Search - Original Gangstas on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Profanity Movie Release: 1996 DVD Release: 01/18/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 39 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Crime, Crime Thriller, Gangster Film, Blaxploitation, Reunion Films

Larry Cohen, who directed a number of interesting and subversive exploitation films in the 1970s and 1980s, including Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, reunited some of the biggest stars of the blaxploitation era for this tough-minded action opus. John Bookman (Fred Williamson) is a successful football coach who was born in Gary, Indiana but now lives in Los Angeles. When Bookman's father is shot, he returns home for the first time in years to discover that Gary has been all but taken over by a number of brutally violent youth gangs. Bookman learns that his father was shot in retaliation for going to the police after a young man was killed by gang bangers outside his grocery store; even worse, the kid who pulled the trigger was a member of the Rebels, the gang that he helped form as a teenager. Outraged, Bookman joins forces with the boy's parents, who also happen to be old friends: Jake Trevor (Jim Brown) and Laurie Thompson (Pam Grier). John, Laurie, and Jake organize the neighborhood against the gangs, with John's old gang brothers Bubba (Ron O'Neal) and Slick (Richard Roundtree) tagging along to show the young gangstas what the old school can do. If Williamson, Brown, Grier, O'Neal, and Roundtree all look a bit older than they did in their glory days, they all still boast charisma to spare, and anyone who liked their older films will have a good time with this one. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Fred Williamson - John Bookman
Jim Brown - Jake Trevor
Pam Grier - Laurie Thompson
Paul Winfield - Reverend Dorsey
Richard Roundtree - Businessman

Larry Cohen reunited blaxploitation icons Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, and Pam Grier for this urban action thriller, which has been given a straightforward presentation on this DVD release. Original Gangstas has been given two transfers for this edition: a letterboxed version in the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a pan-and-scan version in the full-frame ratio of 1.33:1. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo. The dialogue is in English, with optional subtitles in English and French. Bonus materials include the film's original trailer and notes on the picture's production. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide