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Black Caesar

Black Caesar

Action · Crime · Drama · 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 Action · Crime · Drama 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.

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Super Fly

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An undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves – their own rebellious teenagers, who have begun robbing from a dangerous cartel, using their parents' tactics and top-secret intel to do it.

Al Capone

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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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Shaft

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The Born Losers

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Empire

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Big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top, Victor soon finds out that he's been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.

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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.