The Black Godfather

On the one hand, it's pretty good to focus on a man whose aim is to keep drugs out of his community, but this is silly. The fight scenes aren't as neat as those seen in "Shaft" or "Superfly". An interesting factoid is that Tony Burton, who plays Sonny, has also starred in two of the most famous movies: he played Apollo Creed's trainer in "Rocky" and the garage owner in "The Shining" (on whose set he played chess with Stanley Kubrick).

So, there's nothing special about "The Black Godfather". Like any blaxploitation flick, it's purpose is to show African-Americans being cool. This one succeeds at least partly.

The Black Godfather (1974) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows JJ, a rising drug dealer who can't stand what drugs are doing to his neighborhood. He decides he wants to change how he, and everyone else, do business his neighborhood and get crack off the streets. His business partners don't agree with his epiphany leading to a battle in the streets.

This movie is written and directed by John Evans (Speeding up Time) and stars Rod Perry (The Black Gestapo), Don Chastain (C. C. And Company), Tony Burton (Assault on Precinct 13) and John Alderman (Cleopatra Jones).

This movie had a classic blaxploitation storyline but all the charm that comes with this genre - a great soundtrack, fun attire and style, entertaining dialogue and characters that are easy to root for. There are some worthwhile nudity and sex scenes and the film does a great job of making the main character relatable despite his decisions and actions. The action is very average and the ending is as you'd expect.

Overall, this is an average addition to the blaxploitation genre that I would score a 5/10 and recommend seeing once.

Despite my skepticism about the whole "cash-in" business, I can't deny that the Blaxploitation genre has yielded some remarkable achievements, most notably Larry Cohen's BONE (1972) and Bill Gunn's GANJA AND HESS (1973); unfortunately, THE BLACK GODFATHER would definitely come somewhere near the bottom if such a list was compiled…! Having already updated private detectives, vampires, monsters and what have you to the funkier generation, it was only a matter of time before we also had a colored Don to lord it over the underworld; it's a pity, though, that the mobster here is nothing like his Italian namesake (unless having his bodyguard named Sonny is enough to earn him the title of "Godfather"!).

Anyway, I've already spent far more time writing about this film than it deserves; suffice it to say that the hip dialogue (brimful of catchphrases like "dig", "nigger", "brother", "right on", "the man", "that where it's at", etc.) is risible, the hairstyles outrageously dated, the action sequences amateurish, the compulsory song score mediocre and the acting woeful. Despite all this, I guess I was in a "bad movie watching" mode tonight because I was reasonably entertained by this junk and I can't wait to get my hands on that other Blaxploitation double-feature disc – THE BLACK SIX (1974)/THE BLACK GESTAPO (1975) – which is available for rent from the local DVD store…!

The Black Godfather is boring. It has all the typical elements: the Black mobster who wants to protect the community from the evil white mobster, the corrupt white policeman, the mandatory sex scene between hero and love interest, etc. Unfortunately this movie suffers from a clunky script. The name may be intriguing but this movie is not.

With the help of Kingpin, Nate Williams (Jimmy Witherspoon), a smalltime crook named J. J. (Rod Perry) works his way up to the big time. Unfortunately, as is often the case in these films, mob types are trying to move in on Williams' turf. Their boss, Tony Burton (Don Chastain) has been pushing his dope on the local youngsters, and that will not stand.

THE BLACK GODFATHER is a solid entry in the urban action / crime subgenre. Mr. Perry's character seems to get tougher and wiser as the film progresses. There are several interesting characters, like the bada$$ Diablo (Damu King). He's definitely the sort of guy you'd want on your side.

The final confrontation contains a surprise for old Tony!...