Coffy (1973)

Director:

Jack Hill

Writer:

Jack Hill (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

No one sleeps when they mess with Coffy!

Plot:

Coffy is a nurse whose younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Shooting | Vigilante | Vengeance | Shotgun

Cast

Pam Grier	...	Coffy
Booker Bradshaw	...	Howard Brunswick
Robert DoQui	...	King George
William Elliott	...	Carter
Allan Arbus	...	Arturo Vitroni
Sid Haig	...	Omar
Barry Cahill	...	McHenry
Lee de Broux	...	Nick
Ruben Moreno	...	Ramos
Lisa Farringer	...	Jeri
Carol Locatell	...	Priscilla (as Carol Lawson)
Linda Haynes	...	Meg
John Perak	...	Aleva
Mwako Cumbuka	...	Grover
Morris Buchanan	...	Sugarman

Runtime:

91 min | Germany:84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | France:-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:18 | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Shot in 18 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: Vetroni's death: Coffy shoots Vetroni full in the chest with a shotgun, while he is standing in a swimming pool with his heart at the waterline. Vetroni is facing the camera and we see the blast, but there's no blood.

Quotes:

Howard Brunswick: You're upset, you can see that don't you?
Coffy: I can see plenty! I can see how every time a kid rips off a car or an appliance store to get a fix, you get your cut.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Baadasssss Cinema (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Shining Symbol

"Coffy is the color of your skin!"

Pam Grier shines in this hilarious action-packed blaxploitation flick where she first got her name as a 'black pin-up queen' during the early 70's. It is apparent after watching this film that no one remembers this for the bad-acting and dialogue, but for Pam Grier herself as a mean mutha who can kick some a$$ when she has to!

This movie SCREAMS 'early 70's', from the afro wigs to the awesome outfits Coffy finds herself wearing whether it be at a gala for call girls or when she's undercover to kick some drug-dealer's nasty behind!

This brilliant film mixes comedy right in there with the action. From the campy catfight scenes when Coffy dumps a salad bowl onto a blonde girl's head, to when King George makes his first appearance and steps out of his car in his pimp outfit, complete right down to the feather in his hat!!! Just seeing Coffy smash a wine bottle on a table to defend herself against a crackhead wielding a knife is rioutous enough! Watch out for the scene where she puts razor blades in her hair!!!

There is also a lot of unintentional comedy in there as well. Look for the scene where Carter frisks a male suspect who makes the mistake of putting his hands through Coffy's car window!

The action is fairly consistent. There are a lot of guns firing off, endless catfights that result in each girl having their dresses ripped open to expose their breasts(!!!) and an awesome scene that results in King George getting tied up with a noose and dragged through an obstacle course behind a car.

But every time Coffy appears on screen and you just KNOW that some bad stuff is about to go down, you know that you're going to be taken for a fun ride! As I mentioned above, no one is watching this movie for an Oscar-nominated performance or even a decent soundtrack (the "Coffy" theme sung by the Gladys Knight & The Pips-wannabes halfway through the movie is timeless!!!) - you're there to be entertained... and entertained is what you'll get, guaranteed. So invite your friends over for a good time - this is one movie where you don't have to be drunk to enjoy it!

10/10!!