Blaxplo sought resurrection in various hybrid forms, blending with martial arts, comedy, disco musical and assorted varieties of actioners. It had various revivals including the hit and miss 1988 comedy I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and a very dull Shaft remake. It still goes on, IMO, in the various direct-to-video gangsta flix featuring rap stars. But they fail to capture the ridiculous energy and underlying comedy of the originals.
Here are some of the best of the genre: Trouble Man, Hell Up in Harlem, The Black Gestapo, Cleopatra Jones , The Black Six, If He Hollers Let Him Go, Black Vengeance, Watermelon Man, Mr. Big, Five on the Black Hand Side, T.N.T. Jackson, The Mack, Boss Nigger, Across 110th Street , The Legend Of Nigger Charley, Darktown Strutters, Brotherhood Of Death, The Klansmen (with O.J. Simpson as a Klan killer), The Arena, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Three the Hard Way, Black Caesar, Black Belt Jones, Savage Sisters, Car Wash, Lady Cocoa, That Man Bolt, The Big Bird Cage,The Big Doll House, Black Fist, Black Gunn, Black Mama, White Mama, Black Snake, Darktown Strutters, Mandingo, Putney Swope, Sheba, Baby , and Willie Dynamite amongst many more.
For us horror buffs: Ganja & Hess, Blacula, Sugar Hill, J. D.'s Revenge, Dr. Black & Mr. Hyde, Blackenstein, Scream, Blacula, Scream, Abby,
And a nice little site devoted to them- BlackHorrorMovies.com at-
http://www.blackhorrormovies.com/aboutus.htm
Great notable actors: Thalmus Rasulala, Vonetta Magee(Klaus Kinski ex- girlfriend from the 60’s), the recently departed Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace, Rosalind Cash, Paula Kelly, Raymond St. Jacques, Moses Gunn, Duane Jones, Woody Strode, Godfrey Cambridge, Richard Pryor, Jim Kelly, Theresa Graves, Lola Falana, Julius Harris, Grace Jones, Tamara Dobson, Lonette McKee, Bernie Casey, Carol Speed, Brenda Sykes, Max Julien, Robert Hooks, Sheila Frazier, D’Urville Martin, Gloria Hendry, Roscoe Lee Browne and Cleavon Little to name a few. Oh, and a who’s who of white U.S. and overseas character actors(they almost slipped my mind).
Great music: Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and many more.
By Festered