Blaxploitation film about three martial-arts specialists who prevent white supremacists from tainting the U.S. water supply with a toxin that's only harmful to black people.Blaxploitation film about three martial-arts specialists who prevent white supremacists from tainting the U.S. water supply with a toxin that's only harmful to black people.Blaxploitation film about three martial-arts specialists who prevent white supremacists from tainting the U.S. water supply with a toxin that's only harmful to black people.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Videos1
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
- Taglines
- Action explodes all over the place when the big three join forces to save their race!
- Genres
- Certificate
- R
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaEight years after this film's release, Fred Williamson produced, directed and wrote One Down, Two to Go (1982), which reunited him with his co-stars on this film,Jim Brown, and Jim Kelly along with Richard Roundtree as the major addition to that film. Williamson conceived the idea of doing another sequel after there was a break in his schedule between the filming of The Big Score (1983), and Vigilante (1982). The funding for the film, the film crew, scouting locations and actors all came together quickly and would film for about a month. Years after the film was made, Williamson considers One Down, Two to Go (1982) as a true sequel to Three the Hard Way (1974)
- GoofsIn the Chicago sequence, Jimmy and Jagger are chasing one of the white supremacists through town and they pass the same man twice.
- Quotes
Dr. Fortrero: This little mixture of mine is as lethal as cyanide and as selective as a lady buying perfume.
Monroe Feather: It goes to work on the black folks, leave the rest of us alone? You better be damn sure!
Dr. Fortrero: Just like sickle cell anemia, Mr. Feather. And like sickle cell anemia, it will not affect people of the caucasian race. My personal guarantee.
Monroe Feather: How fast does this stuff work?
Dr. Fortrero: Seventy-two hours at the most.
Monroe Feather: Took God seven days to create the world. We can cleanse it, in just three.
- Alternate versionsAdditional scenes were added to the TV version to pad out the running time and for content.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-in Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 4 (1997)
- SoundtracksWendy
Music by Richard Tufo
Lyrics by Lowrell Simon
Performed by The Impressions (as Impressions)
Courtesy of Buddah and Curtom Records
The problem is that because the script was anemic of healthy plot twists, padding is embarrassingly in full effect...including an overly long speedboat sequence that plays like a vanity piece for Williamson to pose and look pretty (with a second classy lady by his side less than 5 minutes after leaving the first one - "playa-playa," we get the point), and an equally long stretch of the aforementioned leather-clad "hench-bitches" rumbling into town on their choppers. That's too much celluloid cellulite wasted on characters styling and profiling, and not enough story intricacies to keep the tension tightly mounted.
When things do heat up, it's great to see the three stars interact. Ironically, MVP honors go not to former football giants Brown or Williamson but to Jim Kelly, whoopin' on a crooked cracker cop that makes the mistake of planting some illicit substances in his gold-plated ride. "Wanna set me up," Kelly asks with most righteous indignation, then proceeds to kick the pig's ass all over both sides of a Windy City side street! Director Gordon Parks, Jr. should have also let the soul brothers have more hang time without making them jump straight into their mission to save all brotherhood - maybe even a flashback to when they were youngbloods, foreshadowing their personalities as grown men. While the stars' talents weren't totally wasted, "Three the Hard Way" should have been much more epic.
Someday an ambitious director and a cast of wanna-be's (likely a rapper or two) will try to remake this flick. Their biggest challenge - beyond fleshing out the story - will be finding three stars as compelling as Brown, Williamson and Kelly. Let's raise a snifter of Harvey's Bristol Creme that somebody at least has the fortitude to release the original on DVD, unedited, with commentary and maybe a featurette including the participation of all three baad-asss action heroes.
- asgbeat
- Jan 3, 2009
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,800,000 (estimated)
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