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Jan. 2001 ist beigetreten
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Forget the blaxpop label, SUPER FLY is a minor classic that made a fortune for Warner Bros. Studios in 1972-73. This slick urban romp appealed to all audiences, the evidence was lofty VHS sales (why this hasn't hit DVD I don't know) and a soundtrack that was instant hall of fame material.
Ron O'Neal as Priest, is only different from some 80's Wall Street green mailers, by the cut of his clothes and the curb feelers on his Eldorado Custom (the car used in the film actually belonged to one of NYC's bigger pimps). Like the yuppie trash in WALL STREET, Priest is also looking for one big score so he can quit the business: in this case, pushing cocaine.
"I know it's a rotten game, " opines Eddie, Priest's friend and business partner. "But it's the only one the man left us to play." Social ills commentary aside, SUPER FLY never gets heavy handed, preachy or cheap. It moves and plays out nicely. The acting is credible, both lead and support. The late Carl Lee is a powerhouse as Eddie and when he tells Priest, "{i}f it wasn't for you I'd be OD or in prison," you feel for his certain impending condemnation. O'Neal, a classics trained actor no less, never camps it up despite the (now laughable) wardrobe. He makes Priest likeable, even though self identification with the dope man is limited.
The legacy of the film is the Curtis Mayfield soundtrack. There are not enough adjectives to describe it's brilliance. Mayfield was a genius, his work after SUPER FLY was never equaled simply because it couldn't be. To date, every track plays as powerfully as it did its first time. The true test of time honor.
Ron O'Neal as Priest, is only different from some 80's Wall Street green mailers, by the cut of his clothes and the curb feelers on his Eldorado Custom (the car used in the film actually belonged to one of NYC's bigger pimps). Like the yuppie trash in WALL STREET, Priest is also looking for one big score so he can quit the business: in this case, pushing cocaine.
"I know it's a rotten game, " opines Eddie, Priest's friend and business partner. "But it's the only one the man left us to play." Social ills commentary aside, SUPER FLY never gets heavy handed, preachy or cheap. It moves and plays out nicely. The acting is credible, both lead and support. The late Carl Lee is a powerhouse as Eddie and when he tells Priest, "{i}f it wasn't for you I'd be OD or in prison," you feel for his certain impending condemnation. O'Neal, a classics trained actor no less, never camps it up despite the (now laughable) wardrobe. He makes Priest likeable, even though self identification with the dope man is limited.
The legacy of the film is the Curtis Mayfield soundtrack. There are not enough adjectives to describe it's brilliance. Mayfield was a genius, his work after SUPER FLY was never equaled simply because it couldn't be. To date, every track plays as powerfully as it did its first time. The true test of time honor.
One of the best film soundtracks of the last 10 or 50 years, I wore out a cassette in my Infiniti M-30 in 1991. I also wore out a VHS copy of the film. I now have a CD of the soundtrack, but this 1985 masterpiece needs to get to DVD as of last hour.
"Jimmy Hart, was more than my partner, he was my best friend for 7 years," Richie Chance tells naive G-man John Vukovich. "He was the most righteous guy I ever knew...He had 2 days left, that was it." Chance knows who killed his partner and swears vendetta. It's a plot that's been done countless times, but when the words are venomously spewed by Chance (I'm gonna get Masters and I don't give a sh*t how I do it,"), it's not just talk. It's a prophecy. And suddenly you're on fresh ground.
William Friedkin knows cop dramas, he knows formula and he seldom screws up. Working William L. Petersen, Wilem DaFoe and Dean Stockwell, like the plate of a fake $20 bill, TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA is an incredible drama showing a City of Angels that is anything but angelic. This is the seamy side of LA, skeletonly explored in a handful of films, but here the grit sticks like downtown smog.
Great line: (From Stockwell's character): "I make no apologies for being a lawyer. If I hadn't taken the case, someone else would have without a doubt."
And you have to give DaFoe's Rick Masters his due: cop killer, thief, pyromaniac, voyeur... He drives a Ferrari too.
This is a modern classic.
"Jimmy Hart, was more than my partner, he was my best friend for 7 years," Richie Chance tells naive G-man John Vukovich. "He was the most righteous guy I ever knew...He had 2 days left, that was it." Chance knows who killed his partner and swears vendetta. It's a plot that's been done countless times, but when the words are venomously spewed by Chance (I'm gonna get Masters and I don't give a sh*t how I do it,"), it's not just talk. It's a prophecy. And suddenly you're on fresh ground.
William Friedkin knows cop dramas, he knows formula and he seldom screws up. Working William L. Petersen, Wilem DaFoe and Dean Stockwell, like the plate of a fake $20 bill, TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA is an incredible drama showing a City of Angels that is anything but angelic. This is the seamy side of LA, skeletonly explored in a handful of films, but here the grit sticks like downtown smog.
Great line: (From Stockwell's character): "I make no apologies for being a lawyer. If I hadn't taken the case, someone else would have without a doubt."
And you have to give DaFoe's Rick Masters his due: cop killer, thief, pyromaniac, voyeur... He drives a Ferrari too.
This is a modern classic.
Why isn't the classic Rolling Stones song this shows opening theme? Just as every cop is a criminal/And all the sinners saints. Afterall, CSI has "Who Are You" and it rocks week after week. Just like this show.
This is a first rate morality play that never gets heavy handed. It's a simple question: Who is worse? The corrupt police Strike Team, or the street trash they put away? If the cops control the drug trade, can they in turn control crime by taking out the not conforming crooks who refuse to play with a rigged deck?
These are bad guy cops that you can't help but like and you pull for even their most foul deeds, as murdering a fellow cop turned informant. Like the Mafia, they kill and then cry the loudest at their victim's funeral. It's a fascinating cop drama that dares to take on the underbelly of society. Solid acting and some hilarous dialogue (Episode 11, CARNIVORES, is a laugh fest with the cops exchanging quips with the Nation of Islam, no less!).
Shawn Ryan has the vision few seldom get to explore. Cheers to FX for their gutsy programing decision.
This is a first rate morality play that never gets heavy handed. It's a simple question: Who is worse? The corrupt police Strike Team, or the street trash they put away? If the cops control the drug trade, can they in turn control crime by taking out the not conforming crooks who refuse to play with a rigged deck?
These are bad guy cops that you can't help but like and you pull for even their most foul deeds, as murdering a fellow cop turned informant. Like the Mafia, they kill and then cry the loudest at their victim's funeral. It's a fascinating cop drama that dares to take on the underbelly of society. Solid acting and some hilarous dialogue (Episode 11, CARNIVORES, is a laugh fest with the cops exchanging quips with the Nation of Islam, no less!).
Shawn Ryan has the vision few seldom get to explore. Cheers to FX for their gutsy programing decision.