Coffy, la panthère noire de Harlem

Pam Grier made many movies in the 1970s, but 'Coffy' as much as anything, is the one role on which her reputation as the Queen of blaxploitation rests. After a bit part in a Russ Meyer movie (his classic 'Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls'), Jack Hill, former Roger Corman protege and director of the creepy cult favourite 'Spider Baby', "discovered" her and gave her two strong roles in his popular chicks-in-chains movies 'The Big Doll House' and 'The Big Bird Cage'. Then Hill wrote and directed 'Coffy', a hugely entertaining revenge thriller that really showcases Pam Grier's talent and charisma to the max. The movie was hugely successful and made Grier an exploitation superstar. Instead of a female James Bond character like Cleopatra Jones, Hill made Coffy a regular working class black woman (a nurse as a matter of fact), who must use her brains and looks to achieve her goal - revenge for the drug addiction of her kid sister. The movie crosses elements seen in the male blaxploitation classics of the period like 'Superfly' and 'Shaft' with the vigilante genre which would really kick off with the success of 'Death Wish' the following year (yup, 'Coffy' PREDATES 'Death Wish', so let's get that straight). Grier is sensational in this movie. She can act, she's tough, she pulls off the action scenes with credibility, and of course she looks great, and there is a fair bit of nudity. Grier went on to movies like 'The Arena', 'Sheba, Baby' and 'Drum' before the blaxploitation boom burst, but it's a pity that she only made one more movie with Jack Hill ('Foxy Brown') because they were a dynamite team bringing out the best in each other. 'Coffy' has some interesting supporting cast members including Allan Arbus (best know to fans of TV's 'M.A.S.H.') as Mob boss Vitroni, future 'Robocop' actor Robert DoQui as flamboyant pimp King George, and the brilliant Sid Haig as the sleazy Omar. Haig was a regular Grier co-star throughout the 1970s and Jack Hill's favourite actor ever since his breakthrough role in 'Spider Baby'. If you really want to understand why so many movie buffs from Quentin Tarantino on down worship Pam Grier then 'Coffy' is THE movie to watch. Arguably her best movie, it's a blaxploitation classic and still great viewing thirty years later! Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in 1970s exploitation or crime movies.

Coffy is a superior Pam Grier movie (far superior to Sheba-Baby) and one that typifies the best of blaxsploitation. Grier avenges her little sister's near-fatal drug addiction by killing any sleazy monster even remotely connected with the narcotics trade. The violence will satisfy aficionados: a shotgun blast to the head, a brutal gangland execution in which the victim is tied up and dragged behind a car, and a show-stopping all-female brawl in which Coffy single-handedly takes on a crew of prostitutes at a party -- ripping the tops off of each one who comes within range and even hiding razor blades in her hair for the unlucky girl who dares to pull it. Brilliant tag line: Coffy -- she'll cream you.

The first half of this film is interesting enough, with a strong and smart African-American woman in the lead role (Pam Grier of course), using her brains and body to seek vengeance on drug dealers who messed up her sister. It has a heavy 70's B-movie vibe to it, and there were times when it felt like the feminist aspects of Grier's character were undercut by things like women's tops flying open at what seems like every possible moment. However, the film really picks up steam is in the second half, which has interesting moments in the plot, action scenes that hold together well, and a few social messages delivered as well. Seriously, if the film hadn't gotten carried away in places early on, I think it would be much better regarded, and even as it is, it feels underrated to me.

It's an action movie first and foremost, and an entertaining one at that, but I loved how it talked about the overall system of drugs, starting with poverty being a factor in the chain stretching from users to pushers to all the way back to poor farmers in faraway places, many of whom are people of color. At the top in this system are the affluent, and a chain of mostly white businessmen, corrupt police, and corrupt politicians. The film doesn't hit us over the head with this, and there are good and bad African-American characters, as well as good and bad cops. With that said, images like the rope being put around a black man's neck and then him being dragged from a car, as well as a rich white guy getting off on using slurs and denigrating "exotic" women are pretty meaningful in addition to powerful.

It's really Pam Grier who makes this film though. She simply radiates beauty and strength, and the look in her eyes at times is every bit as mesmerizing as her often talked about body. Her acting may be a little uneven in places but it didn't bother me in the slightest, and I loved her overall performance, which had high entertainment value.

My favorite quote is from the politician (Booker Bradshaw), who is an interesting character in his own right: "You know, you've been listening to my political speeches. I thought you'd be more intelligent than to listen to crap like that."

By 1973 AIP had struck paydirt many times over with Black Caesar and its sequel, the two Slaughter films, several black/horror hybrids like Blacula, and of course the jungle prison sleazies, and now their first black superchick flick Coffy went into production. Jack Hill (The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage) was at the helm again, along with the tried-and-tested formula of Pam Grier and Sid Haig. Coffy is a nurse by day and avenging angel at night, tracking down the dealers who got her sister hooked on the Big H. She opens the film blowing the head off a dealer with a shotgun, then follows the trail of dead bodies to a bald hood named Omar and her crooked politician boyfriend, who she shoots in the balls. "Revenge is a virtue", the soundtrack blares; critics applauded the liberated ballsy lead character while decrying the level of sex and sadism. As revenge actioners go, Coffy don't come better. Grier in her first lead role is a sensation. Little wonder Tarantino tailor-made a film for her.

Coffy has a sister who's addicted, receiving treatment as she's become quite afflicted, so she's taken up the fight, to remove all those who plight, those who peddle, push, promote, will be evicted.

A wonderful performance from Pam Grier who uses all of her assets (and some) as she takes revenge on those who inflict pain and misery through their drug dealing and deception. More than ably supported by Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui and Allan Arbus as those she seeks to rid; I only recently came across this 1973 classic and it's opened a door to the cult filmmaker that is Jack Hill, and the wonderful worlds that he conjured.