MovieChat Forums > Abar Discussion > Must be seen to be believed.

Must be seen to be believed.

posted 8 years ago by devtrev27
2 replies | jump to latest

Just saw this on TCM, and I haven't laughed this hard in a LONG time. The racism is SO over the top it becomes farcical. I don't think this movie could even be made today. Given that it was released in 1977 they must have been trying to make some sort of serious comment on societal racism, but the result is pure hilarity. So many classic scenes, such as the radio station interrupting their musical programming to announce that a black family has moved into the neighborhood - three little white kids see the black family get out of their car and start running down the street....I could go on and on. Liberal use of the N word, Nazi armbands, racist real estate agents, wretched acting, ridiculous dialogue - what more could you ask for? Strap yourself in and get ready for some 70's blaxploitation gold.

[–] iheartnormi 8 years ago

Yeah I just saw this on TCM as well. I wanted to respect it for what it was and it ended up failing my expectations. I really can't stand blaxploitation movies because they are over the top and extremely cheesy.

And that part when one of the racist guys had a Nazi-armband proudly with the car too. That was ridiculous because he probably was a WWII vet that fought against the Nazis. If he was a Nazi I am sure he would have concealed it from the public in fear of being a Communist or un-American. But, this one really takes the cake, though I did find it hilarious to see all those racist white people move out the way quickly when the black panther-esque group came by.

On a semi-serious note, this happened in the 1920s-50s in Detroit, where you would see protest but in the form of being shunned or in extreme cases a burning cross, so even though it seems absurd you have to remember that a few years ago (from the 70s) it was reality for many blacks moving into all white neighborhoods.

[–] richard.fuller1 8 years ago

I'm watching it now and I still don't believe it.

This is a bit beyond Blaxploitation, which was kind of passe by this time, and low budgeting can be tolerated and excused if other factors are done well.

It's incredibly poor acting and plot. I can't believe someone as far as '77 thought this would be a good idea.