Brotherhood of Death

The story of 3 friends who go through the Vietnam War, and return to the deep south, only to have to fight the white supremacists back home. They fight fire with fire. There's no pacifism in this flick starring 3 different 1970's NFL stars. All in all this is a one-dimensional story of racism, and I have no huge desire to ever see this again. It is run of the mill good black men against evil white supremacists, the same story we have seen a million times before. It does have some good shootouts, and clever tricks, and the funk music never stops, but all in all nothing spectacular. However if you are a fan of Blaxploitation check out; you might get more out of it than me.

Nothing really ground breaking here, but here are the pluses: Story is told decently, although it is not groundbreaking and the basic plot has been done before, there were enough original parts in this film to make it worth a view all the way through.

The acting wasn't bad, the klansmen, the sheriff, the bar owner were pretty good, but with the main characters (who I later found out were NFL stars) you did notice a dip in the quality a bit.

Soundtrack was hot, I've gotta get my hands on it.

This film needed more women in it, there are only 2 woman in the whole damn movie and they get very little screen time. That first one in the beginning was smoking!

I think of this movie as, the extra lite step child of "the spook who sat by the door". Not nearly as bad or exploitative as many of the blaxploitation films I've seen.

A group of black Vietnam vets go up against the Ku Klux Klan.

Producer Ronald Goldman saved money by hiring a first-time director and having nearly the entire film shot in Montgomery County, near Washington. He further hired several members of the Washington Redskins as actors so he would not have to pay the higher fees of professionals.

Although forgotten today, Goldman reported that the film brought in approximately $1 million, after having been made at a cost of between $200,000 and $250,000. Not a huge haul, but still a fourfold profit.

Not surprisingly, the film was championed by director Quentin Tarantino, which lead to its eventual release on DVD by Anchor Bay. Say what you will about Tarantino (love him or hate him), he is an expert at getting old films noticed again.

There appear among the stars of this little-known Black exploitation vehicle several 1970's National Football League players, who played mostly in the Baltimore/Washington area: Roy Jefferson (he was a Wide Receiver with the Chargers and Baltimore Colts), Mike Bass (he was a defensive back with the Washington Redskins), Mike Thomas (he was a running back with the Washington Redskins), and Frank Grant, who was a wide receiver. Several of the other actors may also have been pro athletes, such as Dennis Johnson (there was a Dennis Johnson who was a 1970's guard with the Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns) and Larry Jones. For most, this is their only movie "credit."

"Brotherhood of Death" is no classic of its genre, but remains pretty watchable throughout, no matter if it isn't particularly slick or the story isn't that strong. It's still fun to watch some cool brothers kick some seriously nasty racist honky ass. Any stature the movie might have would derive from its casting of a couple of NFL legends - Roy Jefferson, Mike Thomas, Mike Bass, Frank Grant - some in key roles. In any event, this is reasonable visceral entertainment with appropriately loathsome villains and a fairly short running time of a mere 78 minutes.

Raymond Moffat (Jefferson), Ned Tiese (Le Tari), and Junior Moffat (Haskell V. Anderson III) are three friends who go off to fight in Vietnam and come home to find the KKK raising some hell in their hometown. The Klan will go so far as to rape one black woman. While Raymond, Ned, and Junior do have at least one local white - the sheriff (Bryan Clark) - who is more or less on their side, they find that they will have to take matters into their own hands and stand up for themselves. They motivate their people to stand up for the right to vote, which only serves to anger the local white community.

"Brotherhood of Death" lacks any really good, memorable set pieces, but it's exploitative enough to suit some tastes, and it doesn't waste much time. As was already said, it's no problem to root for the heroes every step of the way, and take pleasure in the comeuppance of their adversaries. The movie does get off to a funky start with that "Get Off Your High Horse" theme song. The acting won't overwhelm you but it IS pretty sincere; Jefferson, Tari, and Anderson are engaging leads. And Brian Donohue is a solid villain as bigoted deputy Myrick.

The ending should send you away with a smile on your face. This movie may not be remarkable in any way, but it's still enjoyable for fans of this genre.

Six out of 10.