Black Fist

Black Fist (1975) is a movie I recently watched on Amazon Prime. The storyline is about a man who has survived in the streets and believes he can make the money he deserves and start his own business by becoming a street fighter. He thinks once he has enough money to start his own business it will be easy to get out of the street fighter business...he's wrong. This movie was directed by Timothy Galfas (Sunnyside) and stars Richard Lawson (Poltergeist), Denise Gordy (Toy Soldiers), Philip Michael Thomas (Miami Vice) and Annazette Chase (The Mack). There's some good elements to this choppy film. I really liked his messaging and side bar conversations to make it on his own without the white man's help. I thought it was interesting throughout the movie how his wife's desire was to survive and his was to succeed. The slang and soundtrack was also entertaining and fun. The storyline was inconsistent but I enjoyed waiting to see what's going to happen next to Lawson's character, who was awesome in this. I would score this a 6-6/5/10.

According to a letter to the 11 Jan 1985 Reader by screenwriter Tim Kelly, the film, originally titled "Bogard" after its production in 1974, received an X-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for violence and an interracial sexual interlude. When the producers removed the sex scene during a recut for the new title, "The Black Streetfighter", the rating was changed to R, the 26 Jul 1976 Box reported.

In the Reader letter, Kelly explained that after "Bogard" was filmed in Los Angeles, CA, in 1974, it re-emerged in 1976 as "The Black Streetfighter" following Centaur Films' bankruptcy, containing "most, certainly not all, of the original 'Bogard' footage." Additional scenes were taken from a proposed sequel to "Bogard" called "Black Fist", which became the new title of "The Black Streetfighter" in late 1977.

Though Peter Traynor and William D. Sklar of Centaur Films were the original producers of "Bogard", according to an 8 Feb 1975 LAT article, their names were removed when the title was changed. So was the name of screenwriter Mel Frohman.

I actually bested an earlier writer's bargain by buying this brand new in a shrink wrap for $1 at a dollar store. I regret that the cover art is a close up face pic that is generic and close up to where he looks like anybody else with an Afro and full mustache. I much more prefer the super hero pic that is sported on this page. The movie was middling, not as stellar as Shaft, Truck Turner and Superfly, but certainly above Fred Williamson's Joashua AKA Black Rider, which had it's potential retarded by one of the most inept music scores of all time. Black Fist has a competent soundtrack moving from a Liza Minelli/ Barbara Streisand sound alike crooning an opening homage to the lead character then moving to lush instrumentals with violins that would have made Barry White proud. The lead star looks familiar. In my case, I recently saw him in Burt Reynold's Stick, but I was surprised to find that he has only treaded on notoriety playing in many TV shows. He is somewhat similar to the guy who played on WXRP in Cinncinatti as well as The Brother from the Love Boat, which also makes him seem familiar. I thought his hero was decent with the exception of an opening scene that seemed out of character in which he stuttered when first confronted but then nonsensibly and unexplainably he was confident and confrontational seconds later ( a blooper perhaps). Speaking of bloopers, there is a scene early on when the Gerald Levert looking henchman pulls a gun on Leroy and behind him and clearly in site you see a second yes man who has a gun pointed at the Levert lookalike. It is subtle, but makes no sense 1 henchman pointing a gun at his partner. Perhaps improvised by an overzealous actor who wanted to extend his limited screen time. The actress who plays the love interest is more than adequate for an overall good film.

To make money, a Los Angeles street-fighter goes to work for gangsters.

Wow. Porn music. Porn Direction. And originally rated X.

This is some real obscure blaxpoltation flick. With Dabney Coleman no less!!!!

The movie is VERY 70s. The homes they shoot in a re so 70s.

The movie starts with a white mobster getting his haircut in a black barbershop!

Leroy becomes a street fighter fighter for money in junk yards roof tops, etc. Nuts. How are they making money off this The lemon aid stand?

Not really sure why this movie was rated X when it came out. Not much blood or nudity.

Anyway...surprisingly, it's a watchable movie. I was very surprised.

I got this movie in a bargain bin, hoping for an amusingly bad flick. Boy was I disappointed. (except for avon.) You see, the movie is indeed horrible, but so horrible, it isn't even laughable. The plot, oh wait, there is no plot. I suppose you could say it's about the main character rising up in the ranks of street fighting. At the end of the movie, the directors decided to either not make any more sense, or, more likely, died and had a monkey finish directing the movie. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT THE ENDING SPOILED! although the ending doesn't really spoil anything. The main character somehow ends up in a room filled with mirrors, a la Enter The Dragon, and then gets real angry, has stupid flashback, and hits a mirror. The end. Wheeee.

The only redeeming factor of this movie was Avon's scene. He's talking to the rival street fighting boss and says something along these lines, completely deadpan: "Do not worry about him anymore sir. I have killed him in a sophisticated manner. I wined him, I dined hm, we went to a disco. We was havin a lot of fun. And then I killed him." at which point the boss says "good work avon. You're number 1." And avon says "Number 1! Alllriiiiight! Alriiight!" The scene continues with avon continuing to say "alllrriiiight!" over and over. The next scene is of a dead Avon floating in a pool. Intelligent? I think not.

Lastly, I own the "Homeboy" version of this movie, meaning the title on the box I own is "Homeboy." It shows a huge guy holding a giant gun and screaming. This never happens in the movie. This man is never in the movie. High quality.

Note--I am new to this reviewing, but hell yes I am going to keep it up.