The Soul of Nigger Charley (1973)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

Larry G. Spangler

Writers:

Larry G. Spangler (story)
Harold Stone (writer)

Release Date:

4 October 1974 (Denmark)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Nigger Charley Is On The Loose Again. And This Time He's Got His Soul Brothers With Him! WATCH OUT!

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | African American | American Civil War | Blaxploitation

Cast

Fred Williamson	...	Charley
D'Urville Martin	...	Toby
Denise Nicholas	...	Elena
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Sandoval
Kirk Calloway	...	Marcellus
George Allen	...	Ode
Kevin Hagen	...	Col. Blanchard
Michael Cameron	...	Sgt. Foss
Johnny Greenwood	...	Roy
Nai Bonet	...	Anita
James Garbo	...	Lt. Collins
Bob Minor	...	Fred
Fred Lerner	...	Woods
Joe Henderson	...	Lee
Richard Farnsworth	...	Walker

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Sometime Day

"Blax" DVD edition review

This is a review of the BLAX FILM DVD edition, as information on the title seems to be spare, and the film seems available in no other manner. Basically I'd say I did not get ripped off as I only paid about 3 or 4 dollars for the thing ... Plus I'd always had curiosity about a movie with such a lurid title.

Source material seems to be an aged film print, possibly 35mm. It is scratched, filthy, and faded throughout. Contrast almost nonexistent and the wrong lens is used for the "transfer." Box promises 2.35:1 aspect ration but what you get is closer to 1.85:1 and a slightly scrunched image. Focus problems persist throughout and an operator actually wrestles with it at one point and attempts to manually adjust it as the film plays (!!!). The print's raggedy nature adds to the appeal for this viewer but your results may vary. There is hiss and crackle on the soundtrack from beginning to end. Menu screen has a button for "trailers" and "feature" but both result in starting the film. No extras are present.

This sequel to "Legend of N. Charley" is a step in the right direction for whoever decided to make a franchise out of character with such a tasteless name. Charley finds his legend has spread and he is now a well-known folk hero that children worship and fawn over. Film is tonally imbalanced in a 1970's way that seems to straddle grim nihilism and do-gooder adventure simultaneously. Film seems firmly set in "PG" territory until a downer montage showing lots of characters' bloody deaths pops up in the third act. Fred Williamson tries to express emotions such as laughter and sadness as opposed to just 'looking bad and looking cool' and the results are debatable at best. Still, Fred is a fine movie presence and it is his fans that will want to see this movie despite the low quality of the DVD.

Buyers will want to be aware that the "Blax" DVD plays fine and has nice art applied to it but is probably as unprofessional a presentation as one could hope to find outside a NYC sidewalk vendor. Print is bottom-of-the-barrel AWFUL but if you are insatiably curious it gets the job done. However, I would still advise spending as little as possible.