of THE FINAL COMEDOWN gives it a realistic appearance even though it isn't particularly satisfying on a visceral or emotional level. The supporting cast is a well-judged one and I was amused to see a younger R.G. Armstrong, still looking old even at this stage of his career. This isn't the kind of film that's going to set anyone's world on fire - it's obscure for a reason - but fans of the stars or genre will find themselves intrigued by it.

This is a serious film about black revolutionaries and not really an action film. Billy Dee plays a young man fed up with racism who decides to take things into his own hands. It's fairly gritty and realistic without exploiting the characters but still it's not that interesting either and Billy Dee's character, though maltreated by white authority figures, doesn't really come off as sympathetic. It's also hurt by it's extremely low budget. Still, it's interesting to look at as it's a good depicttion of 1970s social issues.

This brilliant and insightful film stars Billy Dee as a young college age man who is hell-bent on making changes to this racist and hypocritical system we call America .As the reluctant leader of a courageous band of young Black and White students,Billy's seething portrayal is incredible. We see not only the conflicts of race but also conflicts regarding family and the generation gap .It's obvious from the opening scenes the story can only end one way .The budgetary constraints are apparent throughout, but Oscar-caliber (imagine that!!ha ) performances make this film EXPLODE off the screen and grip you where it hurts.This picture also co-stars the late , great D'urville Martin best known as the sidekick of Fred Williamson in several fun ,but far less important blaxpo flicks. Its very interesting the story begins during the late 60's riots in L.A. with our main character mortally wounded so the story is told in a retrospect (ala Serpico)with all other characters reflecting on the situation up to the present .I think if we could , as fellow human beings relate to some of these issues in this film , America might be a decent place.Hats off to the Black Stuntmans Assoc.who helped bring this off .We need more of these films!A rarely seen GEM !