Friday, February 11, 2011

Boss Nigger (1975)

Boss Nigger (1975)
Dir: Jack Arnold ( Creature From The Black Lagoon)
Starring: Fred Williamson (Legend of Nigger Charley/Soul of Nigger Charley/Black Cesar/Hell up in Harlem)
Durville Martin(Hell up in Harlem/Rosemary's baby/Dolemite)

Boss Nigger is an interesting take on the blaxploitation genre in itself as it is set in an old western style film as opposed to the standard urban drama/Action film. That being said I am not a huge fan of western films so this one was a bit of a bore to sit through. The story follows Boss (Fred Williamson) and Amos (Durville Matin) A pair of bounty hunters who after saving a young woman Clara Mae from some outlaws manage to capture a bounty which leads them into a small town with no law. Upon arrival the two take over the reigns of Sheriff and Deputy after much debate from the townsfolk, who are for the most part extremely racist. Boss' main objective is to take out Jed Clayton and his gang and save the town from the group of outlaws and their tyranny run over the small town.



After sworn in as the law, the town Mayor plans to have the men taken out after they start enforcing some anti-racist laws most of the townsfolk dont agree with, As The Mayor approaches Jed and his boys to off the black lawmen.After awhile some of the town starts to have a change of heart towards the new faces and signs of unity begin to shine , But Jed and gang are already on their warpath. Starting off with kidnapping Clara Mae and then Boss during an ambush, Then torturing Boss before Amos can make the save.






After Boss manages t be freed the townsfolk gather together to take out the Clayton gang. As they lay in wait to ambush the boys.This of course leads to the standard shootout old western style and finally Jed and Boss meet face to face. After a long brawl Boss comes out on top Getting revenge for Jed killing Boss' love interest Clara and saving the town from the outlaws but Boss  is surprise attacked by the cold hearted Mayor. Leading to the closing scene and twist as Amos and a injured Boss ride off into the sunset.








Boss Nigger is your standard western with a twist of having the black heroes , the only saving grace for this film is the witty dialog from Amos , making some of the exchanges in the film funny and worth a watch other than that this film is pretty cut and dry and rather boring. The undertone of racial unity towards the end is a nice touch for the genre but nothing really makes this film standout as memorable. If yo are a fan of westerns than this might be a nice twist to the genre for you but I for one am not a huge fan of the style or stories so this one was not for me. Definitely one for western or blaxploitation completists only.
Ass- Kickin': 5.5 ( Allot of gun play and fast passed fire fights but not much bloodshed)
Ass and Tittays:1 (Only one brief shot of Clara Mae)
Jive:6 ( Amos Dialog is this films saving grace)
Funk:3 (Only the title track is anything worthy of qualifying)
Playa's and Whitey's: 4 ( Boss and Amos really the only folks worth a damn in this one)
Overall on the Funk -O-Meter: 4 out of 10 ( For Completists and collectors only)

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