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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
She's the meanest DVD in town!, July 21, 2001
"Coffy" (1973) made Pam Grier a star, "Foxy Brown" (1974) clearly shows why Grier became a star. "Foxy Brown" simply distills Grier's star qualities and uses them to their fullest potential, and by star qualities, I'm not just referring to her ample bosom. In "Foxy Brown" Grier is an abused, violated madwoman out for revenge at all costs, she doesn't just chew up the scenery, she obliterates it. But that's exactly why we love Grier. She's beautiful, sultry and she can kick a whole lotta ass! As far as I'm concerned, she IS the screen's original action heroine and this vehicle best showcases her talents as an action star. Unlike "Coffy," "Foxy Brown" doesn't give Grier much chance to flex her acting muscles, but it features Grier down and dirty: Foxy ransacks apartments, beats up hostile lesbians, gouges eyes, burns men alive, emasculates (literally and figuratively), and even pulls firearms out of her perfectly coifed afro. "Foxy Brown" is lurid, wildly sadistic, absolutely over-the-top and a cult film classic for those very reasons. "Coffy" may be the better film, but "Foxy Brown" is more enjoyable. So how does "Foxy Brown" fare on DVD? Well, the disc is an absolute revelation. Not since the film's theatrical debut has it looked this good. The previous full-frame transfer used for the videocassette and laserdisc was atrocious, featuring jaundiced flesh tones, excessively saturated colors, dark murky interiors, ruined compositions, and horrifically over-enhanced edges. The new, anamorphically-enhanced widescreen transfer is luminous. Compositions are correctly preserved with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, no more distracting headroom and a bit of picture information is added to the sides. The interiors now reveal wood paneling, earth-toned wallpaper and maroon curtains, unlike the previous transfer which rendered almost everything black or dark brown. The flesh tones are finally natural and the film's colors are brought down to a comprehensible saturation level, but don't worry, the 70's fashions are still a bright kaleidoscope of tawdriness. The sharpness is pleasing; edge-enhancement never rears its ugly head and the film's skies are at last blue. Gone is the olive and yellow sunlight. Film grain is noticeable in some dark scenes and there are a few source defects. Considering this is a low-budget exploitation film made in 1974, the source element is almost pristine. Compression on the disc is not so pristine, however. Some dark, shadowy areas and dissolves are frequently subject to tiling artifacts, but for a retail price of only $14.95, who can complain? Supplements include the amusing theatrical trailer ("Foxy's got guts: no ifs, ands, or buts!") and an enlightening commentary track by director Jack Hill who repeatedly describes the toils of working with AIP (American International Pictures) on this film, which he has said was one of his worst film-making experiences. The monaural sound on the disc is commendable; dialogue is always intelligible and the bass level makes Willie Hutch's score sound just as funky as it was 27 years ago. Jack Hill created Pam Grier her own sub-genre with "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" and when she left it after 1976's dismal "Friday Foster," no one took her place...no one ever could. "Foxy Brown" is the ultimate Pam Grier action vehicle, a blaxploitation classic and a great DVD! If you have only seen "Foxy Brown" on videocassette or laserdisc, you haven't seen "Foxy" at all.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Queen of the Explotation Flicks?, January 11, 2000
FOXY BROWN is a great movie, but not a great explotation movie. Oddly enough this is the film that got Pam Gier the title "QUEEN OF THE EXPLOTATION FLICKS". When I first sat down to watch this film I was expecting to see tons of gratuitous nudity and violence. The nudity in this film was seldom and the violence was not very graphic. Don't get me wrong, I loved this film and it really is a classic 70's film, but don't go in expecting the normal 70's gratuity. The story is about a woman that becomes a vigilante in order to get revenge for the death of her boyfriend. The plot thickens when other elements are thrown into play like a drug addict younger brother, an underground militant army, and a mother forced into prostitution. If you like this film, but you also really like gratuitous nudity and violence; I would highly recommend watching COFFY. Pam Grier is the star of that movie also, but the storyline is a little more loose and there is nudity all over the place (including Grier).
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Take it for what it is, January 22, 2001
The reviewer who thought this was a movie about a current singer either is pulling our leg or is dumber than a post. Just look at the cover. Probably, they are too young to recognize it as one of the classic blaxploitation movies of the 70s. Of course the acting is terrible, the dialogue lame and the plot is weak. They were supposed to be. After all, these movies were made on a production budget of $23.56. Any movie that provides a means of getting Pam Grier out of her clothes as often as possible is sufficient validation for anything. (In this regard, see Pam's 1973 Coffy).
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