Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Wizard-8 Made when the 1970s blaxploitation genre had reached its peak, this independently made production got picked up by a major Hollywood distributor. The distributor may have picked it up because they reasoned that since "Shaft" - about a black private eye - was a hit a few years earlier, lightning might strike twice. But I'm pretty sure that most people who saw the movie were kind of let down. Despite being about a black private eye getting tangled in two complex separate investigations that eventually merge, the movie doesn't play out in a way that you'd probably expect. Until the last 20 or so minutes, there's very little action. The movie for the most part moves somewhat slowly, with little spark. Combined with the somewhat cheap production values, viewers in the mood for action and gloss will probably be let down. But in a strange way, the movie does have some compelling features for patient viewers. It is slow and not very exciting, but at the same time it feels a lot more realistic than many other private eye movies of the time (blaxploitation or not). And Fred Williamson, playing the lead, does give his character some (believable) charisma and makes his character also palatable by showing he's not a superman (though he is believably smart and resourceful.) If you are looking for standard blaxploitation thrills, look elsewhere. But if you are interested in the idea of an offbeat 1970s black private eye movie and are in a patient mood, you might find the movie has its rewards.

kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS*** A nicer and less radical Fred Williamson is down in the dumps private eye Shep Stone who gets himself involved in a drug ring that uses religion as a front to push its sh*t to the public;especially the hippie and disgruntled youth by claiming to save them. Stone gets involved in all this by being hired by Mr. Dole, Richard Anderson, to track down his hippie teenage daughter Amy,Susan Arnold,who joined the religious cult in order to find herself and ended up pushing drugs as well as getting addicted to them.Stone besides all his other problems, like paying his bills,is stuck with a lesbian girlfriend Cynthia, Tresa Graves, who flaunts her lesbianism in front of him that totally confuses him and makes him feel, can it be possible, inadequate with the opposite sex. Stone's involvement in all this happened when he obtained this silver tipped walking stick that once contained 50 G's of heroin in it from Hollwood memorabilia collector Bowen, Richard X. Battery, who left it at the cemetery while attending a funeral. It was hooker Vera, Nancy Fisher, who swiped it while the absent minded Bowen forgot to pick it up and ended up getting murdered by hit-man Chess, Frank Ashmore, who Bowen hired to retrieve it. This not only ended with Bowen later losing the walking stick and its contents but his life as well.***SPOILERS*** Williamson does his best to keep this turkey of a movie afloat with a number of fight and car chase scenes but its the plot that's too long and complicated for anyone to follow that ends up sinking it. We do get what seems like a surprise ending and climatic chase scene in the beach that exposes the real bad guy in the movie who ends up getting dumped by Stone in the Pacific Ocean. The biggest surprise is not who the drug kingpin is but who he isn't.

Lee Eisenberg I've read a lot about how Fred Williamson was one of the primary blaxploitation stars back in the '70s. His sideburns give him an extra cool look. He also appeared in "The Inglorious Bastards" (whose title Quentin Tarantino famously borrowed) and "From Dusk Til Dawn". "Black Eye" doesn't really come across as a blaxploitation flick. It's got some of the things generally associated with the genre, but it's too low-key to authentically belong in the same category as "Shaft" and "Superfly". Maybe it's just in the wrong hands: director Jack Arnold notably directed movies like "The Incredible Shrinking Man". It's not a bad movie but I don't think it correct to call it blaxploitation.

hokeybutt BLACK EYE (2 outta 5 stars) Unimaginatively-filmed '70s action movie looks like it was made for TV... only the occasional cuss word and a subplot about lesbianism tip you off that the movie was actually made to be shown in theatres. Fred Williamson plays a tough guy ex-cop who becomes a tough guy private eye. He stumbles upon a couple of murders and attempted murders linked to a mysterious cane. There are some fistfights, a Bullit-inspired car chase, a fairly original elevator scene and even time for Williamson to confront the rich, lesbian lover of his girlfriend (Teresa Graves). There is also a scene with Williamson bullying a poor old man by tearing up some priceless old autographed photos in his memorabilia shop. Yeah, way to go, tough guy... maybe you can find a cripple to beat up later? Obviously meant to cash in on the success of "Shaft" (this and about six thousand other movies), this movie doesn't have enough edge or enough originality to make much of an impression.