Product Details

• Actors: Stephen Baldwin, Paul Bartel, Stephen J. Cannell, Richard Edson, Pam Grier
• Directors: Mario Van Peebles
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: PolyGram Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 17, 1998
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630518125X
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #107,566 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "Posse" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Mario Van Peebles directed as well as starred in this ham-fisted, 1993 Western with a predominantly African American cast. The story finds a posse of black shooters (with one white member, played by Stephen Baldwin) taking on a racist sheriff and military man, but Van Peebles's effort at mixing convention with hip credentials gets pretty grating. (Tone Loc makes the worst cowboy in film history.) The film is also incredibly sexist, going well beyond the usual frontier-floozy clichés and lapsing into the sort of blatant exploitation one found at that time in rap-music videos. There are lots of cameo appearances from familiar folks willing to support Van Peebles on a project that probably sounded like a mix of experiment and event--Pam Grier, Isaac Hayes, Woody Strode, and the director's father, Melvin Van Peebles. But even they can't help. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Correcting History., April 1, 2002

By	tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Posse (1993) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Mario Van Peebles directed and starred in this film about a group of African-American soldiers (and one white one) on the run from a corrupt military officer. The officer (Billy Zane) had the posse steal some gold from Cuba during the Spanish-American War. He planned to kill them afterwards, but the group proved stronger than he thought and they escaped. They come back to the states and follow Jesse (Van Peebles) to the dream town of his deceased father in west Texas. Jesse has some inner demons to silence and they won't be still until he has settled an aged score.

The film is interesting. However, the movie relies heavily upon typical Western cliches which dampen some of the it's uniqueness. Nevertheless, the film does raise awareness about all the black cowboys and settlers that were so instrumental in taming the West that most people don't even know existed. An educational film that is quite entertaining to watch.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than the "editorial review" thinks it is, October 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Posse (DVD)

Tom Keogh, whomever he may be, is quite mistaken about the quality of Mario Van Peebles film, which is somewhat more than simply a "black western." Despite the "camp" appearances of several black celebrities, Peebles brings to the film an arresting visual quality and an iconoclastic, unmistakably "dark" [no pun intended] perspective on How the West Was Lost, which is one of the biggest tragedies of American history. The historical background is suitably complex, tieing in references to the Spanish-American War. Although the lead character's gunslinging talents are made too much of, this is far from cliche.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings Old West Back to Life, May 3, 2002

By	rodog63jr (bronx, N.Y.C. N.Y. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Posse (1993) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Mario Van Peebles Posse' brought a new perspective about the west. This was the first western in many years to feature a predominately African-American cast. Stephen Baldwin was great in his potrayal of Lil' Jay. Very educational movie.