Gordon's War (1973)

50% of users liked it
(63 ratings)

In this incredibly violent actioner, a soldier returns from the war in Vietnam and finds that his Harlem neighborhood has become a drug-filled war zone of its own. The final straw comes when his wife overdoses. The grief-stricken vet quickly assembles a group of vigilantes to clean up the streets… More In this incredibly violent actioner, a soldier returns from the war in Vietnam and finds that his Harlem neighborhood has become a drug-filled war zone of its own. The final straw comes when his wife overdoses. The grief-stricken vet quickly assembles a group of vigilantes to clean up the streets and exact vengeance upon the drug dealers who sold his wife the bad stuff. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Ossie Davis
Genres: Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Aug 9, 1973 Wide

Critic Reviews

, New York Times
The picture is inconclusive, far from profound, and the urgency of the theme has been overly simplified to fit the action.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
This totally unbelievable 1973 feature about black vigilantes out to break the Harlem drug traffic displays the same fatuous moral attitudinizing that mars most of the neofascist Fun City crime flicks of the period.
Derek Adams, Time Out
Raised out of the ordinary by an ingenious safe raid, an above-average car chase, and some nice location work.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cassandra M

Paul Winfield stars as the eponymous hero in this highly satisfying, gritty and violent actioner in which after returning home from Nam and finding his beloved wife has died of an overdose, our hero decides to wage war on the drug pushers, pimps and general low life infesting the… More
Paul Winfield stars as the eponymous hero in this highly satisfying, gritty and violent actioner in which after returning home from Nam and finding his beloved wife has died of an overdose, our hero decides to wage war on the drug pushers, pimps and general low life infesting the streets of Harlem. Unfortunately, Gordon is brought to the swift realisation (painfully!) that one man alone is not enough to tackle the problem, so enlists the aid of some old army buddies including the ever super cool Tony King and promptly sets about coming down heavy on the nefarious wretches who are destroying the neighbourhood. Bucket loads of glorious violence and some fine action set pieces follow in this solidly rendered flick which is all the more sadly, so little known. Winfield, although hardly pushed in this, is fine as ever as are the rest of the cast and the director really succeeds in making us care about these protagonists in the ever more perilous situation they find themselves in. Special mention also to the highly exciting final chase scene in this although the final conclusion involving the assassination of the apparent 'real' top dog running all of the drugs business in the area is regretfully somewhat confusing not to mention unsatisfyingly abrupt. Nonetheless, such a small matter in no way detracts from the overall entertainment value of all that precedes it. Highly recommended.

Cast

David Downing
as Otis
Grace Jones
as Mary
Tony King
as Roy

Gilbert Lewis
as Spanish Harry
Hansford Rowe
as Dog Salesman
Adam Wade
as Hustler

See full cast

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Gordon's War (1973)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Cassandra M

Cast

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