A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (2023)

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (1)

In honor of Black History Month, we continue our series of recognition of pivotal moments in entertainment that changed the course of history in the black community. One such time is the blaxploitation era, which emerged in the 1970s. Now you may be wondering what exactly the blaxploitation era is. Allow yourself to be explained. Before the 1970s, African Americans were mostly cast in stereotypical roles. Before the 1970s, black actors and actresses were mostly cast as maids, nannies, butlers, and so on. Of course, there were a few exceptions like Sydney Poitier and Lena Horne to name a few, but these actors were a rarity to speak of, and despite their respective accomplishments, that didn't change the fact that most black actors were stereotypical were limited to these roles. Many of the best blaxploitation movies from the '70s started changing the narrative.

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A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (2)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

Pam Grier als Foxy Brown

In short, black actors needed to show they were capable of being superheroes, supervillains, detectives, etc., and black directors (who also had very limited opportunities) needed to show they were capable of being superheroes, supervillains, detectives, and so on kind of films to direct. Thus began the blaxploitation era, a time when black directors and actors came together to create the kinds of films they had always wanted to direct and star in, and showed the world the magic that they could do, given the chance. Today we're taking a look at these movies and giving you a rundown of some to add to your watch list. You can check the list below.

1. Casket

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Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Jack Hill

  • Sterne:Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert Doqui

  • Where to see:Amazon Prime

Of course, we have to start with blaxploitation-era godmother Pam Grier. This will be the first of a couple of Pam Grier films on the list because she really was a big part of the movement. started in 1973,YellowIt was about a woman to be reckoned with trying to get even with people who got her sister addicted to drugs. Sister Coffy is on a mission to find those responsible while navigating the streets of drug dealers, pimps and deviants, kicking some butt in the process.

2. Dolemita

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (4)

Credit: Comedian Intl Enterprise Productions

  • Director:D'Urville Martin

  • Sterne:Rudy Ray Moore, D’Urville Martin

  • Where to see:Tube

Dolemitais an example of how black actors and directors sometimes had to go through it all during the blaxploitation era. D'Urville Martin not only directed this film, he also starred in it. And Rudy Ray Moore not only starred in this film, he also produced it. It's not uncommon these days for actors to direct and star in their own films once they reach a certain level, but back then getting the job done was a necessity.Dolemitais a hilarious crime comedy about a pimp, comedian, and nightclub owner named Dolemite (Ray Moore) who is serving 20 years in prison after being framed. After being freed by the governor, Dolemite seeks revenge on those who put him in prison.

3. Cooley hoch

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (5)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Michael Schulz

  • Sterne:Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Leroy „Predigt“ Jackson

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

Set in 1960's ChicagoCooley-Collegeis about two best high school friends who deal with the challenges of everyday life and grow through their projects. The two have similar interests like hanging out with friends, chasing pretty girls and listening to Motown music, but they also have big dreams. And as they chase those dreams, they learn a hard lesson about not everyone having their best interests at heart.Cooley-Collegewas a critical and commercial success, grossing $13 million at the box office and serving as an inspiration for future films likeBoyz capa.

4. Friday Foster

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (6)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Arthur Marken

  • Sterne:Pam Grier, Thalmus Rasulala

  • Where to see: Tube

With Pam Grier,Friday fosterIt's about a photographer named Friday Foster (Grier) who, at the behest of her editor, travels through an airport to take photos of America's richest black man (Rasulala). However, there is a big plot twist when she discovers that she's not the only one taking photos of her model when she witnesses an assassination. With photographic evidence of the crime in his hands, Foster sets out in search of the truth.

5. Black Caesar

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (7)

(Video) The Best Black Movies Of The 1970S ✅

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Larry Cohen

  • Sterne:Fred Williamson, ArtLund

  • Where to see:Youtube

started in 1973,black CaesarIt follows a young man named Tommy Gibbs (Williamson) growing up on the rough streets of Harlem, whose life is made even more difficult by corrupt police officer John McKinney (Art Lund), who breaks his leg and leaves him for the rest crippled in his life. Life. Angered by the racism he encounters on a daily basis, Tommy Gibbs decides that he is no longer Mr. Nice Guy, who becomes the kingpin of Harlem. And now that he's in power, he intends to bring down New York's mafia John McKinney at any cost.

6. The human tornado

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (8)

Credit: Comedian Intl Enterprise Productions

  • Director:Roquemore Cliff

  • Sterne:Rudy Ray MooreLady Reed

  • Where to see: Tube

If you want to participateDolemita, then be sure to addThe human tornadoon the list as it is the official sequel to the film. Again starring Rudy Ray Moore and Lady Reed,The human tornadoIt's about a Rhymer who flees California and along the way ends up meeting a madam (Lady Reed) and her fighters and helping them fight a local gangster.

7. Inferno no Harlem

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (9)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Larry Cohen

  • Sterne:Fred Williamson, Margaret Avery, Julius Harris, Gloria Hendry, D’Urville Martin

  • Where to see:Tube

And if you plan to participateblack Caesar, be sure to continue with the 1973 sequelInferno no Harlem, about a new adventure for Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson). After an attempt on his life, Tommy Gibbs wants to confront the corrupt New York District Attorney DiAngelo, who had already tried to arrest him and his father, Papa Gibbs, in order to monopolize the illegal drug trade. While trying to fight for justice, Tommy also falls in love with a beautiful lady, making this a crime and love story.

8. Bucktown

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (10)

Photo credit: Plitt Theater

  • Director:Arthur Marken

  • Sterne:Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Tony King, Thalmus Rasulala

  • Where to see: Youtube

If you haven't figured it out already, Fred Williamson was the man. This time Williamson played the role of Duke Johnson in the 1975 film.Bucktown, which revolves around a young man who travels to his small southern hometown (Bucktown) to arrange his brother's funeral. There he decides to revitalize his brother's nightclub and quickly discovers the corruption and racism that is rampant in the city, leading him to team up with his girlfriend Aretha (Pam Grier) as they are faced with various bribes and demands from the police are confronted with.

9. Ganja & Hess

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Photo credit: Kelly-Jordan Enterprises

  • Director:Bill Gunn

  • Sterne:Marlene Clark, Duane Jones

  • Where to see: Outstanding+

The horror element of the blaxploitation era was crucial as it proved that black actors and actresses could play ghosts, ghouls and goblins very well. With Marlene Clark and Duane Jones,Ganja & Hessfollows the adventures of anthropologist Dr. Hess Green (Jones), who becomes a vampire after his assistant stabs him with an ancient cursed dagger. The only other person that Dr. Green is the widow of his assistant (Clark), with whom he falls in love. Together they become immortal vampires.

10. Blacula

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (12)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:William Crain

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  • Sterne:William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Gordon Pinsent, Charles Macaulay, Thalmus Rasulala

  • Where to see: Youtube

ok boom The next isblobula, which many consider to be the best horror film of the blaxploitation era. With William Marshall as an African prince who is turned into a vampire by Count Dracula during a visit to Transylvania,blobulaIt's a horror adventure at its finest as Count Dracula awakens to wreak havoc on 1970s Los Angeles after being imprisoned in a coffin for several lifetimes. Despite mixed reviewsblobulaIt was a box office success and paved the way for other black horror films.

From June 2021 there will be oneblobulaReboot in development currently being planned. The film will be a co-production between MGM, Bron Studios and Hidden Empire Film Group, will be directed by Deon Taylor and produced by Roxanne Avent.

11. Blackenstein

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (13)

Credit: Frisco Productions

  • Director:William A. Levey

  • Sterne:Joe Desue, John Hart, Andrea King

  • Where to see: Tube

And ifblobulawas the counterpart to blaxploitationDracula, ThenSchwarzsteinis the opposite ofFrankenstein. Launched Aug 1973SchwarzsteinIt's about a war veteran (Desue) who becomes a threat to society's killer when a doctor switches his medication. Although not as critically and commercially successful asblobula, this is a movie that will be appreciated more and more as time goes on.

12. Preto-Shampoo

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Photo credit: World Amusement Company

  • Director:Greydon Clark

  • Sterne:John Daniels, Tanya Boyd, Joe Ortiz, Skip E. Lowe

  • Where to see:Brown sugar

First of all, you should turn to the Brown Sugar Streaming App, a streaming service where you can watch hit movies and TV shows along with the largest collection of classic black movies. If you want to show your support for Black History Month, this is a great and affordable streaming service to subscribe to and subscribe toShampoo voris one of many films in his catalogue. Talk aboutShampoo vor, the film is about a promiscuous black barber and businessman (Daniels) who has frequent relationships with his white clients. However, when he begins a relationship with his black secretary (Boyd), he soon discovers that her white gangster ex-boyfriend will do anything to get her back.

13. Slacking off

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (15)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Jack Starret

  • Sterne:Jim Brown, Stella Stevens, Rip Torn

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

With Jim Brown as a former Green Beret captain named Slaughter, who seeks revenge for his parents' murder,ease upis a film about reckoning. The slaughter wreaks havoc by killing many of the people he believes were involved in his parents' murder before he is caught by the police. Now facing murder charges, Slaughter has no choice but to strike a deal with government officials to find and kill another gangster who escaped to Mexico.ease upIt was a box office success, grossing $10 million on a budget of $750,000.

14. Superflight

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (16)

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

  • Director:Gordon Parks

  • Sterne:Ron O'Neal, Carl Lee

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

started in 1972,SuperfliegeIt's about a cocaine dealer named Priest who wants to make a big deal before he retires. Working with his reluctant friend Eddie (Lee), Priest devises a grand plan that will allow him to close his deal before leaving the scene altogether. However, the plan is foiled when a desperate street hustler informs the police of Priest's plans, leaving him in an awkward altercation with the cops, whom he disobeys.

15. Welle

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (17)

Photo credit: MGM

  • Director:Gordon Parks

  • Sterne:Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

Mit Richard Roundtree,Otheris about a smooth and suave private detective who encounters a variety of enemies including Bumpy (Gunn), the leader of the dark crime mafia. Throughout the film, Detective Shaft also fights the Black Nationals, and the white mob he discovers are attempting to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter. Focused on issues of the Black Power movement, race, masculinity and sexuality,Otherwas a hit that grossed $12 million at the box office along with its theme song, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

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16. Sugar Hill

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Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Paul Maslansky

  • Sterne:Larry D. Johnson, Robert Quarry, Marki Bey

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

to the moral ofZuckerbergis not to meet a woman who is already out for revenge. When a nightclub owner (Johnson) is beaten to death by a hired gang after refusing to sell to local mob boss Morgan (Quarry), his grieving bride turns to old voodoo authority Mama Maitresse (Zara Cully ) to summon the demon spirit of Baron Samedi (Don Pedro Colley) to raise a zombie army with a simple instruction - to take revenge.

17. Sabbat, Baby

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (19)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Wilhelm Girdler

  • Sterne:Pam Grier, Rudy Challenger, Austin Stoker

  • Where to see: Tube

When her father's loan business is destroyed by criminals trying to force a sale, Sheba Shayne (Grier) travels back to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky to even the score. There, she meets her old friend Brick Williams (Austin Stoker), who helps her attack the henchmen of a local loan shark named Pilot (D'Urville Martin), but the attack changes when Brick is eventually killed. Now full of rage, Sheba is on a mission to defeat Pilot's boss, Mob Boss Shark.

18. Pate der Disco

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (20)

Credit: Generation International Pictures

  • Director:J. Robert Waggoner

  • Sterne:Rudy Ray Moore, Theodore Toney

  • Where to see:Tube

Released at the end of the disco movement,Pate der Discois a funny film about a retired police officer (Ray Moore) who now owns a nightclub known as the "Godfather of Disco". While things are fun at Disco, there is a twist when Disco Godfather declares war on a group of drug dealers after his nephew has a bad trip with Angel Dust.

19. Via 110th Street

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (21)

Photo credit: Filmguarantors

  • Director:Barry Scher

  • Sterne:Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa, Paul Benjamin

  • Where to see:Youtube

With Yaphet Kotto as a young black cop, William Pope, who is assigned to a burglary case that turns into a mass murder in Harlem,Via 110th streetIt's action-packed and suspenseful as Pope teams up with bigoted Italian-American cop Frank Mattelli (Anthony Quinn), with whom he frequently clashes during the investigation. If you're looking for a mellow, lazy movie to watch in the afternoon, consider givingVia 110th streeta shot.

20. Cotton arrives in Harlem

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (22)

Photo credit: Samuel Goldwin Jr.

  • Director:Ossie Davis

  • Sterne:Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Redd Foxx

  • Where to see: Tube

Cotton comes to Harlemcenters on Harlem's African American population, who is led by Rev. Deke O'Malley (Calvin Lockhart), who dishonestly claims that community donations are being used to secure property in Africa. When New York cops Gravedigger Jones (Cambridge) and Coffin Ed Johnson (St. Jacques) find out what he's up to, they find the money/donations smuggled in a cotton bale. Despite discovering the conspiracy, the money suddenly disappears, messing up their investigation.

21. Three the hard way

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (23)

Photo credit: Allied Artist Pictures

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  • Director:Gordon Parks

  • Sterne:Jim Kelly, Fred Williamson, Jim Brown

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

With a budget of 2 million dollars,three the hard wayis the most expensive and ambitious blaxploitation film ever made. Featuring football players Jim Brown and Fred Williamson and martial arts icon Jim Kelly, aka "The Big Three",three the hard wayis a non-stop thriller about three friends who join forces to fight a mysterious organization bent on racial genocide.

22. Dump truck

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (24)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Jonathan Kaplan

  • Sterne:Issac Hayes, Paul Harris, Nichelle Nichols

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

"Truck," starring Issac Hayes as a bounty hunter, Mack "Truck" Turner is about a pimp named Gator (Harris) who is killed when Truck is chasing him. Devastated by his death, Gators girlfriend Dorinda (Nichols) vows to avenge his death by offering ownership of her successful call girl business to anyone who can take down Truck, making it clear he won't go down without a fight.

23. Uptown, Saturday night

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (25)

Photo credit: First Artists

  • Director:Sydney Poitier

  • Sterne:Sydney PoitierHarry Belafonte

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

Saturday night downtownis a funky detective film about two working-class friends who search the underworld for a lottery ticket that was lost in a nightclub robbery. The film spawned two indirect sequels,let's do this again(1975) eA piece of action(1977) and planned for a Kenya Barris-written Kevin Hart remake starting in 2018.

24. Where is up?

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (26)

Credit: Universal Pictures

  • Director:Michael Schulz

  • Sterne:Richard Pryor, Margaret Avery, Lonette McKee

  • Where to see:Amazon Prime

which way is upIt's sort of moving towards a blaxploitation film, but basically we're including it here because Richard Pryor was a genius. A remake of the 1972 filmMimi's seduction, Pryor plays not one, not two, but three different roles: an orange picker who has two wives at the same time, the orange picker's father, and a reverend who gets the orange picker's wife pregnant (madness). If you just want a glimpse of why Pryor is one of the best, be sure to check it out.which way is up.

25. Cleopatra Jones

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (27)

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

  • Director:Jack Starret

  • Sterne:Tamara Dobson, Caro Kenyatta, Albert Popwell

  • Where to see: Brown sugar

It stars Tamara Dobson as Federal Agent Jones, a young woman on a mission to save her betrayed boyfriend (Bernie Casey) from a perverted drug queen named Mom (Shelley Winters).Cleopatra JonesIt's packed with amazing action.

26. Fuchsiges Braun

A Guide to the 26 Best Blaxploitation Movies for Black History Month (28)

Photo credit: American International Pictures

  • Director:Jack Hill

  • Sterne:Pam Grier

  • Where to see: Amazon Prime

And speaking of great action movies, nobody has kicked ass like Foxy Brown. Seeking revenge after a mob killed an undercover cop she was dating, Brown assumes the identity of a prostitute and enlists the help of neighborhood vigilantes to track down the men responsible for her murder boyfriend, their mafia bosses and even his own brother. .

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So there you have it! 26 of the best blaxploitation movies to watch this month and beyond. Follow us for more fun content and updates.

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