The Final Comedown (1972) User Reviews

Not just "blaxploitation"

[ofumalow · 6/10 · 10 December 2009]

Far more than the majority of exploitation-oriented releases that defined "blaxploitation," this 1972 is inspired by the prior "Sweet Sweetback" in its flashback structure and overt Black Power agenda. It's not primarily about violence and T&A, though there's some of both. Billy Dee Williams (in a role strikingly different to his in "Lady Sings the Blues" that same year) plays an angry young man gradually radicalized by racial injustices, leading to his being besieged by police as a Panthers-type leader in the present-tense framing sequences.

"Final Comedown" is no zenith of the cinematic arts--it's dated and crude at times. But it also makes an effort not to be cartoonish: There are scenes in which some white people (notably a Jewish couple, an employment-office secretary, and some SDS types) are outraged by the racism of other white people. There are also scenes that rather charmingly exist just to promote local (I'm presuming L.A.) black-owned businesses, a diner and Africanist clothes store included.

The film touches on a lot of then (still?) relevant points, from Vietnam War post-traumatic stress to drug addiction. It's not subtle or slick, but it really tries to articulate all complicated causes for Black Power rage, not just exploit them as a trendy attitude a la Superfly, Slaughter, Shaft, Rudy Ray Moore (much as I love that guy!), etc. Some eventual cruel ironies are well-judged, though it must be said the overall narrative shaping as well as the huge death-toll shootout sequences are pretty clumsy.

This isn't exactly a good film, but it reflects its precise cultural moment in ways more mainstream films seldom did/do. Despite all rough edges it's a more complicated and intelligent narrative airing of U.S. racial tensions circa 1972 than many better-known films. In that sense it's the antithesis of the terrific current parody "Black Dynamite," which made fun of the period's tritest "blaxploitation" films. This one isn't laughable--it's a serious statement. (Though the major histrionics by veteran actress Maidie Norman as Williams' mother are pretty humorous.)

flawed but undeniably powerful, and a great performance from Billy Dee

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 24 February 2021]

This has (as a given, or as it should be) righteous and furious anger at a society that has oppressed and enslaved people for centuries, and that more crucially and literally the racism of one side towards another into policies and something as simple as who can get a breakfast or an adult to get a job is being passed down to the next generation(s). It's the kind of movie that I assume Ibrahim X Kendi would screen if he had a film connected to his How to be an Anti-Racist book, and I mean that as a compliment (albeit I'm not sure what he'd think of the bullet strewn and blood-soaked meyley of the last 15 minutes, and I may just have it on my mind as I'm listening to the audiobook now, but I digress, sort of).

What I mean by all this is I am on board with what this film is presenting, in particular that Johnny's path to picking up a gun doesn't come out of nowhere and, invariably, leads to the kind of tragedy that we still see today if not on this exact scale (and god knows what the pigs of the 60s and 70s would do with the firepower of today), and I wish as a movie in and of itself I loved it more. I think it is ultimately a good movie, with some staggering bits of editing, and Billy Dee of course who takes this role for everything he's got, but I'm not sure if (adaptor and director) Williams transcended the stage roots.

I'm not familiar with the play or when it was written (I assume it came right at the same time as when the Black Panthers were on the rise, and all the drama that goes with that, and naturally this pairs well with Judas and the Black Messiah), but there are scenes and dialog exchanges that feel taken verbatim from a stage text and... You can tell, it's sometimes that feeling, and frankly not entirely in the writing but in the performance of like Johnny's mother or a few of the other militants, it's not quite as natural as it could have been.

But if this flaw exists, it doesn't hamper the overall impact and stylistic intensity of the production. Sure, the editor has seen Easy Rider or other films that have that one-two-three cutting technique to jump us back and forth through time, and some of the edits are even kind of rough to the point where one can almost see the scratches from the Steenbeck. But there are amazing bits as well, like when the Vietnam Vet is having that incredible bout of PTSD and it throws him into a frenzy. I thought that really got at what a lot of what Williams and his collaborators were after. And there are other moments that strike hard and deep with little dialog, like when Johnny is applying for the job and sees the white man pulling the secretary in and he and us know what's about to come next. All on faces and largely about POV.

Sure, much of this is didactic too, but so what? American cinema needed that sometimes in its polemics, and it does feel more of a cousin to a Battle of Algiers or even one of Godard's more ornery (but for him coherent) works than a Foxy Brown or what have you. It was made on a low budget (and all praise to AFI who get some credit in the title cards), and it has aged poorly in some parts - frankly I wish there had been more room for a stronger female presence here, and practically none are in the shootout - but it also has, as one more comparison, the ethos of a Night of the Living Dead: it doesn't lie to you what it's on about and its in-your-face presence is refreshing.

And to reiterate: good god Billy Dee Williams is amazing in this.

A film that still resonates with power today!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 17 January 2021]

This is one bitter film, and for good reason. It's supposed to make the viewer upset, black or white, because it documents what happens when enough becomes enough. Having lived in the Pico/Western area of Los Angeles near where this takes place in the 1980's, I recognized many of the locations utilized here so for me it was a trip back in time to see a bit of that area's history. This highly black neighborhood, at least the younger generation, lead by Billy Dee Williams, has had enough, even though his hard working, long suffering mother Maidie Norman, doesn't see it that way. The cops are brutal, so they find brutality in return as documented in the newspaper headlines.

There's some interesting elements throughout this film that gives hope, particularly the Jewish couple told that their car has been recovered even though they had just sold it to one of the black men, arrested for grand theft auto. The husband tells the police off for their assumption even though no stolen car report was made, revealing the cop's anti-semitism as well as his hatred of blacks.

Then there's the black cops, viewed as traitors as they drive and stand along side the white cops beating up and killing other blacks with no cause. One educated young black man is offered a job by a young European white woman who is then forced to rescind the job offer after the older white male boss sees who she's hired.

The young white supporters who join their cause are labeled as pathetic liberals by the cops, and one of the black man's white girlfriends is told by him that she'll never be able to feel his rage. The violence is unapologetic with blood spurts abound and a few brutal slayings that will leave you complete shaken up. Truly heart-wrenching at times and not a film for the faint at heart.

The greatest story ever told...

[nuport · 28 October 2002]

This brilliant and insightful film stars Billy Dee as a young college age man who is hell-bent on making changes to this racist and hypocritical system we call America .As the reluctant leader of a courageous band of young Black and White students,Billy's seething portrayal is incredible. We see not only the conflicts of race but also conflicts regarding family and the generation gap .It's obvious from the opening scenes the story can only end one way .The budgetary constraints are apparent throughout, but Oscar-caliber (imagine that!!ha ) performances make this film EXPLODE off the screen and grip you where it hurts.This picture also co-stars the late , great D'urville Martin best known as the sidekick of Fred Williamson in several fun ,but far less important blaxpo flicks. Its very interesting the story begins during the late 60's riots in L.A. with our main character mortally wounded so the story is told in a retrospect (ala Serpico)with all other characters reflecting on the situation up to the present .I think if we could , as fellow human beings relate to some of these issues in this film , America might be a decent place.Hats off to the Black Stuntmans Assoc.who helped bring this off .We need more of these films!A rarely seen GEM !

Kind of a Let-Down If You're Expecting Hard-Hitting Action

[abbazabakyleman-98834 · 6/10 · 17 July 2020]

Though labeled as a blaxploitation film, this is essentially a preachy character study about a young man from the slums, who is pressured into becoming a militant gang member, but is fatally wounded during a police shootout. The rest of the movie is mostly told in flashbacks, leading up to the showdown between the cops and the gang members. The movie is just sluggish with its pace. Because New World Pictures lost money when they picked it up for distribution, the movie was re-shot in 1976 with new footage and released under its new title Blast!, with new footage directed by Allan Arkush.

Interesting time capsule

[cfc_can · 4/10 · 19 August 2000]

This is a serious film about black revolutionaries and not really an action film. Billy Dee plays a young man fed up with racism who decides to take things into his own hands. It's fairly gritty and realistic without exploiting the characters but still it's not that interesting either and Billy Dee's character, though maltreated by white authority figures, doesn't really come off as sympathetic. It's also hurt by it's extremely low budget. Still, it's interesting to look at as it's a good depicttion of 1970s social issues.

Serious-minded blaxploitation

[Red-Barracuda · 7/10 · 8 October 2021]

This is a very angry blaxploitation. The scene is a siege between an unnamed black militant group which resembles the Black Panthers and hordes of cops who are intent on killing them. From here the story flashes back regularly to fill us in on what led the central character to where he is now. The rage is very blunt and direct and it does show that not much has changed over the course of the last 49 years! This is a blaxploitation film which is very serious-minded with a political message but it also incorporates some splendid action too, with a really great extended shootout with the cops. Overall, a very good blaxploitation offering!

The Final Comedown

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 8 March 2023]

Oscar Williams wrote and directed Death Drug, Hot Potato and Black Belt Jones - and wrote Truck Turner, which is absolutely incredible - as well as this film, which explores white on black racism and a shootout between a radical black nationalist group - look, it's the Black Panthers but even Roger Corman wasn't going to go that far - and the cops. Meanwhile, we learn how the radicalized Johnny (Billy Dee Williams) got that way, as well as how things went off the rails with his white girlfriend Renee (Celia Kaye, who played "woman in tub" in Rattlers and like that movie's tagline says, "What a horrible way to die!"; she later married John Milius and is in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark) after he meets her racist dad (R. G. Armstrong, who beyond getting to be the Sandman in Metallica's video for "Enter Sandman," R. G. also played Pruneface in Dick Tracy, Uncle Lewis on Friday the 13th: The Series, man I could just fill your eyeballs with roles that R. G. played). There's so much more that takes him into fighting cops, because the hood's so bad that rats are stealing the dolls of baby girls and Johnny's mom being forced to work as a maid for white people.

Sooner than later, white cops are having their guts sprayed all over brick walls and Johnny's not doing to well himself, passing out due to his own wounds. It also has D'Urville Martin, who would go on to direct Dolemite, and a score by Motown arranger/producer Wade Marcus and guitarist Grant Gree. There's also a post-lovemaking scene where Johnny tells the hippy Renne, "By the time you hit thirty, you're gonna drop back in, 'cause you didn't do nothin but talk that brotherhood, love and peace. You didn't change nothing."

Once Billy Dee Williams became a big name in Lady Sings the Blues - and not yet before he'd become Lando - Corman decided to re-release this with some more exciting footage, more D'Urville Martin and more direction from Frank Arthur Wilson under the name Blast! Frank Arthur Wilson is really Alan Arkush.

Sure, this is heavy handed, but when you realize that all of the problems that existed in 1972 still exist in 2023, well, maybe it needs to be that way.

100% Socially Relevant for 1972 Los Angeles

[view_and_review · 9/10 · 4 December 2019]

My earliest memories of Billy Dee Williams were him as Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back. At that time I knew him as a relaxed hair heart throb to many women of color. I never knew he had a film like this to his credit.

This movie is excellent and it was 100% socially relevant for 1972.

Billy Dee plays Johnny Johnson, a frustrated young Black man like so many others at that time. He was educated, angry, and being crushed under the weight of being young, educated and Black in America. He externalized all of that frustration and acted on that frustration and that's where the movie picks up: at the point of no return.

This movie is not for everyone, Black or White. This movie is an uncensored, no holds barred reflection of American society at that time. It's a perspective that was never seen on T.V. or heard on radio. It's a perspective that one would only get by entering the ghettos and projects of America. The dialog was heavy and the actions taken were costly, but such a thing was almost inevitable.

This movie had to be made just as it was because it is a chronicling of an era. Whether the names and the people were real is immaterial. What was real was the anger, the frustration, the repression, the oppression, and the natural bubbling over from all of that being mixed together. I'm glad this movie was made and that I had the opportunity to watch it.

Heavy-handed....no, scratch that....elephant-handed drama

[gridoon · 2/10 · 20 November 2006]

"The Final Comedown" wants to "say something" about racism and inner-city violence; unfortunately, the message is invalidated by the nonsensical script, the amateurish production, and the heavy-handed polemics. How heavy-handed, you ask? To give you just one example, a black doctor comes out of his hiding place, unarmed, with his hands up in the air, ready to surrender to the police: one of the (all-white) cops says "Don't shoot him, he's a doctor", to which another cop replies: "So what? He's still a n****r", and proceeds to shoot him in cold blood. The cops are portrayed as ignorant, racist killers, even though at the end there are just as many dead people among them as there are among the black people who staged the riot. And this whole event was meant somehow to "sensitize" the white folks to the demeaning treatment of the black folks, when in fact something like this can only breed more hate and violence on both sides. Pamela Jones, as Williams' girlfriend, briefly lights up the screen with her smile and body, particularly in a tender sex scene, and elevates the rating of this movie from 1 to 2 out of 10.

Violence on the streets in this gritty blaxploitation effort

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 13 November 2016]

THE FINAL COMEDOWN is a cheap blaxploitation vehicle for actor Billy Dee Williams, later to achieve worldwide fame and recognition for his role in the STAR WARS films. His appearance here is something of a star-making turn for the actor, who burns up the screen as the black revolutionary determined to stand up to the racist white cops who are making his life a nightmare.

This is an undeniably cheap film that's plenty rough around the edges, although it's an interesting picture for sure. It avoids the usual stereotypes of sex and violence that often prop up this genre, even though both are present throughout the running time, most noticeably during a lengthy and gratuitous sex scene. Instead it provides a kind of social commentary exploring the issues of the times, and the racism inherent in 1970s society.

The grungy vibe of THE FINAL COMEDOWN gives it a realistic appearance even though it isn't particularly satisfying on a visceral or emotional level. The supporting cast is a well-judged one and I was amused to see a younger R.G. Armstrong, still looking old even at this stage of his career. This isn't the kind of film that's going to set anyone's world on fire - it's obscure for a reason - but fans of the stars or genre will find themselves intrigued by it.

good black propaganda

[Nullness · 9 October 2003]

I was really touched by this film. I thought the cinematography was excellent in it. It's a pretty depressing movie, and it shouldn't be looked down upon just because it's propaganda. It's well edited and well crafted. Reminded me of the battleship potemkin in this regard.

Kinda confusing and preachy

[Volstag · 5/10 · 29 July 2006]

This movie, as noted above, suffers from being overly preachy and inchoate. There's also a disturbing amount of "dead" footage that should have been left on the editing room floor.

** spoilers ahead ** Anyway, the core of the film revolves around Johnny Johnson's (Billy Dee Williams) desires to "stick to the man". Unfortunately, they never really do an adequate job of convincing the viewer (in my case anyway) that Johnny has it rough enough that he should foment a riot and kill people. Sure, he's passed over for a job that he's qualified for, and he's arrested by the cops for no reason... but other than that, his life seems to be pretty decent. In fact, he spends the majority of one day going to a party, dancing with a hot lady, going out to eat, buying some clothes, then making sweet love to the aforementioned lady. If that's indicative of "the man" keeping you down, then sign me up! The narrative is told via a largely confusing series of flashbacks that don't make a whole lot of sense -- primarily because a character will flashback to incidents/people that they weren't even a party to. For example, Luanna (Pamela Jones) asks Johnny to explain a comment he made during a conversation that she couldn't possibly been privy to. About half-way through the movie I simply stopped trying to make sense of it.

Like most of the movies I comment on, I was hoping this was going to be in the "so good it's bad" category. While it was close, it falls short of true ineptitude... which is my way of saying the movie wasn't that bad (though it wasn't that good either).

Good movie score 5/5. Bad movie score 5/5

That's you bag

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 11 December 2017]

This is an urban film from 1972 that is so bad it has cult appeal. Johnny Johnson (Billy Dee Williams) is a black revolutionary who feels pressured that he must take the fight to the suburbs. It includes phrases like: "That's your bag" and "That's not my trip" which were never really cool outside of a month in 1969.

The production has whack-a-da music and some of the worst shoot out scenes on film. The cop falling off a building, knocking the gun out of another cop's hand was funny. There is a debate as to the best path forward, but nothing of much substance in today's terms. There is a person with PTSD, which unfortunately was a laughable portrayal.

Guide: F-word, sex, nudity.

A Disappointing Blaxploitation Film

[Uriah43 · 3/10 · 18 July 2022]

This film essentially begins with a group of black militants getting into a violent confrontation with police which results in several police officers being shot along with a number of young black men as well. To that effect, one particular militant who is shot goes by the name of "Johnny Johnson" (Billy Dee Williams) this film focuses on him as he is being helped by his friends to a temporary safe spot. It's then that he begins to have flashbacks to conversations he has had in the past with certain other people that cause him to get to this particular point in his life. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I was a little disappointed with this film due to the rather blatant stereotypes displayed and some extremely unrealistic action scenes which resembled something one might expect from a grade-B Western with the police filling the role of the Mexican army laying siege to the brave defenders within the Alamo. Again, it was all too far-fetched and unrealistic and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

High Hopes Sink This Film

[actorscoach · 4/10 · 18 June 2007]

I must give credit to Billy Dee for trying to pull this off. Knowing this was a blaxploitation film, I started my DVD with a certain expectation. I knew it would be low budget... the acting sub-par... but hoped for a few gems to be sprinkled throughout. If there were any diamonds or gems sprinkled within this film, they were successfully buried under tons and tons of coal... or perhaps overacting. As an actor and filmmaker, I cringed often when potential poignant moments were ruined with atrocious performances. Yet, I must admit, I could not look away. I don't know if this was like a car wreck you can't turn your eyes from, or some mysterious power in the film that kept me there. This film is a good case for an excellent story that was told wrong. If Walter Kronkite were to tell "the Aristocrats" joke, it would be a total flop, although the joke itself is hilarious. Let Dave Chappelle tell it, and we are all rolling on the floor laughing. This film needed a "Chapelle." Now, with that said, if you have the opportunity to purchase this film for the dollar that I did, do it. It is well worth the money. Perhaps I will take another dollar, purchase the rights to this film, and remake it. Who knows... it might not be any better, but it surely can't be any worse.