O Poder Negro

I was very impressed by this film and am glad it was finally released on DVD. It is still relevant in 2021 and has even deeper meaning given how little has changed since 1968. It would make a great double bill with the recent film Judas and the Black Messiah. Similar themes but with significant differences.

I hope this film becomes more well-known. It truly deserves attention by everyone interested in civil rights and the political conflict between people who want to be non-violent and the people who are willing to use weapons. In the middle are people who just need some money to live day to day and get basic needs met.

I too saw this movie when it first came out. I was in college and involved in the student movement for more multi-cultural curriculum on campus. The movie was right on target and sensationally provocative at the time. At the end of the movie, just when you think there will be a political cop out in the story line, you're mistaken. The movie follows through on its no holds barred depiction of African American life in the USA at the time. It also depicts accurately how the 'black power' movement was resonating very powerfully in the countries urban ghettos. It is a terrific movie with a fabulous cast.A few years after seeing the movie I became very friendly with one of its stars, Raymond St. Jacques, he told me that "nobody could find a copy of the movie, not even Jules Dassin", it director. Many people felt that the movie industry and "gov't" had moved to squelch the showing of this film. It is curious that no one seems to be able to find a print of this film. Finally the sound track is amazing. Booker T of the MGs created just the right propulsive tension to capture the story's essence. I still listen to the sound track because the songs have such a great groove.

I saw "Up Tight" yesterday (3/25/08) at the Cleveland Cinematheque. It is an interesting, but violent, story about a person who "snitched" on a criminal. The 1968-vintage scenes from Cleveland, ranging from downtown to the steel mills to a post-riot Hough, as well as other east side inner city scenes, is both historic and breathtaking. As a lifelong Clevelander, I enjoyed comparing the 1968-vintage east side scenes to what they look like today, especially the scene at East 55th and Woodland, which is desolate today compared to how it looked in 1968-the Cleveland Trust bank building is now a vacant lot, the Shell station is currently on its third rebuilding, the Sohio station now the site of a post office, the "Saveway" gas station...which advertised 28.9 cent gas!!!...now the site of a fish and chicken restaurant-that was once a Burger King...so many changes over 40 years. Seeing "Tank" going out on the town, buying everyone rounds at the bar with the stolen money, then staggering drunk all over Cleveland broke, makes this film a must-see. I also liked the scene where guns were stolen from a warehouse, with the old-geezer security guard chasing them, then falling. I also liked the scenes, as well as the old pinball machines and shoot-em-up games, at that arcade in the film, which, I believe, was once at East 105th and Euclid. A lot of easily recognizable locations if you are a lifelong Clevelander, or have once lived in the area around the time this film was shot. Sadly, this film was rarely seen since its December, 1968 theatrical release...I would love to see Paramount release this piece of Cleveland cinematic history to DVD someday. I highly recommend it.

One thing about me and my love of movies is that I very rarely prefer remakes. However, this movie is an exception--a film far superior than the original. Now that might surprise you, as Victor McLaglen received the Oscar for Best Actor AND the great John Ford the Oscar for Best Director. Yet, I STILL liked the remake better. Much of it is that "The Informer" has not aged well and is dated. In particular, McLaglen's performance seems over-the-top--very, very unsubtle indeed. Also, while it's hard to imagine someone making a film better than John Ford, it's not as surprising when you learn that it's Jules Dassin--one of the best film directors of the 20th century but whose career was severely affected by the Red Scare--when he was forced to move to Europe and managed to STILL keep making great films.

Dassin decided to remake the story and set it in black America--in 1968. The film was VERY timely, and is set just after the murder of Martin Luther King--a time when black men and women were understandably talking about revolution. While the term 'Black Panthers' was never used in the film, clearly the film is intended to be about them...and their weakest link, a sad and worthless individual named Tank. Also, since time had past since Dassin's exodus from Hollywood, he was now able to return to the States to make a film and this one was made in Cleveland. This locale was great--adding to the realism. In addition, while most of the actors are unknowns (apart from folks like Roscoe Lee Browne and Ruby Dee), they did a great job--and Dassin got the most from them. Overall, a very hard-hitting and enjoyable film--and a nice update to the original.

I was a young man of 30 years when I went to see this film. At the time I thought that the acting was fine and the theme of the movie was brave. The choice of actors were superb. The nakedness of emotion and tenderness of soul pervades this film on a gut level that speaks to the maverick sense that inhabits us all. Over the years hence because of the ways of the world it has stuck in my mind and gained strength. Even though it is a remake of the 1935 film, "The Informer" with Victor McLaglen, I think that political science majors may get more out of this movie than the regular movie buff. I have two copies of the musical sound track by Booker T & the MGs and I have found it to be a powerhouse in rendering this film.