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Stars: Ami Dolenz, Andrew Robinson, Soleil Moon Frye, J. Trevor Edmond, Hill Harper, Alexander Polinsky, Mark McCracken, Steve Kanaly, Gloria Hendry | Written by Constantine & Ivan Chachornia | Directed by Jeff Burr

Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings was originally released in the UK at a time when I was heavily getting into horror yet was, legally, still too young to rent 18-rated titles from the local video shop (a shop which to this day I credit with the formative years of my movie tastes). It was also at a time when Jeff Burr was being hailed, at least in some corners of the UK and US horror press, as the future of the genre. After all, he had helmed the fan-favourite Vincent Price-starring horror anthology From a Whisper to a Scream and then the very successful sequel The Stepfather 2, before hitting the “big time” as director on the third film in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.

It’s the summer of “Blaxploitation, Baby!,” the latest festival hosted by Film Forum.

The indie theater announced the upcoming festival which will take place August 16 through August 22. The program celebrates the early ‘70s genre of Black cinema, and features films wth iconic movie stars Pam Grier, Richard Roundtree, Ron O’Neal, Tamara Dobson, Jim Brown, Vonetta McGee, Fred Williamson, Isaac Hayes, and more.

“Blaxploitation, Baby!” is dedicated to author and pioneering film historian Donald Bogle, who collaborated on Film Forum’s first Blaxploitation festival in 1995. Bogle credited Melvin Van Peebles’ filmography for helping to establish the genre. “Blaxploitation, Baby!” additionally ranges from works from directors such as Ossie Davis, Gordon Parks, and Gordon Parks Jr.

As well as the screenings, the festival will include the sales of critic and historian Odie Henderson’s “Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation” and Donald Bogle’s acclaimed TCM book “Hollywood Black” at concessions.

Even the most die-hard 007 fans know that James Bond movies don’t always hit. There’s the yellow face of You Only Live Twice, the pigeon double-take in Moonraker, the surfing in Die Another Day. But never has the franchise done worse than when a certain Louisiana police officer bumbles into the otherwise solid Live and Let Die.

Yes, I’m talking about Sheriff J.W. Pepper, a loudmouth distraction who sort of makes sense in the American-set Live and Let Die, but then he somehow also shows up in Thailand to further drag down The Man With the Golden Gun.

Modern viewers meeting the character for the first time today will likely be confused by Pepper’s shtick. But to the viewers of the early 1970s, Pepper not only hit as a funny joke, but he was very much in line with Bond’s history of pop culture Johnny-come-latelyisms.

Netflix generates more contemporary content than anyone, but they’re dipping into the past to curate the great movies from the ’70s. These are the films that people like myself discovered as kids in the early days of when HBO premiered on cable. Bravo, I say. Here’s the preliminary list.

Alice Doesn’T Live Here Anymore

A widowed singer and single mother starts over as a diner waitress in Arizona, befriending her coworkers and romancing a ruggedly handsome rancher.

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writer: Robert Getchell

Producers: Audrey Maas, David Susskind

Key Cast (Alphabetical): Ellen Burstyn, Jodie Foster, Diane Ladd, Alfred Lutter, Harvey Keitel, Kris Kristofferson, Vic Tayback

Distributed By: Warner Bros. Discovery

Initial Release Date: December 9, 1974

At the 47th Academy Awards, Burstyn won Best Actress

Black Belt Jones

High-kicking Black Belt Jones is dispatched to take down a group of Mafia goons trying to muscle in on a downtown karate studio.

1974 was quite a year for cinema; 50 years later, Netflix (of all places) is celebrating the golden jubilee.

In recognition of the anniversary, the streamer on Wednesday launched a new, dedicated content row (and direct URL link) with the first films being honored under its new “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection” banner. Each of the 14 films came to Netflix this month by way of Warner Bros., Paramount, or Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.

The 1974 collection includes “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Black Belt Jones,” “Blazing Saddles,” “California Split,” “Chinatown,” “The Conversation,” “Death Wish,” “The Gambler,” “The Great Gatsby,” “It’s Alive,” “The Little Prince,” “The Lords of Flatbush,” “The Parallax View,” and “The Street Fighter” (“Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken”).

Netflix doesn’t plan to stop with disco’s heyday. In April, the streaming service will do the same for films from 1984 (turning 40); July will celebrate 1994 movies (turning 30); and in October...

Warner Bros. Discovery has been in and out of the news a lot lately. From its ruthless new attitude toward its films and shows to its perpetual (yet worrisome) money games, there's reason to be concerned — that is, if you're one to keep tabs on that sort of thing. Recent drama aside though, Warner's streaming platform, HBO Max, still boasts one of the strongest catalogs in the game. Even with the merciless culling and routine roster rotations, there's still a ton of good to discover each month.

March will signal another shake-up for the streaming library: HBO Max will be removing quite a few movies and shows this month. Fortunately, there's still plenty of time to check out some of the best projects before they're gone. Let's take a look at the best movies and shows leaving HBO Max in March.

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward...

A couple months ago, we looked back at the 1988 film Pumpkinhead with an episode of our Best Horror Movie You Never Saw video series. Now we’re moving on to an examination of the 1994 sequel Pumpkinhead 2: Blood Wings (watch it Here) – and since this isn’t exactly one of the most popular sequels around, we’re covering it in an episode of our The Black Sheep video series. To find out why we think Pumpkinhead II deserves more appreciation, check out the video embedded above!

Directed by Jeff Burr from a screenplay written by Constantine Chachornia and Ivan Chachornia, Pumpkinhead 2: Blood Wings has the following synopsis: In a small Kansas town in 1958, a group of teenagers torture and kill a disfigured orphan named Tommy. After 35 years, another gang of teens robs the cabin of an old witch. Using some blood and a spell taken from her house, the...

Despite recent strides towards diversity in the James Bond universe, Black female rep in the franchise hasn't always been favorable. Of course, it has a bit to do with the political climate that the franchise was born into. Sean Connery's first outing as Bond came in the midst of the Civil Rights movement in the U.S., but Roger Moore's run — which began with "Live and Let Die" — coincided with the Blaxploitation era. That gave producers the leeway to introduce more Black characters to the world of Bond, including villain Dr. Kananga (Yaphet Kotto) and Bond girl Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry).

While both characters more or less made Bond history, neither feels like a real win in hindsight. "Live and Let Die" pits nearly every Black character against Bond (which is never a good look) and misinterprets key aspects of Black culture in the process. None of this is...

Gritty inner city crime pix don’t get any rougher than this — I witnessed the walk-outs personally. Barry Shear and a crack crew filmed in Harlem for this downbeat crime pic that could be called ‘Every Thief For Himself.’ Paul Benjamin just wants to score some mob money and leave the mean streets behind — but a single slipup brings the worst of the Mafia and the black mob down on his neck. It’s neither a ‘stick it to whitey’ saga nor a plea for justice: it’s story 8 million and 1 in The Naked City. Stars Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa and Yaphet Kotto provide more acting fireworks, with solid assistance from Gloria Henry, Antonio Fargas and Marlene Warfield.

Across 110th Street

Region-Free Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 120

1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date April 27, 2022 / Available from / Aud 34.95

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa, Paul Benjamin, Ed Bernard, Antonio Fargas, Richard Ward,...

No Time to Die marks just the fifth time MGM’s James Bond franchise will have featured a Black woman in a major role and actress Lashana Lynch is taking that representation seriously.

In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, the No Time To Die star and new 007 says that the four Black actresses that came before her — Gloria Hendry, Grace Jones, Halle Berry and Naomie Harris — in the Bond franchise’s 25 film catalog “were fantastic” and that she sees them as her onscreen family.

“When Halle Berry was in it, when Naomie was in it ...

No Time to Die marks just the fifth time MGM’s James Bond franchise will have featured a Black woman in a major role and actress Lashana Lynch is taking that representation seriously.

In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, the No Time To Die star and new 007 says that the four Black actresses that came before her — Gloria Hendry, Grace Jones, Halle Berry and Naomie Harris — in the Bond franchise’s 25 film catalog “were fantastic” and that she sees them as her onscreen family.

“When Halle Berry was in it, when Naomie was in it ...

It’s the brightest debut feature of 1970, and perhaps the warmest movie ever about the American race divide. Hal Ashby and Bill Gunn’s work is inspired: rich boy Beau Bridges buys a slum tenement and launches a wonderful ensemble comedy-drama in confrontation with the fantastic quartet of actresses — Lee Grant, Diana Sands, Pearl Bailey and Marki Bey. The humanist picture doesn’t cheat on its subject matter. The cast list contains fresh debuts and and more best-of-career showings: Louis Gossett Jr., Melvin Stewart, Susan Anspach, Robert Klein.

The Landlord

Blu-ray

1970 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date May 14, 2019 / 29.95

Starring: Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands, Pearl Bailey, Walter Brooke, Louis Gossett Jr., Marki Bey, Mel Stewart, Susan Anspach, Robert Klein, Will Mackenzie, Trish Van Devere, Hector Elizondo, Marlene Clark, Gloria Hendry, Bobby V. Garvin.

Cinematography: Gordon Willis

Film Editor: William A. Sawyer, Edward Warschilka

Original Music: Al Kooper

Written by...

By Jeremy Carr

The success of Larry Cohen’s 1973 Blaxploitation classic, Black Caesar, was so immediately evident that producer Samuel Z. Arkoff, then head of American International Pictures, put the sequel wheels in motion almost instantly. The follow-up, Hell Up in Harlem, was released just 10 months later, still in 1973. Such a hasty turnaround certainly makes its mark on the completed picture, with a frenetic tempo, chaotic storyline, and haphazard construction that all seems to mirror its own pace of production. Yet even in the face of this slapdash development, the film itself is thoroughly entertaining, if not quite living up to its predecessor.

Reprising his role as Tommy Gibbs, the shrewd criminal entrepreneur who worked his way up through the underworld ranks in Black Caesar, Fred Williamson starts off the sequel in dire straits. As seen in the earlier film, Tommy had proudly flaunted an aggressive charm, with a sly...

A viral video of 007’s most misogynist moments is a reminder that this most enduring of characters no longer fits the archetype of a hero

Should we watch old movies with one eye on the time and place in which they were made, or view them through a more modern mindset? That is the question the Twittersphere has been pondering after a video depicting some of James Bond’s most misogynist moments went viral on social media.

In chopping together scenes in which Her Majesty’s top spy takes advantage of vulnerable women, slaps bottoms and physically restrains women until they submit to sex, a YouTube cut-and-paste merchant who goes by the name Guru Kid has even missed most of 007’s nastiest behaviour. For starters, how about when Sean Connery’s Bond tries to beat a confession out of Daniela Bianchi’s Tatiana Romanova in 1963’s From Russia With Love?...

Director and documentarian Mark Hartley scores both a film history and comedy success with this ‘wild, untold’ account of the 1980s film studio that was both revered and despised by everyone who had contact with it. The ‘cast list’ of interviewees is encyclopedic, everybody has a strong opinion, and some of them don’t need four-letter words to describe their experience!

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

On a double bill with

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

Blu-ray

Umbrella Entertainment (Au, all-region

2014 / Color / 1:77 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / Available from Umbrella Entertainment / 34.99

Starring: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Al Ruban, Alain Jakubowicz, Albert Pyun, Alex Winter, Allen DeBevoise, Avi Lerner, Barbet Schroeder, Bo Derek, Boaz Davidson, Cassandra Peterson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Charles Matthau, Christopher C. Dewey, Christopher Pearce, Cynthia Hargrave, Dan Wolman, Daniel Loewenthal, David Del Valle, David Paulsen, David Sheehan, David Womark, Diane Franklin, Dolph Lundgren, Edward R. Pressman,...

Four black women who’ve appeared in James Bond films are speaking out about the impact the iconic franchise has had on their careers. Trina Parks, Gloria Hendry, Halle Berry and current Bond star Naomie Harris joined forces Tuesday night in Los Angeles for the Black Women of Bond Tribute, hosted by Essence Magazine and the African American Film Critics Association. “I really am so proud to be here because there are women that I really respect and admire and have paved the way for me to become Miss Moneypenny, so I really want to say thank you to them,...

Live and Let Die

Written by Tom Mankiewicz

Directed by Guy Hamilton

UK, 1973

1973’s Live and Let Die unleashed a new kind of Bond upon the world, a Bond whose bland propriety and vacuous quips would dominate the screen for another twelve years. Roger Moore, taking over for Sean Connery, the third different Bond in three films, had enjoyed popular success as a television star on mystery series “The Saint.” He had originally tested for the role prior to inaugural series entry Dr. No, but was deemed “too pretty” by Bond producers Harry Salzman and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. Sean Connery had only grudgingly agreed to return for 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, and had no interest in continuing further due to tension with the producers. Salzman was not a fan of the choice of Moore, but was overruled by Broccoli, who saw in the TV star the opportunity to create an...

Cult director Larry Cohen’s sophomore feature, Black Caesar gets a Blu-ray treatment courtesy of Olive Films. One of two bona fide Blaxploitation efforts Cohen made with Fred Williamson before lurching into the upper echelon of cult genre with his notable guerilla techniques, this basic reworking of 1930s gangster films, (borrowing from items such as Mervyn LeRoy’s iconic presentation of Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar) displays a bit more integrity in its characterizations than many of these exploitation efforts lack. Reworking a familiar bildungsroman trajectory, Cohen positions his protagonist as an opportunistic product of his environment, leaving us with a moral uncertainty as his hero is completely consumed, an inevitable result of continued sustenance from the gutter. By today’s standards, it’s incredibly problematic rendering of urban certainties has the tendency to repulse, and yet Cohen instills Williamson with a bit of presence and dignity often lacking...

Stars: Ami Dolenz, Andrew Robinson, Soleil Moon Frye, J. Trevor Edmond, Hill Harper, Alexander Polinsky, Mark McCracken, Steve Kanaly, Gloria Hendry | Written by Constantine & Ivan Chachornia | Directed by Jeff Burr

Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings was originally released in the UK at a time when I was heavily getting into horror yet was, legally, still too young to rent 18-rated titles from the local video shop (a shop which to this day I credit with the formative years of my movie tastes). It was also at a time when Jeff Burr was being hailed, at least in some corners of the UK and Us horror press, as the future of the genre. After all, he had helmed the fan-favourite Vincent Price-starring horror anthology From a Whisper to a Scream and then the very successful sequel The Stepfather 2, before hitting the “big time” as director on the third film in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.

You know, if even the great Fred “The Hammer” Williamson is getting into this whole Kickstarter thing, then maybe I’m going to have to admit that there’s something to it.But that right folks. Wlliamson has just started a Kickstater campaign to raise $1.2 million in 60 days to make a sequel to his 1996 film Original Gangtas..Coming back for the film are the original stars of the first one: Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier,and Richard Roundtree, and also Bernie Casey, Gloria Hendry, Antonio Fargas and Robert Forster.My God, it’s like I’ve gone back in time to a Saturday matinee in 1973.And if Spike could raise the money for his next project using Kickstarter, why not...

The gangster genre’s central protagonist (antagonist?) is conspicuous in his journey from street kid to street king by coveting the finest fabrics and tailoring that money can buy. He becomes a vain, petty man destroyed by inability to reconcile his old simpler world with the politics of his new one. It is no accident that most of the principal characters in gangster films are minorities, symbolising a detachment from society and upending of the American dream. He/she can be as rich and powerful as he/she wants, but for those born on the wrong side of the tracks (i.e. minorities, if conforming to the genre model), the only way to fulfil this dream is through crime.

Many blaxploitation films take this same storyline as positive reinforcement of the late 1960s Black Power movement. These low-budget movies were made, for the most part, by African American males for African American males.

Eddie Romero dies: Filipino filmmaker best known for his exploitation horror and action movies Eddie Romero, one of most best-known Filipino filmmakers, died of prostate cancer on Tuesday, May 28. Romero was 88. Named a National Artist of the Philippines in 2003, Romero (born on July 7, 1924, in Dumaguete City) began his film career in the late ’40s, when The Philippines were still recovering from the devastation of World War II. His international reputation rests chiefly on his low-budget horror and action movies; usually Filipino / American co-productions made in collaboration with actor-producer John Ashley. Among those are the the horror sci-fier Brides of Blood (1968), featuring veteran Kent Taylor, Beverly Powers, tropical-island natives, and radioactively mutated human-eating plants; Beast of Blood (1971), featuring John Ashley and a headless monster; The Twilight People (1972), which has no connection to either Stephenie Meyer or the Cullen Clan — in the film, reminiscent of Erle C. Kenton’s Island of Lost Souls...

 

Sean Connery and Lana Wood in Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Throughout the month of April, the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California will be presenting big screen showings of classic James Bond movies including On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die, Octopussy, Licence to Kill and Diamonds Are Forever. Each screening will feature appearances and discussions with a star or stars of a specific film including George Lazenby, Benicio del Toro, David Hedison, Trina Parks, Lana Wood, Kristina Wayborne, Maud Adams and Gloria Hendry. Click here for info and to view original theatrical trailers. ...

After all the debates, controversies, and stereotype accusations have cleared, looking back on Blaxploitation cinema today it’s easy to see healthy portions of the crime and action genres. Using these genres and the struggles of the black community, these films were created for those that wanted to see African American characters on the big screen not taking shit from the man, “getting over”, and–above all else—being the heroes in movies. In the documentary Baad Asssss Cinema, Samuel L. Jackson gives his take on the heroes of Blaxploitation: “We were tired of seeing the righteous black man. And all of a sudden we had guys who were…us. Or guys who did the things we wanted those guys to do.”

The unsung supporting players in these films that backed Fred Williamson and Pam Grier and many other stars were people acting and making a living off of it.

Live and Let Die

Written by Tom Mankiewicz

Directed by Guy Hamilton

UK, 1973

1973′s Live and Let Die unleashed a new kind of Bond upon the world, a Bond whose bland propriety and vacuous quips would dominate the screen for another twelve years. Roger Moore, taking over for Sean Connery, the third different Bond in three films, had enjoyed popular success as a television star on mystery series “The Saint.” He had originally tested for the role prior to inaugural series entry Dr. No, but was deemed “too pretty” by Bond producers Harry Salzman and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. Sean Connery had only grudgingly agreed to return for 1971′s Diamonds Are Forever, and had no interest in continuing further due to tension with the producers. Salzman was not a fan of the choice of Moore, but was overruled by Broccoli, who saw in the TV star the opportunity to create an...

James Bond 007 Declassified File #8: "Live And Let Die" This series will trace the cinema history of James Bond, while also examining Ian Fleming's original novels as source material and examining how faithful (or not) the films have been to his work. Directed by Guy Hamilton Screenplay by Tom Mankiewicz Produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli Characters / Cast James Bond / Roger Moore Dr. Kananga aka Mr. Big / Yaphet Kotto Solitaire / Jane Seymour Tee Hee Johnson / Julius Harris Felix Leiter / David Hedison Rosie Carver / Gloria Hendry Baron Samedi / Geoffrey Holder Quarrel...

Former Bond girl Gloria Hendry is set to see her name in lights as the writer and director of a new play, which will open in Los Angeles at the end of October.

The former Playboy Bunny will debut Glamour Girls at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles for three weeks from 28 October.

Hendry played Rosie Carver opposite Roger Moore's 007 in Live and Let Die, becoming the first African American woman to romance Bond.

The new play is based partially on Hendry's experiences as one of the first black women to enter the New York Playboy Club empire, where she worked from 1965 to 1972.

Reports, as yet unconfirmed, have it that Bérénice Marlohe will be your new Bond girl. If you've only now just heard of the French actress, then what else is new? The spy franchise has a long history of going rogue and casting the unknown—if not the unlikely—as the yin to 007's considerable yang. Meet five other actresses whose Bond casting raised eyebrows: 1. Halle Berry: It's not as if Berry weren't qualified to be a Bond girl. (Exhibit A: The bikini scene.) It's that she seemed overqualified. At the time Berry signed on for Die Another Day, she was an established star who was on her way to an Oscar for Monster's Ball. 2. Gloria Hendry:...

 

Moore with Gloria Hendry in Live and Let Die (1973), his first Bond film.

It has officially been announced that Sir Roger Moore will write a book titled Bond on Bond to be published in September 2012 by Pollinger, the company that published his best-selling autobiography. The book's release will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 007 film series. In the book, Sir Roger will share his thoughts about every aspect of the Bond phenomenon, including personal memories and his thoughts about Bond's gadgets, cars and villains. For more click here...

The scene below is a great example of why I love those blaxploitation films from the 1970′s so much. Those of you born after them can laugh at those weird clothes and think they’re campy, but for me they were everything.

I loved watching strong black men and strong black women doing their thing. What do you have today in movies? Black men in drag, and weak black women in trapped abusive relationships, looking for some God fearing knight in shiny armor to save them. Give me Jim Brown any day, or Gloria Hendry from this scene from 1974′s Black Belt Jones.

In the scene, Sydney (Hendry) visits a pool hall to find the man who had her father killed, and who has targeted his next of kin as well, not knowing that Sydney is a woman . Oh yes, one more thing; no doubt some of you will be...

Got quite a few today – more than yesterday…

Rapper Tone Loc (aka Anthony Terrell Smith) is 44 today. Did you know that the music video to Wild Thang, the track that launched him into super-stardom in the late 80s, reportedly only cost $340 to make? It looked like it . Loc has been busy in recent years acting in bit parts here and there for TV shows mostly. He’s also seen some of his most popular tracks used in a few movie soundtracks – most recently, Armored, Obsessed, You Me And Dupree, Charlies Angels: Full Throttle and others. I certainly hope he’s collecting royalty checks!

Actor Robert Gossett (cousin of Louis Gossett Jr) is 56 today; The man’s done a lot of TV work, with likely his most recognizable role as Commander Taylor on TNT’s The Closer. He’s also done the soap opera dance, with parts in The Young & The Restless and Passions.