Black Belt Jones (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Oct 15, 2024
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Robert ClouseRelease Date(s)
1974 (September 10, 2024)Studio(s)
Sequoin Films/Warner Bros. (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: D
Review
One senses the makers of Black Belt Jones (1974) knew this fusing of the blaxploitation and martial arts genres was as wildly derivative as it was absurd, and early on decided not to take any of it seriously. This helps makes the picture a whole lot more fun than it has any right to be. Robert Clouse’s immediate follow-up to the groundbreaking Enter the Dragon (1973) posits Jim Kelly as a kind of successor to the late Bruce Lee with a story partly derived from Lee’s Fist of Fury (1972), with elements of The Godfather (1972) and the James Bond movies, Live and Let Die (1973) particularly, tossed in.
In Los Angeles, plans for a new civic center development prompt local mafioso Don Steffano (Andre Philippe) to order local black drug dealer “Pinky” (Malik Carter) to force karate dojo owner “Pop” Byrd (Scatman Crothers, beneath a particularly oily toupee) to surrender his property, dead-center on the proposed building site, so that Steffano can make millions. Pinky’s men raid the dojo, but its students fight back, sending Pinky’s men scattering. Later, however, Pop is murdered when Pinky’s torpedoes rough up the old man a little too hard.
Enter Black Belt Jones (Jim Kelly), a James Bond-like martial artist-for-hire who, in the pre-titles opening, saves the lives of some duly impressed Hispanic dignitaries from an assassination attempt in the parking lot adjacent to El Coyote, an L.A. landmark. Pop bequeaths the dojo to long-estranged daughter Sydney (Gloria Hendry), who turns out to be as well-versed in the martial arts as Black Belt.
Though undeniably athletic, Kelly—also in Enter the Dragon—doesn’t have one-quarter of Bruce Lee’s martial arts skills or charisma, nor is Kelly much of an actor. Perhaps for that reason, unlike other blaxploitation films named after the main character (Shaft, Superfly, Foxy Brown, Truck Turner, etc.), Black Belt Jones is almost a supporting character in his own movie, with Sydney and even Pinky given almost equal screentime.
The best thing about the movie is its cast. Gloria Hendry was coming off Live and Let Die as that entry’s sacrificial lamb Bond girl, a rather embarrassing, badly written part; goofy as Black Belt Jones is, she’s much more appealing here, a sexy woman who gets to beat up a lot of men. Corpulent Earl Jolly Jones, henchman “Whisper” in Live and Let Die, turns up here as one of Pinky’s henchmen. For one scene, the film crew somehow got Jones, who must have weight at least 350 lbs., way up high on an electrical pole. Before his character is killed off, Scatman Crothers has several good scenes with girlfriend Lucy (Esther Sutherland), and even joins the first karate battle against Pinky’s thugs. Eric Laneuville, later a busy television director, is one young member of the dojo, while Ted Lange turns up as a Black Panther-esque militant opposing Pinky’s drug distribution ring, and Marla Gibbs appears briefly as a barmaid.
The best performance in the film by far is bearded Malik Carter’s Pinky, especially in a very funny scene where he’s taken before Don Steffano, the drug dealer unfamiliar with Italian culture and Mafia rules of decorum.
Just 85 minutes, Black Belt Jones crams in a lot of action, with a big fight scene or car chase every reel, many of these set pieces quite ridiculous. One sequence has Black Belt leading a raid of Steffano’s winery headquarters, BB’s commandos dressed in black from head-to-toe, even though the raid occurs in broad daylight. The overlong climax has Black Belt and Sydney taking on all comers at a Department of Sanitation parking lot, everyone knee-deep in soap suds.
The picture could not have been expensive ($1.25 million?) but packs a lot into its running time, including some unexpected but intentional laughs; grindhouse audiences were likely pleased.
Warner Archive’s Blu-ray impresses, the 1080p 1.85:1 widescreen image looking newly minted from an original camera negative; even the original Warner Communications logo is included. Filmed all over Los Angeles, the film is bright and the transfer clean and free of damage or wear. The 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio is impressively strong, with Luchi DeJesus and Dennis Coffey’s music faring particularly well. Optional English subtitles are provided on this Region-Free disc.
Disappointingly, the only extra is a trailer, presented in 4:3 full-frame format.
Though junky exploitation fare lacking originality, Black Belt Jones can be a lot of fun when viewed in the right frame of mind. Recommended.
- Stuart Galbraith IV