Hell Up in Harlem

Director: Larry Cohen, Janelle Cohen Larry Cohen

Overview

Fred Williamson returns in this sequel to Black Caesar, in which the Harlem mobster fights to regain his power after surviving an assassination attempt.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/29/2017
UPC:	0887090136013
Original Release:	1973
Rating:	R
Source:	Olive
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround EX, Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:35:00
Sales rank:	21,776

Special Features

Trailer; New Audio Commentary with Director Larry Cohen, moderated by Steve Mitchell, Director of the upcoming documentary King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Fred Williamson	Tommy Gibbs
Julius W. Harris	Papa Gibbs,Papa Gibbs
Gloria Hendry	Helen Bradley
Margaret Avery	Sister Jennifer
D'Urville Martin	Reverend Rufus
Tony King	Zach
Gerald Gordon	Mr. DiAngelo
Bobby Ramsen	Joe Frankfurter
James Dixon	'Irish' Bryant
Esther Sutherland	The Cook
Charles MacGuire	Hap
Mindi Miller	Tough Bikini Woman
Fonce Mizell	Composer
Freddie Perren	Composer

Technical Credits

Larry Cohen

Larry Cohen	Director,Screenwriter,Producer,Director,Screenwriter
Peter Sabiston	Executive Producer
Alex Vanderkar	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

This fast-paced sequel to Black Caesar delivers twice the action of that film, yet is only half as satisfying because it lacks the hard-hitting drama and balanced tone of its predecessor. The key problem is its script, which manages to be underwritten and over-plotted all at once. Hell Up in Harlem also suffers from weak villains; little time is devoted to the motivations of characters like Zach and DiAngelo, so they come off as simple cardboard villains merely designed to push the plot along. Fred Williamson and Julius Harris make a compelling father-son criminal team, but their relationship never gets the time it deserves due to the film's unnecessarily complicated plot. On the plus side, Hell Up in Harlem benefits from a slick funk score by Motown producers Freddie Perren and Fonce Mizell. Also, writer/director Larry Cohen does maintain a snappy pace (an action scene occurs about every five to ten minutes in this film), and works in plenty of odd, witty touches like a chase scene that involves its participants boarding separate planes to pursue each other across the country. However, the constant flow of bullets and fisticuffs becomes numbing after a while, because there is no emotionally involving story to back them up. As a result, Hell Up in Harlem feels like the cinematic equivalent of empty-calorie junk food. It's fun while it lasts, but is ultimately unsatisfying.