Everybody got their seventies bingo card ready? Get ready to tick off… Dancing, snogging, unconvincing facial hair, drugs, martial arts and roller skates.
Lacking any real plot hints in the trailer, a bit of research has pieced together a rough synopsis. Apparently the irritating shouty DJ is a retired kung-fu cop and he sets about beating up some drug dealers who get his nephew addicted. There also appears to be quite a lot of dancing.
Clearly the way for the authorities to deal with the trade in illegal substances is to set up kung-fu discos in every neighbourhood. I’m sure the dealers will give up after having the funk beaten out of them a few times after being told to ‘put their weight on it.’
Stubborn celebrity anecdote: Quentin Tarantino paid to see this film, even after the people working at the cinema warned him not to.
Favourite bit: The repeated use of the same sound effect for nearly every punch and kick. IMDB LINK
Ebony, Ivory and Jade
AKAShe Devils in Chains, Foxforce, Foxfire, American Beauty Hostages
1976, Directed by Cirio H. Santiago
If you’re going to kidnap a load of Olympic contestants, it’s probably best to check if the group contains a trio of racially diverse super-human killers first. Research, people.
“Killing is their trade!” announces the incessant voice-over guy, but I thought they were professional athletes? Was murder an Olympic event in the seventies?
This trailer could serve as a warning to movie soundtrack producers - No amount of constantly repeated kung fu sound effects can make up for playing elevator music in the background of an action film.
Favourite bit: Where Ebony viciously pummels a fallen man with a large stick, whilst the insipid elevator music plays in the background. IMDB LINK
Sugar Hill
AKAThe Zombies of Sugar Hill, Voodoo Girl
1974, Directed by Paul Maslansky
A blaxploitation film with zombies? You betcha. As long as you count people with half a ping-pong ball stuck to each eye as zombies, of course.
The ‘avenging angel’ is a mainstay of seventies grindhouse cinema plots, and Sugar Hill and her Amazingly Variable Haircut seems to offer an interesting twist to it. Grinning zombies, a pretty lady and buckets of blood - what more could you ask for? I’ll bet good money that Quentin Tarantino has seen this film at least five times.
I was a little disappointed in the lacklustre efforts of the mafia - The kicking they give Sugar’s man looks really half-arsed. I think rather than amassing an army of the undead, Sugar could have seen them all off with a big stick.
Favourite bit: Near the end when a zombie pops up from the bottom of the screen, like it’s been sitting in a giant toaster.
