Gordon's War (1973)

Director:

Ossie Davis

Writers:

Howard Friedlander (writer)
Ed Spielman (writer)

Release Date:

16 May 1974 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime

Plot:

Four Vietnam Vets go to war against the drug dealers and pimps of Harlem.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Vietnam Vet | Heroin | Pimp | New York City

Cast

Paul Winfield	...	Gordon Hudson
Carl Lee	...	Bee Bishop
David Downing	...	Otis Russell
Tony King	...	Roy Green
Gilbert Lewis	...	Spanish Harry
Carl Gordon	...	Luther the Pimp
Nathan C. Heard	...	Big Pink
Grace Jones	...	Mary
Jackie Page	...	Bedroom Girl
Chuck Bergansky	...	Caucasian killer (as Charles Bergansky)
Adam Wade	...	Hustler
Hansford Rowe	...	Dog Salesman
Warren Taurien	...	Goose
Ralph Wilcox	...	Black hit man
David Connell	...	Hotel Proprieter

Runtime:

90 min | Germany:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1973) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Palomar Pictures

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Spanish Harry is riding the motorcycle being chased by Gordon and he cuts through the park, it cuts to Spanish Harry's point of view and you can clearly see the shadow of the camera mounted to the motorcycle.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Toute une vie (1974)

Soundtrack:

Child of Tomorrow

Believe it or not, this is pretty much the same basic plot as in I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA.

Now in many ways, GORDON'S WAR and the comedy I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA are very, very dissimilar movies. However, if you think about the basic plot, the stories are practically the same. Both feature a soldier coming home to find out someone they love was killed by gangs of pushers. Both then consist of the leading men gathering a group of Vietnam vets to put the hurt on the dealers and eventually kill off "Mr. Big".

Now GORDON'S WAR might easily be categorized as a "Blaxploitation Film", but in many ways it defies the genre. Whites aren't really even mentioned in this film and most of the warfare is directed against Black drug dealers, so the anti-White America rhetoric is missing. Plus, the film, while violent and idealizing vigilantism, has a much more positive message than many films of the genre. But of course, for those who love Blaxploitation, rest assured that this one still has a lot of amazing violence, lots of boobs and tough "take no crap from anyone" leading men.

In this case, the lead is played by a man not associated with the genre, Paul Winfield. Winfield returns from 'Nam to discover that his wife got hooked on drugs and died. Instead of brooding about it, he vows to clean up the ghetto with the help of his army buddies.

The film, while not especially deep, has a lot of action, a fantastic musical score (one of the best of the era) and is entertaining throughout. Well worth viewing.