Willie Dynamite may not be as well known as John Shaft or Super Fly’s Youngblood Priest, but he certainly deserves to be. And now you have a chance to catch the 1970s crime drama classic in HD with Arrow’s dual format release out now.
'The hands-down winner of the all-out best blaxploitation movie of the Seventies' declares author and artist Darius James in That’s Blaxploitation!
Who is Willie Dynamite? He’s the flashiest pimp in New York – he drives a personalised purple-and-gold Cadillac and wears some of the most eye-catching outfits ever seen on a cinema screen. He wants to be number one, but with the police, the DA, fellow pimps and a tough-talking social worker on his tail, can a man as arrogant and amoral as Willie D avoid a downfall?
Willie Dynamite competes with the best of blaxploitation on all levels. Roscoe Orman (best known as Gordon in TV’s long-running Sesame Street) dominates with his central performance – a star turn that’s the equal of Richard Roundtree in Shaft or Pam Grier in Coffy. Multi-award-winning director Gilbert Moses balances action and social commentary as deftly as Gordon Parks, Jr did with Super Fly. And the score by JJ Johnson (Starsky & Hutch) featuring Motown legend Martha Reeves is as catchy as anything composed by Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield or James Brown.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM • Original 1.0 mono audio (uncompressed on the Blu-ray) • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing • Kiss My Baad Asss, an arhive guide to blaxploitation hosted by actor and musician Ice-T, and featuring interviews with Richard Roundtree, Melvin van Peebles, Isaac Hayes and others • Theatrical trailer • Artwork by Sean Phillips • Booklet containing new writing on the film by Cullen Gallagher (first pressing only).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjmM2bA_WVw
