Hell Up In Harlem
by Larry Cohen
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: D'Urville Martin, Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry, Julius Harris, Margaret AveryDirector: Larry Cohen
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-10-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Hell Up In Harlem
Movie Review: This Sequel to Black Caesar Fails to Measure-Up
Summary: 2 Stars
Hell Up In Harlem is a sequel to Black Caesar. Black Caesar, clearly "inspired by" the classic gangster film, Little Caesar, showed the evolution of Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson) from errand boy for the mob to Black Godfather of Harlem. It was never in any danger of winning an Oscar, but it was a classic blaxploitation movie and well worth seeing.
You had to suspend your disbelief a little to enjoy it, (the Black Gangsters are better than the Italian ones at everything, including speaking Sicilian and if the Mafia was as bumbling as they are shown in these films, it seems like somebody would have pushed them out of power years ago.) . . . but the movie was fun and the characters were interesting. The story, although not original, held together well and more importantly, held our attention.
The movie did well enough at the box office to demand a sequel. Unfortunately, the sequel lacks the focus and energy of the original. It picks up the story right where the original ended, but with the twist that the ending of the original has been changed (Gibbs died in the original). In the sequel, instead of dieing, Gibbs manages to have his gangsters take over a hospital. He utilizes ledgers that show payoffs to politicians, to get him and his gang safe passage and a dismissal of all charges. Then he goes back to the business of running Harlem . . . or at least he tries to. He is faced with dissention from within the ranks of his own gang and resentment from the white power structure that he has driven out of Harlem.
Most of the cast and characters are back for the sequel, but they seem to have mutated, and not for the better. Revered Rufus, Gibb's oldest friend, has now become a televangelist who preaches against Gibb's, but not against Gibb's rivals in the Mafia. Gibb's father, who in the first film turned down Gibb's offer of money and power in order to go back to selling cosmetics, now becomes an assassin and later a Black Godfather in his own right. If these sorts of changes sound hard to follow, that's because they are . . . the fact that we are never given any reason for the character's changes doesn't exactly help our understanding.
The plot, such as it is, fails to tell a coherent story. Gibb's character bounces back and forth between sadism (punishing his ex-wife by kidnapping her children, who aren't his, he just doesn't want her to see them) and trying to explain why he isn't just like the white criminals who used to run Harlem (while running Harlem pretty much like they used to do). One minute he is trying to start a family with his new wife, the next he is abandoning her.
Fred Williamson projects a lot of charisma on screen and this movie definitely has some camp value, but all in all it's just not a good movie. Some scenes still have entertainment value, but they are so overdone that they are almost painful to watch. (The black maids "punishing" their former Mafia employers by forcing them to eat soul food, the New York City black gangsters launching an amphibious attack in the Caribbean via "snorkel" etc.)
All in all, this movie is only for those who want to complete their blaxploitation movie collection.
Summary of Hell Up In Harlem
Fred Williamson returns as Tommy Gibbs, the self-styled Godfather of Harlem in Larry Cohen's quickly made sequel to the low-budget Black Caesar. The film opens with a different perspective on the finale from the earlier film, this time with Gibbs surviving an assassination attempt with the help of his estranged father (Julius Harris), who becomes Tommy's new chief lieutenant in his rebuilt organization. Tommy takes his revenge on those who set him up but faces a new threat from within as the corrupt DA partners with an ambitious gang member to take Tommy down. It's not going to be as easy as they think. Shooting on NYC streets and locations, Cohen punches up the slim rise-and-fall/revenge story line with gritty action, a driving pace, and edgy, always-on-the-move, hand-held camera work. The production feels rushed at times and the performances don't have the energy of the previous film, but Cohen doesn't give you much time to think about it with his speeding plot and machine-gun editing, moved along nicely with help from Edwin Starr's funky score. --Sean AxmakerTougher than Shaft and smoother than Superfly, this high-voltage sequel to Black Caesar explodes with enough action to incinerate New York City. Packed with machine-gun mayhem and riveting adventure, Hell up in Harlem is nothing less than a modern-day tribute to the classic 30s gangster film. Fred Williamson (Original Gangstas) is Tommy Gibbs, a fearless, bulletproof tough guy who blasts his way from the gutter to become the ultimate soul brother boss. When he steals a ledger with the name of every crooked cop and official on the mob's payroll, he becomes the most hunted man in the city. Enlisting the aid of his father and an army of Harlem hoods, Gibbs goes from defense to offense, launching a deadly attack on his enemies that sets off a violent chain reaction from Harlem all the way to the Caribbean, climaxing in one of the hottest turf-war shoot-outs in Hollywood history.
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