The mission of The Department of Afro-American Research Arts and Culture to identify the global significance of the creative contributions pioneered by an international diaspora of Blackness
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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Bare Knuckles (1977)



















Starring:
  • Robert Viharo
  • Sherry Jackson
  • Michael Heit
  • Gloria Hendry

IMDB.com
This is one tough little movie that races along in a series of well done fistic confrontations until its hero bounty hunter Zachary Kane gets his man in a long,drawnout slug fest which brings the picture to a satisfying if exhausting conclusion.Rugged leading man Robert Viharo as Kane makes for a charismatic lead along the lines of the great William Smith whom he resembles.It is typical of many "B" 70s actioners that emerged at the time but is better than most as it has strong,convincing performances from a generally unfamiliar cast and does not pretend to be anything more than what it is;namely a satisfyingly macho thriller that is worth 90 minutes or so of anyone's time.

The Zebra Force [a.k.a. Code Name Zebra] (1976)
















Starring:
Storyline
As the war is nearing an end, the commander of a crack commando team steps on a land mine and is seriously injured. During his lengthy recovery, he masterminds a plan of retaliation to compensate for the sacrifices and hazards that he and his men have suffered in front-line warfare.

Although their post-war activities are highly illegal, they embark on a personal battle against organized crime, utilizing their military training with deadly precision.

The underworld is not without its defenses, however, and they trap a member of the Zebra Force, torturing him into revealing information. Will the underworld off Zebra Force emerge victorious in the high-stakes battle?

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Black Alley Cats (1973)









Starring:

  • Sunshine
  • Sandy Dempsey
  • Charlene Miles
  • Johnnie Rhodes
  • Eve Crawford
  • Norman Fields

IMDB.com
No matter how you look at it, Black Alley Cats is junk. Even for this type of film; this is still below par in the quality department and not everything can be blamed on the low budget. The film is extremely obscure (apparently only seeing the light of the day in the form of a Something Weird VHS some years ago) and that's hardly surprising. The plot begins with a rape and leads into a group of girls taking kung fu lessons and buying some 'mean' jackets, and then going round robbing people as some sort of revenge tirade. The low budget gives way to a very unpolished look which helps the film in the sleaze department. There's plenty of sleazy goings on too and most of the film is made up of either the girls pushing people around or, more frequently, some rather rough sex scenes. This is what really sinks the film; it's all too samey and doesn't have enough about it to keeps itself interesting for the whole eighty minute duration. The acting is stunningly atrocious too; not that I would expect anything else, but the performances are so humdrum that it makes the film even more difficult to get into. Fans of this genre may want to track this film down and may even appreciate it but there are far better examples of films like this out there and that is reason enough to leave this one in obscurity.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Black Rodeo (1972)







Starring:

  • Muhammad Ali
  • Archie Wycoff
  • Clarence Gonzalez
  • Woody Strode
  • Betsy Bramwell

Wiki
Black Rodeo is a 1972 documentary by filmmaker Jeff Kanew. It captures the events surrounding the first-time performance of an all black rodeo in Harlem in New York City. The film's tagline, "Nobody ever told you there were Black Cowboys," was accurate for its time. The documentary depicts that the people who attended the rodeo were awed to find black men and women actively involved in skills like bronc riding, calf roping and brahma bull riding. The children who came were thrilled to discover a new set of role models.