Boss Nigger

Boss (Fred Williamson) and Amos (D'Urville Martin) are bounty hunters, riding into the city of San Miguel to collect a reward when they find there's no sheriff. Boss nominates himself the new sheriff, and the reluctant mayor (who is working with the local bandits) goes along with it. Now Boss and Amos must clean up crime, defend the poor and win some women's hearts.

What's really amusing about this film is that it received a PG rating. There's some borderline nudity, and they use the N-word something like 200 times. But they never really swear otherwise, the violence is minimal by western standards and there's no sex (though it's hinted). Having seen other blaxploitation films (such as "Sweet Sweetback") I was surprised by the tameness.

They play really heavily on the race issue, not surprisingly. They even institute "black rules" as the new police, which is awesome (including banning the n-word, despite its prevalent use in this film). But the film is not derogatory to whites or blacks, really. It offers an interesting view where white people must be protected by the black man, and things work out fairly well (much to the people's initial chagrin).

Reviewer Vincent Canby of The New York Times described the film as "a pleasant surprise if you stumble upon it without warning." Canby characterized Williamson's acting as "an immensely self-assured parody of the Man With No Name played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's films." I agree with the first part, although I think the second part might be giving this film just a little bit too much credit. But, perhaps not.

Canby finished the review by pointing out what made the film notable among black Westerns: "Most black Westerns either ignore race or make it the fundamental point of the movie. (This movie) somehow manages to do both quite successfully." And on this we agree completely -- race was both the issue and yet completely removed from the real point of the film. Which is why it works; it plays on your insecurities while convincing you they don't exist.

If you can get your hands on this one (I don't know how easy that is), I give it a very high recommendation. My only concern is that someone really needs to get a good transfer with quality picture and sound. The quality I saw was a VHS transfer with grainy footage and mediocre sound. This did nothing to take away from the brilliance of the film, but a smart action film like this one deserves better. Give me digital remastering and a Fred Williamson audio commentary.

I saw the trailer for this on you tube and I laughed for 10 minutes straight ! I decided then to purchase the DVD . I like Fred Williamson , but I have found his filmography to be hit and miss. This movie is quite enjoyable actually and delivers the goods with the action and comedy. Plus we get an awesome Shaft like theme song, while there are better westerns and black exploitation films . This is a solid b movie with a great supporting cast . D'Urville Martin is great as Boss 's sidekick. Not to mention William Smith and R.G. Armstrong are great villains . In less p.c times this was considered fun for the whole family . So round up the whole family and watch Fred Williamson stick it to the man!

Fred Williamson was one of the greatest of the 1970s blaxploitation stars, but as cool as he is, he can't make this one anything more than very average. Williamson and frequent co-star D'urville Martin ('Dolemite') play bounty hunters on the trail of no-good varmint William Smith ('Invasion Of The Bee Girls', 'The Ultimate Warrior', 'Maniac Cop') who bully the mayor of a small town (Peckinpah regular R.G. Armstrong) into letting them become sheriff and deputy. They make sport of the uptight white townsfolk, grab as much cash as they can, and wait for an opportunity to get their man. 'Boss N*gger' can't decide whether it wants to be a serious western or a spoof of the genre, and the comedy is broad, recycles much of the Cleavon Little schtick from Mel Brooks' 'Blazing Saddles', and is basically just not that funny. But when it takes the material seriously it shows promise, and seeing Fred Williamson battle b-grade legend William Smith is worth the rental. Williamson scripted as well as starred, and would have been better advised not to. It's the lame script that really lets this one down. The cast is good, and the direction, by 1950s monster movie favourite Jack Arnold, is strong enough. Williamson's charisma keeps this afloat, but to be honest, it's nothing special.

Fred Williamson and D'urville Martin are two black bounty hunters that stumble into a town that is sorely in need of a sheriff. So what do they do? Why make themselves the sheriff and deputy of course. Now we know the white folk won't take a liking to that, especially the local bandit (played by William Smith) and his gang a' crackers. Not particularly distinguished from the blaxploitation Western sub-sub genre and not nearly as wild as the name suggests, 'Boss N!gger' is still good fun with a lot of humor (supplied mostly by Martin) and well-directed action scenes.

Two black cowboys ride majestically across the American plain. The music is a kind of funk-Morricone, with a singer enthusiastically explaining that "They call him Boss. BOSS N*GGER!" A black woman is being assaulted by a group of white cowboys, our black heroes intervene and save this damsel in distress.

A blaxploitation Western was bound to happen eventually, and its a good thing Fred Williamson got there first. What Boss N*gger lacks in technical proficiency and skill it makes up for in heart and soul. The music is funktacular, especially the catchy theme tune, and the acting from our heroes is wonderful. Boss N*gger also boasts some very funny lines, such as Boss kissing a white woman, before going, "that's just to satisfy your curiosity."

It's slow at parts, but the idea of two black bounty hunters coming to a white town and setting their own rules is appealing, and the film pulls it off. There are also some great shootouts, especially the finale, which is really quite exhilarating, and features a remarkable, almost downbeat ending. This film is by no means a masterpiece, but it is one of the best blaxploitation films I've seen, and an admirable effort on a small budget.