Cleopatra Jones (1973)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

the audience applauded

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Needless to say, my favourite Quentin Tarantino film is 'Jackie Brown'. I enjoyed the action, and Tamara Dobson was gorgeous (I can't believe she was 6'2"! Wow!). I wish she had done more movies, and hadn't died so young (at age 59, of pneumonia and multiple sclerosis). Though director Starrett (who died even younger, of kidney failure) mainly did TV work, I loved his 'Race with the Devil', which was from around this time. He was very good at these kind of films, at both presenting action set-pieces and building suspense.I would like to see ALL of these 'urban action' films. Though from my movie-watching experience, I find that I tend to prefer films from before 1970, these films from the 70's are great too, and are a lot more enjoyable to me than most films I see today.I sincerely hope that, like in 'Cleopatra Jones', the filmmakers of today could concentrate on actors' presence and stunts, rather than simply go with CGI. I for one would be a lot happier as a cinephile.

Fun blaxploitation flick about a karate-kicking special agent named Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) taking on a vicious lesbian drug lord named Mommy (Shelley Winters). Statuesque Tamara Dobson is quite an imposing heroine. Not the strongest actress but she can kick ass and look good doing it. Shelley Winters hams it up with glee as the villain ("I'm tired of being a pussycat!"). She doesn't have a single scene where she dials it down a notch. She's at 20 on a 10 scale the whole time. She's a hoot to watch. Bernie Casey plays Dobson's love interest. Bill McKinney plays a racist cop. Others in the cast include Antonio Fargas, Esther Rolle, Brenda Sykes, and Michael Warren. Less gritty and realistic than most blaxploitation films with more of a focus on comedy and cheesiness. That isn't to say this is something you'd let your kids watch, as evidenced by Shelley Winters screaming profanities and racial slurs within the first ten minutes. But it is an enjoyable time-passer for blaxploitation fans.

Cleopatra Jones (the stunningly classy and statuesque Tamara Dobson), a no-nonsense government agent, ace martial artist and funky fashion plate, is determined to rid the inner city streets of heroin. Cleopatra's crusade against smack incurs the venomous wrath of ruthless lesbian drug kingpin Mommy (a positively volcanic portrayal by the redoubtable Shelley Winters). Director Jack Starrett tackles the wacky plot with his trademark go-for-it panache: he keeps the pace snappy throughout and stages the plentiful action with considerable rip-snorting vigor (a lengthy car chase qualifies as the definite stirring highlight). David Walsh's polished cinematography and J.J. Johnson's awesomely funky score (the soulful theme song seriously smokes) are both the authentic gnarly article. The terrific cast have a field day with their colorful roles: Bernie Casey as a dedicated drug rehab center counselor, Antonio Fargas as preening, flamboyant dope pusher Doodlebug, Bill McKinney as a despicable racist corrupt cop, Stafford Morgan as an on-the-take detective, Brenda Sykes as Doodlebug's sexy singer girlfriend, and soft-core film regular John Alderman and a Brit-accented Paul Koslo as two of Mommy's flunkies. Winters in particular has a whale of a time as Mommy: she screams all her dialogue at the top of her lungs, joyfully squeezes the shapely butts of her lovely young female servants, sports a bright red Ronald McDonald fright wig, wears a tight leather outfit, brandishes a riding crop, and totally cuts loose in a rousing, no-holds-barred womano-to-womano physical confrontation with Dobson at the end of the picture. Max Julien of "The Mack" fame not only wrote the zany story, but also co-wrote the witty script. Followed by the equally enjoyable sequel "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold." The Warner Brothers DVD offers a nice widescreen presentation of this delightfully dynamic tongue-in-cheek vintage 70's blaxploitation treat.

I suppose that as a conservative, I should give this movie points for avoiding the normal anti-establishment "blaxploitation" theme (you can't get much more establishment than being a federal agent during the Nixon Administration) and showing blacks working within the system to effect change.But I can't.The only thing that makes John Shaft the cultural icon that he is, is the fact that he was meant to frighten middle-class white people. Without the whole "black man standing up to whitey's system" aspect, *Shaft* is just another dime-a-dozen, derivative private-eye flick (and the sex scenes, effective in the 70s as a play on the "oversexed black man" stereotype, seem pretty sleazy now).And *Cleopatra Jones* is just another dime-a-dozen, derivative supercop flick. Here, the "black thing" is merely a gimmick. It could have been made with an all-white cast with very few changes.Even considered purely as an action movie, it fails. Even the cool car chase has some editing problems, and Tamara Dobson, though a stunningly beautiful woman, simply doesn't have the moves for the fight scenes.About the only really enjoyable scenes are those involving Doodlebug (Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas) and his henchmen.