Black Caesar

Black Caesar (1973)

  • 55% of critics liked it
    (11 reviews)

  • 60% of users liked it
    (2,970 ratings)

Cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive) directed this violent blaxploitation film. Nasty racist John McKinney cripples a black shoeshine boy, who grows up to be Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson), the Godfather of Harlem. The crimelord now has his tormentor McKinney (Art Lund) in his pocket, based on… More

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R,
Directed By
Genres
Drama, Action & Adventure
In Theaters
Feb 7, 1973 Wide
MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

  • , Time Out

    Unfortunately it all remains too crude to convince one of its better intentions.

  • , New York Times

    Mr. Williamson, in short, can't be blamed for the plot contrivances that hinge mostly on action and bloodshed.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    Cohen's technique is almost laughably crude, but a core of frightening conviction remains.

  • Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm

    "Paid the cost to be the boss," declares James Brown on the soundtrack, and Black Caesar functions as an itemized bill.

  • Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

    a distinctive pastiche of the tough cynical attitudes held by oppressed minorities the world over.

Read all 9 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Chris W


    This is inextricably linked to the blaxploitation era that it came out during, and it does fit into that area, but I feel like calling this a a blaxploitation film devalues it, or gives people the wrong ideas about it. This actually owes a lot more to the gangster pictures of the… More

  • Cassandra M


    This film is great. Immortalised by Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube on "Burn Hollywood, Burn" from the Fear Of A Black Planet LP, as soon as I heard Driving Miss Daisy being rejected for Black Caesar (listen to the track, you'll understand) I knew that I had… More

  • Daniel H


    Fred Williamson is one of the best actors of the Blaxploitation era, and his performance here is on par with his other work. As a spin-off film, taking previously made plots and story hooks, and incorporating all-black casts for marketability, the film is a success, drawing nicely on… More

  • Byron B


    I have yet to see Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar, but after reading about that movie and other gangster films in the book We're in the Money: Depression American and Its Films, I can see where this pic gets its rise and fall storyline, its style, and its title.The acting is… More

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