That’s Blaxploitation! 9: THREE THE HARD WAY (Allied Artists 1974)


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An All-Star Blaxploitation cast barrels their way through THREE THE HARD WAY, director Gordon Parks Jr.’s ultra-violent classic that dives into action from jump street and rarely lets up on the gas pedal straight through til the end. It’s the quintessential 70’s action flick whose thin plot only serves to weave a tapestry of wild action set pieces and well-staged stunt work courtesy of stunt coordinator Hal Needham and his stellar stunt gang.

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We’re lured into the action right from the get-go in a pre-credits scene of a desperate young black man escaping from a concentration-camp-like compound. He makes it to L.A. and contacts his friend, the BMW-driving, hot-shot record producer Jimmy Lait, played by NFL great Jim Brown . The kid is then assassinated in his hospital bed and Jimmy’s girl Wendy (Sheila Fraser) is kidnapped. A scene change lets us in on the plot, as white supremacist Monroe Feather and evil scientist…

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That’s Blaxploitation! 8: SUPER FLY (Warner Brothers 1972)


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Pimpmobiles, outrageous fashions, and the funkiest score in movie history are only part of what makes SUPER FLY one of the best Blaxploitation/Grindhouse hits of all time. This low-budget film by director Gordon Parks Jr. captures the grittiness of 70’s New York in a way few larger productions ever could in its portrait of a street hustler yearning to get out of the life.

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Priest is a New York City coke dealer with all the outward trappings of success. As his partner Eddie puts it, he’s got “8-Track stereo, color TV in every room, and you can snort a half piece of dope every day… that’s the American dream, nigga! Ain’t it?”. To Priest, the answer is no. He’s tired of the hustle, the rip-off artists, and the deadbeats like Fat Freddie, and he’s got a plan to get out for good by scoring 30 keys through his mentor Scatter, selling…

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4 Shots From 4 Films: Enter the Dragon, Lady Snowblood, Black Belt Jones, Three The Hard Way


Everyone, at some point in his life, has wanted to learn karate.  The films featured below are a big reason why.

4 SHOTS FROM 4 FILMS

Enter the Dragon (directed by Robert Clouse, 1973)

Enter the Dragon (directed by Robert Clouse, 1973)

Lady Snowblood (directed by Toshiya Fujita, 1973)

Lady Snowblood (directed by Toshiya Fujita, 1973)

Black Belt Jones (directed by Robert Clouse, 1974)

Black Belt Jones (directed by Robert Clouse, 1974)

Three The Hard Way (directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., 1974)

Three The Hard Way (directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., 1974)