BLACK BELT JONES (1974)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 85 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Robert Clouse
Cast: Jim Kelly, Scatman Crothers, Gloria Hendry, Malik Carter, Eric Laneuville
Black Belt Jones (1972), directed by Robert Clouse (Deadly Eyes), is a martial-arts blaxploitation flick starring International Karate Champion Jim Kelly (Enter the Dragon, also directed by Clouse) as the titular bad-ass who seems to be some sort of spy-for-hire with connections to a vague government agency. Back in his old neighborhood in Los Angeles his former mentor "Pop" Byrd (Scatman Crothers, The Shining) runs a local martial arts dojo, but has gambling debts owed to local kingpin Pinky (Malik Carter, Penitentiary II), and when Pinky's Italian mob connections discover that he's been skimming profits they send word down that they want him to force Pops to gibe them his real-estate, to make room for a mob-financed civic center. Pinky and his thugs attempt to use that debt to force Pops to sign over his dojo, but they accidentally kill him while roughing him up. After his death Pops' estranged daughter Sydney (Gloria Hendry, Hell Up In Harlem) returns home for his funeral and to decide if she wants to continue with the dojo, but upon learns of Pinky's involvement in her father's death he vows to whoop some ass, and she's quite an ass-kicker in her own right, making short work of the occasional thugs she encounters. Eventually Pinky kidnaps martial arts student Quincy (Eric Laneuville, The Omega Man) and holds him for ransom, requiring Black Belt Jones to recruit some sexy trampoline enthusiasts he meets on the beach to assist him in a heist to gets the ransom funds, yes that actually happens.
This is a low-budget action flick but fear not, the fight choreography is aces, Jim Kelly looks stunning, and the dialogue exchanges are snappy. While not a comedy it is quite humorous in it's execution; the main focus of the film seems to be to kick-ass and make Jim Kelly look good, and it succeeds on both counts, and Gloria Hendry as Sydney is pretty bad-ass herself.
The action comes fast and furious, plenty of fights throughout, my favorites being a fight on a train that features baddies flying out of glass windows left and right and the sudsy finale at a car wash, which admittedly is a bit goofy, but I like the tongue-in-cheek tone of the whole flick, it works for me, and it's quite re-watchable, seeing Jim Kelly and Gloria Hendry kicking ass for 90-minutes never gets dull. Also, Malik Carter as the sharply-bearded kingpin Pinky looks terrific, and even though Scatman Crothers' role is short-lived it's always a pleasure seeing him up on the screen.
Audio/Video: Black Belt Jones (1972) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Warner Archive, framed in 1.85:1 widescreen we get a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. The transfer looks terrific, the source looks flawless, those course early 70's grain structures are intact, and detail, depth and clarity impress, as do black levels. Skin tones look natural throughout, and the primaries are bold and well-saturated. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue exchanges, canned martial arts effects, and moments of action all sound great, as does the score from (Friday Foster).
The only extras is the 3-min Original Theatrical Trailer for the film. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the illustrated movie poster.
Special Features:
- Original Theatrical Trailer (3:00)
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