A review by Brooks Rich
Let's go all the way back to 1972. Film is in a weird place. The '70s always struggled to have it's own identity in film and is a very transitional decade for film. The fifties and sixties faded out to make way for the seventies, which would throw some curveballs into the industry before the insanity of the '80s and the path to modern film as we know it.
There are some major game changers in the decade, like Jaws, Rocky, and Star Wars. Jaws and Star Wars created the summer blockbuster. Genres like the western and science fiction became more thoughtful and a lot darker. Film got grittier.
Crime films went onto the streets, showing the dirty lives of the less reputable. Blaxploitation was at its peak in the '70s, with films like Superfly, Shaft, Foxy Brown, and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. But one that still stands out to me is 1972's Across 110th Street, starring Yaphet Kotto and Anthony Quinn.
Kotto and Quinn play a pair of cops investigating the murder of criminals from both the Mafia and Harlem and a couple of cops. The thieves made off with more than 300,000 dollars and disappeared into Harlem. Now Kotto and Quinn are in a race against time as the Mafia and forces from Harlem are after the thieves.
This is a gritty film that shows an ugly corrupt world. Anthony Quinn's Frank is bigoted corrupt cop on the take, reluctantly working with Kotto's Pope. Pope is by the book and Frank has no problem bending the rules or straight up just beating a confession out of a suspect. The best characters moments of the film are between Quinn and Kotto. They are the most fleshed out of any of the other characters, who are all pretty much fitting into a certain mold. The robbers are desperate criminals, the Mafioso on their tail is straight out of a '40s gangster movie.
Besides Kotto and Quinn the most interesting aspect of this film is that it's a tragedy. There' a feeling of helplessness from every character. The criminals almost know that there is no way out of Harlem. The walls are closing in around them. Kotto is trying to be an honest cop in a world that doesn't stand for that. Quinn just wants out of it all. He's tired of not only the job but of living. This is an ugly world captured masterfully by director Barry Shear. It doesn't have the sort of tongue and cheek nature of some of the other blaxploitation films. If you're a fan of gritty '70s crime thrillers, track this one down.
Let's go all the way back to 1972. Film is in a weird place. The '70s always struggled to have it's own identity in film and is a very transitional decade for film. The fifties and sixties faded out to make way for the seventies, which would throw some curveballs into the industry before the insanity of the '80s and the path to modern film as we know it.
There are some major game changers in the decade, like Jaws, Rocky, and Star Wars. Jaws and Star Wars created the summer blockbuster. Genres like the western and science fiction became more thoughtful and a lot darker. Film got grittier.
Crime films went onto the streets, showing the dirty lives of the less reputable. Blaxploitation was at its peak in the '70s, with films like Superfly, Shaft, Foxy Brown, and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. But one that still stands out to me is 1972's Across 110th Street, starring Yaphet Kotto and Anthony Quinn.
Kotto and Quinn play a pair of cops investigating the murder of criminals from both the Mafia and Harlem and a couple of cops. The thieves made off with more than 300,000 dollars and disappeared into Harlem. Now Kotto and Quinn are in a race against time as the Mafia and forces from Harlem are after the thieves.
This is a gritty film that shows an ugly corrupt world. Anthony Quinn's Frank is bigoted corrupt cop on the take, reluctantly working with Kotto's Pope. Pope is by the book and Frank has no problem bending the rules or straight up just beating a confession out of a suspect. The best characters moments of the film are between Quinn and Kotto. They are the most fleshed out of any of the other characters, who are all pretty much fitting into a certain mold. The robbers are desperate criminals, the Mafioso on their tail is straight out of a '40s gangster movie.
Besides Kotto and Quinn the most interesting aspect of this film is that it's a tragedy. There' a feeling of helplessness from every character. The criminals almost know that there is no way out of Harlem. The walls are closing in around them. Kotto is trying to be an honest cop in a world that doesn't stand for that. Quinn just wants out of it all. He's tired of not only the job but of living. This is an ugly world captured masterfully by director Barry Shear. It doesn't have the sort of tongue and cheek nature of some of the other blaxploitation films. If you're a fan of gritty '70s crime thrillers, track this one down.
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