Rating: 
Summary: CITIZEN CANE OF THE BLAXPLOITATION GENRE
Review: SHAFT, SUPERFLY and THE MAC were considered the grand-daddies and MVPs of the Blaxploitation genre, however, I think HELL UP IN HARLEM was the one that really got the popular vote... (My fave actually is ACROSS 110th STREET and THREE THE HARD WAY then BLACK CEASAR and HELL) - - Hell up in Harlem was the Sequal to BLACK CEASAR, but it was much more fast paced. In fact, basically it was BLACK CEASAR without the plot. Its kinda... the post show payback time. BLACK CEASAR basically is HELL UP IN HARLEM with more plot and charactor depth.. Its a story about rising to the top from the bottom, how to play a person and change the tables, but the danger of letting success get to your head (o.k. in a blaxsploitationish way...) If that aint enough JAMES BROWN did the soundtrack - - I love Durville Martin in the role of his boyhood friend turned a phony preacher who eventually finds God - - at an inopportune time. This is a great watch, and the directing and acting are actually quite good. For a comedic take on this Genre... dont forget to watch IM GONNA GET YOU SUCKA ! (The shots of the gritty streets of NYC are incredible by the way... second only to Superfly and Cotton Comes to Harlem.)
Rating: 
Summary: "You see a bad mutha."
Review: Director Larry Cohen's (Hell up in Harlem) "Black Caesar" will definitely keep your interest, especially for fans of gangster films. The strong violence (shooting, beating, the abuse of women, etc.) may be a little strong for some, but it's really appropriate considering the subject matter and it gives the film a lasting impression. The important part of the film is its message. The downfall is that it takes its brutal time getting to it. The films few but powerful moments make it count. Fred Williamson is excellent as the crook who kills his way to the top. Little did he know he was going down the whole time. One of the more powerful films of the genre and worth the look and definitely the listen - as James Brown sings: "Pay the cost to be the boss. Look at me, you know what you see? You see a bad mutha." Trivia: D'Urville Martin(Director of the Dolemite films) appears here as the swindling evangelist
Rating:
Summary: Blaxploitation.....A Perfect 10
Review: This is by far the best in the genre.....raw and rugged....a perfect 10....should not be missed if your a fan of blaxploitation flicks.....enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Holy Grail of blaxploitation (as far as I'm concerned)
Review: Usually when the word "blaxploitation" is heard by a moderate movie buff, the first film that comes to mind is something like SHAFT or SUPERFLY. Now that is a pity because even though they're both good films their enterainment and personality level dosn't manage to reach BLACK CAESAR. This film is excellent, violent, funny (mostly unintentionally) and fairly unusual for a blaxploitation film; the main character, Tommy Gibbs (Fred "The Hammer" Williams) is a complete loser who starts of as a shoe-shine boy who gets it from white coppers, then he can't get the girl he wants and he ends up getting gunned down in front of Tiffany's! Director, Larry Cohen (IT'S ALIVE, GOD TOLD ME TO) also manages to capture a lot of Harlem's sleazy atmosphere. James Brown's funky themesong 'Down and Out of New York City' go's down nicely too. Fred and Larry returned to make a sequel (!) HELL UP IN HARLEM (despite the fact that he dies here!). In a recent interview with The Hammer in Shock Cinema, magazine he says that he dosn't really have any memories of Cohen except that he was a very weird guy!
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC I LOVE FRED WILLIAMSON!!!
Review: THIS MOVIE IS SO AWESOME I WISH THAT I COULD GIVE THIS MOVIE 100 STARS BECAUSE THE ACTING IS WONDERFUL BY JULIUS W. HARRIS, GLORIA HENDRY, AND MINNIE GENTRY THIS IS A POWERFUL DRAMATIC ACTION PACKED MOVIE BASED IN HARLEM, NEW YORK I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE TO ANYONE WHO ENJOYS BLAXPLOITATION MOVIES AND I LOVE THE ACTING THE PLOT EVERYTHING THE WHOLE PACKAGE DELIVERS I WOULD ALSO RECCOMMEND THE SOUNDTRACK I AM NOT TRULY A JAMES BROWN FAN BUT HE REALLY DELIVERS WITH"THE BOSS" AND ALSO "MAMA" I LOVE THIS MOVIE AND THE SOUNDTRACK!!!
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps The Very Best Of This Genre
Review: Growing up in the early 1970s, I never really took Shaft, Black Caesar, or Superfly seriously. Thirty years later, my perspective has changed drastically. Black Caesar, starring Fred Williamson, is a masterpiece and represents the absolute elite of this genre. Williamson does a fabulous job portraying the rise and fall of a NYC gangster. Many have referred to Williamson as "The Black Burt Reynolds", but I'm quite hard pressed to come up with a Reynolds performance that is actually better than Williamson's in Black Caesar. It's a shame Williamson wasn't given access to a broader array of high quality scripts. In a lot of ways, Williamson is more accomplished, educated, and polished than Reynolds.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly Good Movie!
Review: I purchased this movie thinking it would make a fine edition to my blaxploitation collection. However, I was most surprised to find that, instead of the majority of films in that genre, this was a serious, well-acted movie with an excellent plot. The story of a young man who set his sites on becoming a crime kingpin and succedes only too well is intelligently written and makes for a movie that takes us into the life of a career criminal. Gloria Hendry is superb and redeems herself from her campy portrayal in Black Belt Jones. I found myself captivated from beginning to end. I give it 4 stars only because the production aspect could have been a bit better, but they probably worked with a limited budget and made the most of it. Highly recommended as a look into the life of a young black man who decided to choose the criminal path and follow it to its extreme expression.
Rating:
Summary: "You see a bad mutha."
Review: Director Larry Cohen's (Hell up in Harlem) "Black Caesar" will definitely keep your interest, especially for fans of gangster films. The strong violence (shooting, beating, the abuse of women, etc.) may be a little strong for some, but it's really appropriate considering the subject matter and it gives the film a lasting impression. The important part of the film is its message. The downfall is that it takes its brutal time getting to it. The films few but powerful moments make it count. Fred Williamson is excellent as the crook who kills his way to the top. Little did he know he was going down the whole time. One of the more powerful films of the genre and worth the look and definitely the listen - as James Brown sings: "Pay the cost to be the boss. Look at me, you know what you see? You see a bad mutha." Trivia: D'Urville Martin(Director of the Dolemite films) appears here as the swindling evangelist
Rating:
Summary: Impressive Blaxploitation Film with Taste of Gangster Genre
Review: Probably Fred Williamson's most successful and best-known film in the 1970s. "Black Caesar" deserves much attention. Though it is flawed at some points, it is better than most of average blaxploitation films... The film choronicles the rise and fall of Tommy Gibbs, played by Fred Williamson with star-making performance. But what makes this film impressive is Director Larry Cohen's good ideas here and there. This New Yorker director uses good locations in New York City to give the film an authentic feeling, and Tommy's assasination scene and car chase sense (not by a fact-moving car, but by a stop-and-going taxi with mobsters behind it) in Manhattan is terrific. And very ironical ending of the film (shot among the debris of buildings, or old dream) expresses effectively much bitter taste of Tommy's short-lived fame and power. Larry Cohen, whose career includes films which have many cult followers ("Maniac Cop" "Q" "It's Alive," and many more), is also known as a writer who produces good ideas, and "Black Caesar" surely shows his skills. This film is probably better understood as a homage to gangster films of the 1930s (like "Scarface" starring Paul Muni) and "Black Caesar," of which title reminds us of "Little Caesar" featuring Edward G Robinson, follows the pattern of the genre. But the film definitely belongs to blaxploitation with its characteristic energy -- particularly by the intense acting of the cast and good soundtrack by James Brown -- and if you like "Coffy" "Shaft" "Slaughter" or that kind of film, you like it. Some ideas, by the today's standard, are questionable -- see how Tommy beats his enemy as a revenge for old days, using a shoe-shine box, and smears his face with black shoe polish -- but overall the film is an exciting blaxploitation film with a nod to gangster movies.
Rating:
Summary: Black Caesar Rules
Review: As a fan of the black films of the 70s, I have to say that this one (along with it's sequel "Hell Up In Harlem") ranks in the Top 2 for me...Fred Williamson turns out a great performance as Tommy Gibbs...Williamson singlehandedly becomes a leader in the Mafia game defeating all of the odds presented to him by his Italian piers. His next job is to then maintain when the government attempts to undermine him at every given turn. Great soundtrack as well...
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