Original Gangstas poster & wallpaper

Charles Napier, Christopher B. Duncan, Dru Down

Larry Cohen scratched out some of the most memorably offbeat exploitation films of the 1970s, including two of the most energetic blaxploitation action classics: Black Caesar and its sequel, ...( read more  read more... )Hell Up in Harlem, which made a star of Fred Williamson. In 1996 they reunited for this tribute to the good old days and producer-star Williamson brought along a few of his fellow 1970s blaxplo icons: Jim Brown (Slaughter), Pam Grier (Foxy Brown), Richard Roundtree (Shaft), and Ron O'Neal (Superfly). They play old friends and former members of a neighborhood gang in economically depressed Gary, Indiana, who reunite when a new generation of gangbangers using their old street name, the Rebels, turns the city into a war zone. It's great fun to see the old faces back on the screen--Williamson is still buff and tough, and Brown and Grier have become more charismatic with age--but they're let down by a slack script and lazy direction despite an almost nonstop barrage of gunfights and back-alley brawls. Even with revved-up 1990s firepower, the film never really captures the explosive energy of the films that made their reputations. You're better off seeing the originals. Paul Winfield and Isabel Sanford also star, and Cohen casts cult faves Charles Napier, Wings Hauser, and Robert Forster in supporting roles. --Sean Axmaker

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47% liked it

1,690 ratings

R, 99 min.

Directed by: Larry Cohen

Release Date: May 10, 1996

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DVD Release Date: May 15, 2001

Stats: 75 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (75)

  • flynnparadox
    September 19, 2006
    flynnparadox
    Flat action film but the cast is great and I'm sure you've seen *everyone* in something before. Cohen is not always the best director but he can assemble casts better than anyone bar Robert Altman.
  • beher221
    July 11, 2009
    beher221
    Good to see all of the 1970s stars together.
  • heavyd2000
    November 5, 2008
    heavyd2000
    all people that think the new getho life is cool should watch this.
  • MissSherryW
    September 16, 2008
    MissSherryW
    tough call on this one, just not sure
  • MECreviews
    March 24, 2008
    MECreviews
    This movie had potential, but fell through the cracks. To bad.
  • blacksnake2
    January 25, 2008
    blacksnake2
    Blaxploitation reuinion of some BadassMofo's...Sentimentality out of a gunbarrell...
  • perr2fam125
    October 5, 2007
    perr2fam125
    Pays homage to the genre that made this stars famous
  • fredburger08
    July 18, 2007
    fredburger08
    I saw this when I was little and still thought this shit was tough
  • phillyboy1989
    May 15, 2007
    phillyboy1989
    dis was off da chain. i could watch this movie over and over and over

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