Featured Blu-ray Review: Willie Dynamite
April 23, 2019
Willie Dynamite: Special Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
I previously reviewed Willie Dynamite back when it came out on DVD as part of a “Soul Showcase” line-up. Of the four films I reviewed on that label, it was arguably the best in terms of quality. (However, as a fan of con artist movies, I still liked Trick Baby more.) Recently, the film made its debut on Blu-ray with a Special Edition release. Has my opinion on the film changed? Does it live up to the Special Edition label?
The plot summary is going to be short, because I previously reviewed the movie. The film stars Roscoe Orman, best known for playing Gordon on Sesame Street, as the titular Willie Dynamite, a pimp with a stable of seven prostitutes. He has his eye on becoming the biggest pimp in New York City. However, he has some obstacles to overcome, including his own ego. Early in the movie, the top pimp, Bell, wants the rest of the pimps to get organized, because the cops are cracking down on prostitutes and many of these cops are corrupt. Therefore, Bell wants the pimps to divide the city between them so they aren’t in competition and can work to keep the corrupt cops at bay. Willie disagrees, as he wants his prostitutes to be able to roam. By defying the rest, he becomes a target. The other main obstacle is Cora, a social worker who is trying to get prostitutes out of the business and she’s targeting Pashen, Willie’s newest prostitute specifically.
Willie Dynamite is technically a Blaxploitation film. It’s a movie about a pimp that was made in the 1970s, of course it’s a Blaxploitation film. However, it tries to do more with the genre than just be cheesy fun. Granted, it gets off to a very cheesy start, but once the plot gets going, it actually has some real political messages to go with the 70s vibe. Willie describes himself as a capitalist and the plot has him humbled, while Cora describes herself as “Ralph Nader for hookers”, so the politics is intentional and has a decidedly left-leaning bend. It also looks at the treatment African-Americans received at the hands of the cops, while not romanticizing the role pimps had on the people. Add in a solid character arc for Willie Dynamite and the movie is raised above the standard entry in the Blaxploitation genre.
The only extra on the Blu-ray is an audio commentary track by Sergio Mims, a film historian. It’s a disappointing amount for a “Special Edition”. That said, as Sergio Mims points out very early in the audio commentary track, Willie Dynamite is almost a forgotten entry in the genre, so fans of this film or Blaxploitation films in general should just be happy it got a remastered release.
Willie Dynamite deserves to be seen by more. It rises above the Blaxploitation genre with a serious social message and a lead character with actual character growth. The Special Edition Blu-ray only has an audio commentary track, but the remastering is enough to be worth the purchase.
-1-News.jpg)
The Movie
The Extras
The Verdict
Filed under: Video Review