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Black Caesar

Black Caesar

Crime · Action · 1973

Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.

Movie details

Black Caesar

“Hail Caesar Godfather of Harlem!”

1973 Crime · Action 1h 35m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Black Caesar?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Protector

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Cotton Comes to Harlem

Cotton Comes to Harlem

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Black Belt Jones

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I'm Gonna Git You Sucka

Comedy · 1988

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London Calling

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After fleeing the UK from a job gone wrong, a down on his luck hitman is forced to babysit the son of his new crime boss and show him how to become a man.

Accident Man

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Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.

Shade

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Tiffany, Charlie and Vernon are con artists looking to up the ante from their typical scams. They figure a good way of doing this is taking down Dean "The Dean" Stevens, a well-known cardsharp, in a rigged game. However, they first need enough money to enter a game with Stevens, so they decide to strike a deal with fellow crook Larry Jennings to scam a local gangster -- which turns out to be a bad idea.

Foxy Brown

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A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.

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An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.

The Black Book

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After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Larry Cohen

Written by

Larry Cohen

Fred Williamson

Fred Williamson

Tommy Gibbs

Gloria Hendry

Gloria Hendry

Helen

Art Lund

Art Lund

McKinney

D'Urville Martin

D'Urville Martin

Rev. Rufus

Julius Harris

Julius Harris

Mr. Gibbs

Minnie Gentry

Minnie Gentry

Mama Gibbs

P

Philip Roye

Joe Washington

Court is in session

Put Black Caesar on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.