BaadAsssss Cinema (2002)

I love this movie so much

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Just watched this doc on YouTube. It's a fascinating look at the Blaxploitation film era, roughly 1971-75, and some of the people involved in it who consented to an interview like Pam Grier, Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry, plus Caucasians like Larry Cohen as well as Quentin Tarantino, the latter having grown up watching those films and then putting Grier in his Jackie Brown as a tribute to them. I've seen many of these films when renting videos during the '90s and have reviewed some of them on this site and since many of them are also online, I may review many more in the near future. Many of the movies are of their time but many also still have their merits as entertainment. I mean, Shaft, Coffy, Foxy Brown, and Super Fly, well, they're bad Mutha (Shut Yo' Mouth)! So watch this space for my reviews of those and more...

("BaadAssss Cinema" movie-quote) - "Don't jive me, you lousy, black mother-fukker!!" For the most part - This 60-minute documentary was a pretty entertaining look back at the movie genre known as "Blaxploitation" which came into its own in the USA during the early-to-mid 1970s (and, then, like disco, it faded away into obscurity).Believe me - It was really quite a hoot looking back at the hilarious, bad-boy/bad-girl fashion trends that prevailed amongst blacks during those turbulent days in pop culture. It was all platform shoes, big "Afro" hairdos, and skintight outfits, non-stop.Through a continual parade of blaxploitation film clips, along with interviews from actors, film historians, and directors - The viewer gets a golden opportunity to enjoy a real slice of bad-ass cinema at its absolute baddest.*Final note* - I think that Quentin Tarantino (and his limp-wristed hand contortions) should be christened "The Countess of Flatulence". He really should.

Baadasssss Cinema (2002) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Quentin Tarantino, Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Melvin Van Peebles, Fred Williamson and critic Elvis Mitchell are among the people interviewed for this entertaining documentary that takes a look at the blaxploitation movies of the 1970's. At just under a hour there's no question that this doesn't contain the greatest details but it at least has many of the stars that were in the movies as well as people like Tarantino who has kept the genre alive for new fans to discover. The best thing about this movie is that we get some very good discussions about race relations at the time and how these movies were fresh and original and especially in how these movies helped give black crowds a different type of hero.The documentary covers not only the popularity of these films but also the controversy that haunted them. Both subjects are discussed in great detail and we also get some wonderful clips from various movies. There's also a great interview with Grier who of course was one of the best actresses from this era and certainly one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the screen.

With one exception, this film was an exceptional look at a genre of films overlooked today...the so-called 'blacksploitation' film. Using lots of clips from many of the most important movies as well as a lot of interviews, it's a very nice homage to the pictures.The film begins, well, at the beginning. "Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song" was the first film and the experts talk about it...and completely ignore that the film was among the worst films in Hollywood history...worse than "Plan 9 From Outer Space"!! Its lack of criticism of the film is odd. Sure, it was the first, but it was also the worst and features child pornography and practically no plot. Fortunately, after this rocky start the film does a much better job and goes from "Shaft" to "Superfly" to the films of Pam Grier and Fred Williamson among others. This is very interesting and worth your time....and is a GREAT introduction for folks who are unfamiliar with the genre and want to know where to start...as well as learning what killed these exciting films. Well worth seeing...just wish they's spent less time on "Sweet Sweetback" and perhaps had mentioned some other great films such as "Truck Turner" and "Bucktown" or, perhaps, a discussion of the horrible blacksploitation films! Still, well made and well worth seeing.