Os Poderosos Também Caem

Made at the height of the Black Power movement, Boss N****r (or The Black Bounty Killer) is a blaxploitation western that was written and co-produced by genre legend Fred Williamson. Boss (Williamson) and his friend Amos (D'Urville Martin) are bounty hunters who are looking for wanted man Jed Clayton (William Smith), in order to claim a big reward. When they arrive at a small town where they suspect he may be, they discover it has no sheriff, and is instead being run by corrupt Mayor Griffin (R.G. Armstrong). Tired of being controlled by those damn 'whities', they instate themselves as sheriff and deputy, and stamp their own brand of law enforcement on the community.

Whether this is a genuinely angry film, made in the midst of racial tension and the rise of Black Power, or a satirical play on a familiar scenario with the roles reversed, I'm not sure. It certainly made me feel uncomfortable every now and then. There is only one white character in the whole town that treats the Boss as an equal, and he is quick to stamp his superiority over her as he seduces her. I know, this is a blaxploitation film and the theme is practically always sticking to the whities, but this is the kind of stereotyping that the black community were experiencing themselves at the time, which leads me to believe that it may in fact be a play on this.

However, racial themes aside, this is actually a pretty enjoyable western. It doesn't break any boundaries, but it's a delightfully old- fashioned new-sheriff-in-town story, that is suitably both amusing and action-packed when it needs to be. As the Boss, Williamson employs his impressive screen presence the same way he did in Larry Cohen's Black Caesar, taking no s**t from the townsfolk, and charming the ladies. It also benefits from the fact that is had a bit of a budget, as opposed to most blaxploitation films which often looked cheap and amateurish. Good, bloodless fun, that drops more 'N' bombs than a BNP rally.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Boss N#gger is definitely not a prime sample of either western or blaxploitation but it's a genre crossover I'm glad happened because if it didn't happen back in the day it probably wouldn't ever. Perhaps the biggest problem in the movie is Fred Williamson's script, which bears all the marks of an inexperienced writer: too much exposition, flat characterization, scenes that seem to exist only to take the plot from point A to point B. Well, I guess few people are going to see a movie called "Boss N#gger" for its story, but it's details like these that make the difference between Coffy and the multitude of forgettable blaxploits of the early seventies. Williamson's script but be throwaway but when he dons his black cowboy hat and cheroot and transforms into black bounty-hunter Boss, he's as badass as he's ever been. Along with his associate D'Urville Martin ("Sheba Baby", "Dolemite", "Black Caesar") they rescue a black girl from the clutches of bandits before riding into a lawless town terrorized by a gang of cutthroats. He elects himself sheriff and rails against the corrupt mayor of the town and all the bigotry around him. Boss N#gger's seems to exist for no other reason than sticking it to "the man" and in that aspect the balance is heavily tipped towards the blaxploitation end of the equation. This is a blaxploit movie that only happens to take place in the old west. It's still a fairly entertaining diversion with quotable dialogue and all the amusing shenanigans one can expect from having a black sheriff in a town filled with white bigots. A kid is ridden down in slow motion, Williamson says things like "we've got some more whities to catch" and "Mayor, have somebody clean up ma office", D'Urville locks up the bank president for tearing up a note and when the mayor demands he's released he locks him up too for disturbing the peace. What starts as a funky, frolicking action western becomes a lot more violent in the final third and ends on quite a downbeat tone that comes eerily close to Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence. Jack Arnold ("Creature from the Black Lagoon", "The Incredible Shrinking Man") directs.

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.

I had wanted to see this movie for a long time, but I could never find it in any video rental stores. The reason for that probably is the provocative title. I finally got a copy of it for a Christmas present and I sat down to enjoy it. I found some things about the movie enjoyable. As others have said here, the title song is very memorable, though the funk music score elsewhere in the movie is equally enjoyable despite not being western-flavor. Also, Williamson's performance here is great. He makes for a charismatic (and amusing) hero that you hope will succeed, and his abusing of the racist town citizens is good for some laughs.

In fact, Williamson's performance comes close to saving the movie - but the movie ultimately disappoints. It's a low-budget movie, with frequent camera set-ups that were obviously set up quickly. As Williamson's sidekick, D'Urville Martin is mostly wasted. In fact, it wouldn't take very much rewriting to remove his character from the script. Speaking of the script, it is filled with scenes that seem to fill no purpose, and partly because of that the movie is VERY slow-moving at times. If all this fat were cut out, the movie would be much, much shorter-running.

If you decide to watch this movie, a warning about the DVD. Although it's presented at its correct aspect ration (2.35:1), the print looks very crummy, and the audio is weak as well.

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!