Blu-ray Release: Willie Dynamite

Blu-ray Release Date: Jan. 8, 2019
Price: Blu-ray $26.05
Studio: Arrow/MVD

The titular player in a lesser-known blaxploitation crime drama that’s decidedly mellower on the violence and sex front then its brethren, Willie Dynamite may not be as popular as John Shaft, Sweet Sweetback or Super Fly, but he certainly deserves to be!

The flashiest pimp in New York – he drives a personalized purple-and-gold Cadillac and wears some of the most eye-catching outfits ever seen on a cinema screen—Willie Dynamite wants to be number one, but with the police, the D.A., fellow pimps and a tough-talking social worker on his tail, can a man as arrogant and amoral as Willie D avoid a downfall?

Roscoe Orman dominates with his central performance – a star turn that’s the equal of Richard Roundtree in Shaft or Pam Grier in Coffy. Director Gilbert Moses deftly balances the action and social commentary while J.J. Johnson serves up a funky score featuring Motown legend Martha Reeves that’s undeniably funky.

Here’s what’s on the Blu-ray:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
• Original 1.0 mono audio (uncompressed on the Blu-ray)
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Kiss My Baad Asss, a guide to blaxploitation hosted by actor and musician Ice-T, and featuring interviews with Richard Roundtree, Melvin van Peebles, Isaac Hayes and others
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Cullen Gallagher