Black Disco

After Foxy Brown (and the later black-esquire Jackie Brown-- both starring Pam Grier), Disco 9000 ranks among the greatest blaxploitation films. Lucky enough to own a 16mm print, I was able to view this otherwise lost gem of a picture. I very much recommend this picture.

Fass Black is the owner of Disco 9000, and the record label, 9000. In his club, he only plays selections from his own label, and rightly so. After a pair of thugs want to muscle their own tracks into the disco, and Fass refuses, the pair send their jackboys off to do some dirty work. Fass is left to decide which is more important: his head or his pride.

9/10

Someone is trying to ruin disco owner Fass Black. Black also owns the hottest record label in town and a rival mogul is trying to muscle in on his business because Black would not "play ball." The movie stars john Poole as Fass Black, with Harold Nicholas, Jeanie Bell and singer Johnnie Taylor. Two then-current its, "Disco Lady" and "Somebody's Gettin' It" are featured. The disco is located (though not mentioned) at 9000 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood. I know, because I passed by it many times during my time there.

Made during the waning days of blaxploitation, this half-hearted attempt at an action quickie features a unique mix of poor acting, amateur night direction and dialog that must have been written on cocktail napkins.

But what really sets the film apart is, for a movie actually set in a disco, it doesn't even manage to make the disco parts interesting! The music is awful, the dancers can't dance to it, and the costuming is actually dull! How the heck do you get dull costuming in a late '70s disco pic? That alone is a stunning cinematic achievement!

The plot, to use the term in it's very broadest sense, has to do with Bellamy, an out of town music mogul, trying force L.A. disco king Fass Black into a distribution deal. The fact that Bellamy seems to produce country & western music, while Fass produces and distributes disco, doesn't seem to faze anyone for a moment.

Also featured in this train wreck is ace tap dancer Harold Nicholas, (who dances not a step!) and a group of dancers from the "Soul Train" TV show who look continually frustrated trying to dance to the terrible soundtrack.

This film begins with a music mogul in Los Angeles by the name of "Fass Black" (John Poole) essentially dictating which disco songs gain prominence on the airwaves there due to his extremely popular nightclub known as the "Disco 9000." Recognizing his influence, a mobster by the name of "Mr. Bellamy" (Nicholas Lewis) decides to pay Fass Black a visit in order to encourage him to play some songs off of the record label he owns. The problem is that Fass Black also has his own record label and, after some quick research, declines the offer due to the poor quality of songs in Mr. Bellamy's record label. Needless to say, this infuriates Mr. Bellamy who subsequently decides to force the issue by having his men vandalize Fass Black's property. What he doesn't understand, however, is that Fass Black is not someone who is easily bullied and is quite capable of taking care of business when needed. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film essentially tried to merge the rapidly emerging disco music phenomenon with the blaxploitation film subgenre. The problem was that-- although disco music was certainly reaching its peak during this particular time--blaxploitation films were no longer in their prime and as a result the film's premise seemed rather odd and out-of-date. Not only that, but throw in some really slow scenes here and there along with some rather unexciting music and I honestly have difficulty rating this film any higher than I have. Slightly below average.