Melvin Van Peebles & Mickey Baker - La Permission (1968)

1. Hard Times
2. Wild Party
3. Spanish Dream
4. Theme De La Permission
5. Generique
6. La Permission

Blaxploitation.com

A quick cinema history lesson: Van Peebles couldn't get a movie job in the USA due to race issues, so he went to France, wrote a novel to qualify for filmmaker rights, then directed his first feature (aka. Story Of A 3 Day Pass) in France. Cue critical acclaim (both abroad and in the USA) and, eventually, a job in Hollywood. Anyway, this is the original soundtrack, only issued on 4 track EP in France. And it's a cracker! Two strong funky jazz cuts on here, one party number, and one superb Moogy organ cut in the theme. Highly recommended, top drawer stuff.

Thanks Frank, you da man!!

D.C. Cab (1983)

Starring:

• Max Gail
• Adam Baldwin
• Mr. T
• Charlie Barnett
• Gary Busey

IMDB.com
They just don't make 'em like D.C. CAB anymore. Many filmgoers will see that as a good thing, but this blatantly '80s ensemble comedy is surprisingly entertaining. The lesser of the Baldwin brothers, Adam, stars as an ambitious young southerner who journeys to the Capital in hopes of breaking into the cab business. He's greeted by a memorable cast of zanies, including future notables such as Mr. T, Gary Busey and Bill Maher. It's not exactly Oscar calibre stuff, but the plot takes interesting twists and turns as the film plows along at a brisk pace. True, some of the humor is crude, yet the movie has an undeniable, cheesy charm. Directed by Joel Schumaker, D.C. CAB is lots of fun, but not necessarily lots of funny.

Inglorious Bastards [A.K.A. G.I. Bro] (1977)

Starring:

• Bo Svenson
• Peter Hooten
• Fred Williamson
• Michael Pergolani
• Jackie Basehart
• Michel Constantin

IMDB.com
We can't deny the fact that some of our American actors traveled overseas to appear in foreign-produced motion pictures. HELL'S HEROES (the video title) stars Fred Williamson and Bo Svenson, who were notably cast together in DELTA FORCE COMMANDO. Italy is by no means similar to Hollywood, and this won't appeal to war film buffs who watch THE GREEN BERETS on TNT. This one gets a lot of credit for actually willing to deliver a good amount of action right until the explosive finish. The violence is rather graphic, noticing soldiers falling out of trains and hitting landfall, but that heightens the reality of the war experience. It isn't rare to find Italian movies sleazy no matter how serious a situation is, and it's best kept that way. Fred Williamson, known for BLACK CAESAR and other "blaction" films, isn't at all a complete waste here, as long as naked broads in the water gain some vengeance in return for him stepping into the party. Well done for an actor known to possess the "mean" image, but he's fair enough as a guy smoking a cigar out to do battle. Enzo Castellari's direction comes to as a surprise for a few "trash" fanatics, just when realizing how he would soon manage to go full force on 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS and GREAT WHITE. A pretty good war flick from Pizzaland. Remember to take it with caution if you've seen Oscar-winning war battles.

100 Rifles (1969)

Starring:

• Jim Brown
• Raquel Welch
• Burt Reynolds
• Fernando Lamas
• Dan O'Herlihy
• Eric Braeden
• Michael Forest
• Aldo Sambrell

Storyline
When an American policeman named Lyedecker comes to Mexico to arrest Yaqui Joe for robbery, he finds himself detained by both an Indian revolution against the Mexican government... and the luscious figure of Joe's sidekick, Sarita! As the government steps up its plan for the Indians — total extermination — Joe's stolen money buys weapons for the battle, and Lyedecker joins the fray. But will it be enough to defeat the sadistic General Verdugo and his army?