SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Lizardman fourtwenty Judging this from the German dubbing "Black Angels - die sich selbst zerfleischen", I have to say the dialogue in this one is funny as hell, just as in almost every other 60/70s biker movie.This one features a black biker gang (the Choppers) that lives in harmony with a white biker gang... until circumstances are stirring both gangs up against each other.The film contains bike rides, weird side characters, surprisingly not-that-cool music and a really funny bar brawl scene that features funky 60s posters (Weedies, Speed Kills, Hendrix), including a huge poster of Fonda in "Easy Rider", a nice meta-joke. There are even real-life wildcats in this one. Also, a character wears an outrageous Shakespearian shirt and urinates on another character while sittin on a tree.But... The potential of the Blaxploitation-like title is never really "exploited", the film even revolves a lot more about the white gang (the Satan's Serpents) and there is a sad lack of cool black bikers riding bikes. The topic of racism is introduced as a minor character who plays a significant role in the movie's illogical conclusion. An ending that nevertheless features a satisfying final battle.Still definitely one of the better biker movies if only for the trash-nostalgia.

Michael_Elliott Black Angels (1970) * 1/2 (out of 4)Jimmy is a young black male who hopes to one day be the leader of the all-black motorcycle gang. This leads him to attack a notorious white biker known as Chainer. Chainer, understanding what the kid is trying to do, gives him a good beating but nothing too serious. This here sets off a chain of events that lead to the black gang thinking that the white one is about the wage a war.Laurence Merrick isn't a name that is known by many but he directed this film as well as a couple other notoriously bad movies. GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TO COUNT Dracula? and MANSON are two really campy movies and both of them are more entertaining than this film, which is obviously trying to cash in on the success of films like EASY RIDER and THE WILD RIDE. Obviously this low-budget exploitation picture can't match either one of those pictures and there's just not enough going on here to keep it more entertaining.The biggest problem with BLACK ANGELS is that there's just not enough going on to keep it entertaining throughout its running time. I say that because the film could have made for some campy fun because of the racial angle that it takes but sadly very little is done with the plot. The highlight of the film happens very easy on when the "young" guy tries to show up the "old" guy and it leads to a fairly funny and entertaining fight.For the most part the cast members are good enough for this type of film and that includes James Whitworth who would later gain fame playing Jupiter in Wes Craven's THE HILLS HAVE EYES. The film also offers up some minor nudity and violence but there's just not enough here to save the picture.

Uriah43 This movie begins with a young man by the name of "Jimmy" (James Young-El) who aspires to become the leader of a black motorcycle gang known as the Choppers. So to gain some notoriety he decides to set up a man named "Chainer" (Des Roberts) who is the leader of a rival motorcycle gang called Satan's Scorpions. Unfortunately, Jimmy dies in the attempt and it is up to Chainer to bring the news of his death to the Choppers. Needless to say, the members of the Choppers aren't very happy when Chainer comes unannounced and uninvited but their leader who goes by the name of "Knifer" (Robert Johnson) respects his action and allows him to return to his gang unharmed. Unfortunately, the tension between the two gangs continues to increase with one person in particular more than eager to provide the necessary spark to ignite an all-out war. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film had a decent enough plot but there were certain problems with the execution that were difficult to ignore. For starters, the director (Laurence Merrick) used too many flashback scenes which detracted from the movie rather than enhancing it. Likewise, too much time was spent on high speed chases and other assorted riding scenes at the expense of character development or a meaningful script. Additionally, the music played during these riding scenes was pretty bad as well. In any case, the fact of the matter is that there are plenty of other "biker films" out there which are much better and I have rated this picture accordingly. Below average.

scopitone While many have compared this to levels of an Ed Wood film; I would agree regarding the lesson learned from Ed Wood films which seems to be lost here. Just because a film is poorly made that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. This film is great within the realm of down & dirty exploitation trash. It manages to offend and show all forms of humanity at their worst. Everyone gets slammed particularly minorities. Women here are all masochist drug takers, gays get slapped around, Caucasians are strictly white trash; the only dignity shown is amongst the Black Bikers although they too are a vicious, violent lot. Acting wise; it's not nearly as bad as an Ed Wood film. The fight scenes may not be particularly well choreographed, but they are nasty and loaded with dirty low-blows. Plenty of good looking bikes, enthusiastic aggression, sex and drug enjoyment. Truly a blast of eye candy trash.