Willie Dynamite [Blu-ray]

Director: Gilbert Moses Gilbert Moses

Overview

Willie Dynamite is a Manhattan pimp whose life and career is documented in this blaxploitation flick. Willie makes it to the top of his precarious profession, only to hit rock bottom again. A social worker tries to get Willie to clean up his act before it's too late.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/08/2019
UPC:	0760137142188
Original Release:	1973
Rating:	R
Source:	Arrow Video
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	24,414

Special Features

Feature-length audio commentary with critic and lecturer Sergio Mims (host and producer of the Bad Mutha' Film Show); Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Roscoe Orman	Willie
Diana Sands	Cora
Thalmus Rasulala	Daniels
Joyce Walker	Pashen
Roger Robinson	Bell
George Murdock	Celli
Albert Hall	Pointer
Norma Donaldson	Honey
Juanita Brown	Sola,Georgia
Royce Wallace	Willie's Mother
Marilyn Coleman	Connie
Mary Wilcox	Scatback
Marcia McBroom	Pearl
Jack Bernardi	Willie's Lawyer
Ted Gehring	Sergeant
Ron Henriques	Cyrus
Wynn Irwin	Bailiff
Richard Lawson	Sugar
Ken Lynch	Actor
Davis Roberts	Judge
J.J. Johnson	Composer

Technical Credits

Ron Cutler

David Brown	Producer
Gilbert Moses	Director
Richard D. Zanuck	Producer
Ron Cutler	Screenwriter
Ronald Pierce	Sound/Sound Designer
Waldon Watson	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Despite its focus on the title character, Willie Dynamite is not the kind of gangsta-glorifying blaxploitation opus one might expect. In fact, it's a surprisingly serious drama that downplays sauciness and comic-book violence to focus on the moral implications of ghetto crime and prostitution. However, Willie Dynamite never quite manages to live up to the power of its convictions due to an unfortunate tendency toward melodrama. For instance, the performances frequently go over the top: Roscoe Orman's otherwise compelling and energetic work in the title role is occasionally undone by some tough-guy excesses, and the many police and pimp supporting characters are a bit too broad to be fully believable. Diana Sands delivers the finest performance as Cora, managing to bring a genuine earnestness and flawed humanity to a character that could have been another bland do-gooder. Also, the script piles on tragedy after tragedy on its title character in a way that undermines the story's believability, before capping the tale with an attempt at an uplifting ending that fails to convince. Despite these problems, Willie Dynamite remains compelling viewing for African-American film enthusiasts thanks to inspired direction by Gilbert Moses. He makes great use of convincingly gritty New York locations and creates some energetic set pieces in the process, including a memorably suspenseful chase in a set of tenements. The film also boasts some above-average production values -- the sets, costumes, and vehicles that depict the pimp lifestyle are genuinely eye-popping. In the end, Willie Dynamite lacks the consistency and dramatic strength it aspires to but remains an intriguing time capsule for 1970s cult-film fanatics.