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Coffy
(1973)
Coffy (Pam Grier), is a nurse, whose younger sister
has become seriously involved in drugs and is now
dangerously ill after using contaminated heroin.
Desperate for revenge, Coffy takes the law into her
own hands and sets out to kill the drug dealers,
gangsters and pimps responsible. However as her
crusade progresses she soon finds herself involved
with high-level corruption.
This popular "blaxploitation" thriller is one of the
most famous in the genre, and is a favourite film of
director Quentin Tarantino, who referenced it in his 1997
film Jackie Brown, which is in part a homage
to the blaxploitation genre. Blaxploitation films
were a subgenre of exploitation films which were aimed at
a primarily African-American audience and were very
popular in the early 1970s. Of course, the whole
genre has been parodied and referenced so much that it
is almost impossible to take it at all seriously in the present.
When one considers some of the film's lurid scenes
(including Coffy hiding razor blades in her hairdo and
an extended cat-fight with several women which somehow
results in all of them getting their dresses ripped
open) and frequently hilarious dialogue it's really
difficult to know whether it was ever intended to be
taken seriously in the first place.
Overall, the film is
well-made, and the cast do well in their roles,
particularly Grier, who became one of the icons of
the blaxpoitation genre and is great in the lead role.
Horror fans may note the appearance of Sid Haig (who
has become something of a horror icon as Captain
Spaulding in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects) as a villain.
While a lot of the clichés of the genre are present
and correct, such as the funky soul soundtrack, this
was notable not only for having a strong and well
written female lead, but also for the strong anti-drug
message, which was quite unfashionable at the time.
The film is often quite unsubtle with it's
socio-economic message, with the action sometimes
coming to a standstill for characters to deliver long
speeches about the prominence of drugs and crimes in
deprived areas, but mostly this is an entertaining and
fast-moving thriller, which provides plenty of action,
and more than enough sex and violence to satisfy fans
of cult thrillers. It is also quite an enjoyable
period piece now. Tarantino called it one of
the "most entertaining films ever made" which it isn't
but it is still a lot of fun.
-Robert
Foster
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All contents ©
2004-2009 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
Jack
Hill
Writer: Jack
Hill
Starring: Pam
Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig
Distributor: American
International Pictures
Runtime: 91
min
Rating: R
Release Date: June
13, 1973
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