Customer Reviews

Soul Vengeance

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

 

 

I'm not kidding - this movie has to be seen to be believed. It's got love, romance, lust, sex, revenge - in short, all the things that make life worthwhile. Shakespeare doesn't have anything up on this fine piece of cinema. The strangulation scene makes this whole movie worth it.

My goodness, I'm as white as a turnip, but this movie still moves me in a multitude of ways!! Blaxploitation at it's finest. Marloe Monte convey's the despotism and decrepitude of south central L.A. to perfection, a visceral portrayal of what could be considered one of the most ignominious eras in contemporary American culture. The laconic dialogue, consisting in it's finest moments of archaic "jive talk", replete with the obligatory "mutha" every ten minutes, realistically portrays the culture and frustration of Charles (Monte) and his prostitute girlfriend as they struggle to ameliorate their lives in an atmosphere of ubiquitous oppression and exploitation by the omnipresent "MAN". A brilliant concept, brilliant execution, inspired acting...I cannot prase it enough. The sexual tension is as tangible as can be, and the action is incessantly non-stop.

"soul vengance" works on so many levels, it's hard to know where to begin. marlo monte's riveting portrayal of charlie is so ridden with angst and pure pain it's heart-wrenching. the climaxes are breath-taking, and the loves scenes are beautifully directed. i can't believe they skipped this one on oscar night!!

This movie is the pinnacle of Blaxploitation films. The lead character is a black man who is wrongfully imprisoned and then cruelly experimented on in jail. When he gets out, he has a unique Pinnochio-esque talent. But, it's not his nose that grows...think lower and longer (ha, ha). I could not stop laughing as he killed his enemies with his "secret weapon". This movie is not meant to be taken serious, but it accomplishes something the other Blaxploitation films of this time did not...a truly unique storyline.

All the reviewers over here are spot on... This is one film that has to be seen to be believed. Disjointed narrative is an understatement... You get the sense the film was made on the go and when the director realized it was going nowhere came up with a really clever little plot twist... Anton Checkov once wrote a great dramatic rule : If there's a gun in the first act, it is bound to go off in the second. And in this film, if there's a severed member in the first part its bound to... well I hope this isn't a spoiler... grow back and murder people in the second. - - A great idea for Camp sci-fi, but actually the film is mostly standard fair urban action, though a bit sleazer than many of its more famous counterparts.... and you have to sit through 90 minutes of classic BAD (yet charming, engaging and funky) blacksploitation until the big scene.... and when it finally happens you're like, "Whuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the ???" A killer p*nis ??? My gosh, what would SHAFT have to say to that ?

Overall, this film is definitely a great primer on how not to make a film... I agree, but many of the scenes are so unintentionally campy and funny it is hard to turn off the film even when you realize the director has no idea where the film is leading either and you're...

As a final note, I love the dirty cops and the corrupt judge in this film... standard fair for blacksploitation, but taken way overboard. My favorite is the scene where the dirty cop catches his wife being screwed by a black guy... but unfortunately can't confront her because he has to go and diffuse a bomb (footage of wife being made love to, cop diffusing bomb, and stock footage of a airplane, presumably a phallic symbol taking off.) He is later taken to the hospital having had a minor dose of radiation (???) When he comes home later that night she asks him if he's reading anything interesting in the papers, and dramatically he contronts her in an Emmy Award winning scene to which she makes direct mention of his shriveled up p*nis. He responds by starting to strangle her to death... then reviving her... then she walking out of the room and taunting him for not getting rid of the one problem he couldn't handle. The film gets better from there...

All in all... for some memorable REALLY BAD '70s URBAN THRILLER/BLACK ACTION cinema watch this movie... its definitely one watch you'll reMEMBER for a long time especially whenever you go to the bathroom and look down...

Brutally beaten and arrested on false charges, Charlie has done his time and now he's out...for revenge. Standard blaxploitation fare made legendary by a scene involving Charlie's murderous member.

IF YOU SHOULD ENJOY SUCH THINGS IN LIFE AS THE SIGHT OF SOMEONE BEING STRANGLED BY A 30 FOOT [...], THEN THIS SLICE OF BLAXPLOITATION IS FOR YOU. THIS MOVIE WAS ORIGINALLY RELEASED UNDER THE TITLE 'WELCOME HOME, BROTHER CHARLES',BUT THIS INCARNATION AS 'SOUL VENGEANCE',IM PLEASED TO SAY, REMAINS UNCUT AND RUNS FOR 98MINS (NOT 87 AS STATED ON THE BOX). AT SUCH A CHEAP PRICE YOU CAN'T GO WRONG.

This movie has a few scenes that make it worth watching.

One "brilliant" (literally) scene is the "blinky-eye" scene where the actors are constantly blinking for no apparent reason. There must have been a bright light in their eyes or something.

And there's another great scene at the end that just has to be seen to be believed.

Originally released in the theatres as "Welcome Home, Brother Charles," this is the first feature directed by Jamaa Fanaka ("Penitentiary"). Made while a student at UCLA, the film looks like it was shot on a shoestring budget -- and without the help of faculty advisors.

The technical quality of the film aside, the narrative is terribly disjointed. What little story it has involves a man wrongfully sent to prison. What takes the film beyond mere cliche is a bizarre twist on the "Pinocchio" story. Here, another part of the man's anatomy grows instead of his nose. It must be seen to be believed. If ever there was a rival to the campiness of Ed Wood (and later, John Waters), it is Jamaa Fanaka with this film. Perhaps like Ed Wood, someone will do a biopic on Fanaka's early career.

Even more amazing is that "Welcome Home, Brother Charles" got significant theatrical distribution over equally risky, but much better crafted works by fellow UCLA classmates Haile Gerima ("Harvest: 3000 Years") and Charles Burnett ("Killer of Sheep"). Gerima later directed the indie hit "Sankofa." Burnett would go on to make "To Sleep with Anger" and the telefilm, "The Wedding." Meanwhile, Fanaka followed this film with the vastly superior "Emma Mae" (released on video as "Black Sister's Revenge"), which also got a theatrical release. The latter is arguably the best film of his career ("Penitentiary III" being the best from a technical standpoint).

In short, "Welcome Home, Brother Charles" is nothing more than a curiosity piece for avid fans of so called "blaxploitation" films. It might also serve as an example to aspiring filmmakers of what NOT to do in a film.

You have been warned.

I wanted to know if my product was going to be in mint condition? and it was!!! I've looked for this movie for 35yrs.I went to the movies too see this when i was young.They edited a little but its the same movie.WOW!!!!what a classic.I'm proud to own my own.PS im a movie collector TYVM..

The scene in which you get to see HOW he kills his victims is funny and worth the buy all by itself. *LOL*