Customer Reviews

Bucktown [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

`Bucktown' is fill with some exciting drama. The plot is relatively original, Duke (played by Fred Williamson) comes to a town to bury his brother who died. His brother owned a bar called The Alabama. This particular town is a mini, sleazy, version of Vegas (the actual city used for the filming seems to be Kansas City, Mossouri,) a town that attracts low rent tourists because of its gambling and prostitution. It's going to take a while for Duke to settle his brother's estate, so he hangs around town and reopens his brother's bar. After two of the town's cops come in and expect a percentage of the proceeds from the bar's receipts, he realizes that the entire town is run by a corrupt, white, police force. He won't stand for it, so he calls in his big city friend Roy (Thalmus Rasulala) to come to town with some thugs to kick some ***. The crew comes to town and they make short work of the brutal white police force. Duke is quite grateful for the help but things take a different turn once Dukes friends takes over and become the new law enforcers and are worse than the rednecks ever were. Williamson must stand up to the group, which includes his childhood best friend (their final one-on-one confrontation is pretty vividly brutal).

Pam Grier does play a supporting role in here and it's some of her best acting. She really does appears more classy and tasteful in this film. I know you guys want - and are accustomed to - seeing her breasts every 10 minutes, but I found it a nice change of pace to see her in a more graceful light. Carl Weathers does play a small part as one of the enforcers convincely and Thalmus Rasulala also did a terrific job in his role but Fred Williamson owns the film and he's pretty effective.

`Bucktown' is recommended to all blaxploitation fans and for those who are looking for action, integrity, and grittiness.

this film worked really well.Both The "Hammer"&Pam Grier get down to Business here.it's so sad at how they didn't get there Props back in the day because films like this Showcase how tight they were on screen&they always had alot of Great Action in the films.Pam Grier still Blows My Mind She is SuperBaddd!!

As a soul cinema fan, it is hard for me to criticize this film, which unites two Afro-American icons, Pam Grier and Fred Williamson. Still, I must confess my disappointed feelings after watching "Bucktown," a rather mediocre film, considering those two fantastic leads.

"Bucktown" is a corrupt town where the corrupt cops donimate. Now Duke (Williamson), after his brother's suspicious death, comes back to this hometown (in a "Ger Carter" way), only to find himself trapped in between the hostile police and beautiful Aretha (Grier). Reluctantly he decides to stay there because of legal problems, and to manage the local bar. As (expectedly) the love between Aretha and Duke develops, the local police begin (expectedly) to show their true colors.

The film is given a unique twist here; Duke calls in his old buddy Roy (Thalmus Rasulala, regular of blaxploitation genre) to wage a war against the cops, but the result turns out worse than he hoped. The film tries to provide a new point of view on this genre, giving a picture of a conflict between blacks, but it seems the film doesn't know how to end this awkward situation.

Though the film is far from perfect, it keeps on going with a good pace, and Williamson as always shows his charismatic presense effectively though Pam Grier as a result is pushed aside to a minor role despite of her previous successful roles in "Coffy." My verdict is, "Bucktown" is not a terrible film as some critics label it, but it is, I must say, strictly for fans of this genre.

What can I say, I'm bias, why... not because this was another of those "black" films everyone thought should be made but because I actually had a small bit part in it. Yep, stood out there in the cold of Platte City (MO), with about 16 other extras. Saw the open call for extras on the bulletin board at school and answered the call. Hey, no money, no true fame, but at least my segment didn't get tossed to the cutting room floor and it was fun "being in a movie"

This movie was very 70s of course, which I love. It had plenty of action, and Fred Williamson was great. I really got a kick out of watching what went down with Fred and his boys. Pam Grier was lovely as always. Please see this one.

Duke(Fred Williamson) rolls into Bucktown, MO, for his brother's funeral. After being left his brother's bar in his will, Duke decides to reopen it, but soon finds out that the town is "run by honkies". This means that the racist police force is running a kind of protection racket, getting money from store owners and such. Well, we all know damn well that Fred "The Hammer" Williamson is not the kind of guy who pays protection money. After smacking around some of the corrupt cops(and in the process getting Pam Grier all turned on), a war is started. Duke calls in an old friend, Roy, to help him out. Roy brings along a handful of goons that include Tony King(from Cannibal Apocalypse!! Yay!!) and Carl Weathers himself. The group manage to slaughter every last cop in town and somehow get away with it free and clear. Roy and his goons become the new police force and start in on the same racket operation the white cops had been doing!! Now Duke is pissed and it's time for him to go toe to toe with his old pal. Another war is fought, this time it's only Williamson and Grier against Roy and his posse. It all climaxes with a brawl between Roy and Duke that is probably longer than the fight between Roddy Piper and Keith David in John Carpenter's They Live!!
Yup, it's another fun blaxploitation flick from A.I.P. Williamson is his regular badazz self and doesn't disappoint. Grier, who's usually a buttkicker in her films, is pretty much reduced to the not so impressive role of a love interest/damsel in distress. Not one of Grier's finer moments, but it's always a joy to see her(especially when she manages a brief topless scene).
It has it's flaws and may not be the best work of the actors and director Arthur Marks, but it's a solid entry in this fun genre.

Fred Williamson is cool as ever-- though the character he plays, Duke, is an ex-football player-- okay, not much of a stretch..

Still, you can't front on the action that takes place when Duke takes on the corrupt police force in his old hometown--

The cast includes several blaxploitation regulars: The sheriff, played by Art Lund, also menaced Williamson as a crooked cop in BLACK CAESAR.

Bernie Hamilton went on to play STARSKY & HUTCH's police boss Captain Dobey, and he shows up here as a longtime Bucktown resident who spends too much time at the local bar that Duke's brother owned before his death..

Pam Grier is more subdued in this piece, not the "kick-behind-chick" of most of her roles.. But golly, is she fine as ever..

Thalmus Rasulala (Blacula, What's Happening) is Duke's big-city hustling pal Roy, who recruits a gang of cronies to give some payback to the redneck cops who terrorize the black residents of Bucktown. Among the cronies is "Hambone", played by future ROCKY star Carl Weathers.

After Duke, Roy and the gang send the crooked cops running (and violently so), they unofficially take the place of the cops in running the protection scam-- Duke is reluctant, but Roy revels in his newfound power. For the moment, Roy and Duke come to a compromise, as Roy promises not to "lean" on the townsfolk like the cops did..

But Roy's over-zealous henchmen could care less about being civil, as they roughhouse everyone who crosses their path, including Grier and Hamilton, the latter of whom is brutally beaten-- Next on their hit list is Duke, as he and Grier are assaulted in his home.. That sets the stage for Duke to get some long-coming revenge, assisted by a local boy who becomes his sidekick..

The showdown between Duke and Roy is long and bloody-- and satisfying...

Amidst all the mayhem in this film, some sly social commentaries are made: The kid who befriends Duke is a hustler wannabe, and has a precocious knowledge of all the nightlife vices in Bucktown-- "Girls, gambling, we got it all!"

Also, the audience is introduced to the cold reality that Black political corruption and criminality is just as dastardly as when it is done by Whites-- turning the tables on the traditional source of inner-city social ills in post-civil-rights-era America.

"Bucktown" is certainly less melodramatic and more savvy than most 70's blaxploitation fare. In this film, Fred Williamson stars as Duke, who returns home to Bucktown to bury his brother and resume business at his brother's bar - "Alabama". He soon discovers the corrupt white police force had his brother - alongside everyone else - in their pocket and intend to keep it that way. Urging against any confrontation is the eternally sexy Pam Grier as Aretha, a local at Alabama. Duke calls in some friends from the big city to oust the cops, who are led by Duke's longtime pal Roy. Once the cops are out, the grateful mayor wants to thank Duke's friends with a great parade; but unbeknownst to Duke, Roy and his crew have become aware of the power the police force had, and now they suddenly have other plans...

Pam Grier fans should note that she doesn't appear naked or even scantilly clad in every frame. She surprisingly appears classic and tasteful in fine outfits. The film is loaded with blaxploitation regulars. The final showdown of the film is tremendous, loaded with "I'm gonna beat you down, boy" prologues between Duke and Roy. There is also good use made of a tank in this film, but I don't want to spoil the whole experience for you. Check it out for yourself.

as i mentioned before Fred Williamson is one of my favorite actors of all time. i just about own all of the movies he has ever been in