''The Final Comedown'' is a 1972

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written, produced and directed by Oscar Williams and starring

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

and

D'Urville Martin D'Urville Martin (February 11, 1939 – May 28, 1984) was an American actor in both film and television. He appeared in numerous 1970s movies in the blaxploitation genre. He also appeared in two unaired pilots of what would become ''All in the F ...

. The film is an examination of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and depicts a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

between a radical

black nationalist Black nationalism is a nationalist movement which seeks representation for Black people as a distinct national identity, especially in racialized, colonial and postcolonial societies. Its earliest proponents saw it as a way to advocate for ...

group and the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

, with the

backstory A backstory, background story, background, or legend is a set of events invented for a plot, preceding and leading up to that plot. In acting, it is the history of the character before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's prepara ...

leading up to the shootout told through flashbacks. The radical group is not identified by name in the film but closely resembles the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

. The film was recut and re-released in 1976 under the title ''Blast!'' The new version featured additional footage directed by

Allan Arkush Allan Arkush (born April 30, 1948) is an American director and producer of films, television and videos. He is a regular collaborator with Joe Dante. Early life Arkush grew up in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He graduated in 1966 from Fort Lee High ...

, credited under the pseudonym "Frank Arthur Wilson." The original version has had several releases on DVD from various budget-line DVD manufacturers.

Plot

Cast

Celia Kaye Celia Kaye (born February 24, 1942) is an American actress. She starred in the 1964 film adaptation of '' Island of the Blue Dolphins'' which won her a Golden Globe award. Early life Kaye is of German and Cherokee descent and was born in Cart ...

* Billy Durkin * Raymond St. Jacques

Production

Roger Corman put up $15,000 of the film's budget.

Soundtrack

References

External links

* * 1972 films Blaxploitation films 1972 action films Films about racism in the United States New World Pictures films 1970s English-language films American exploitation films American action films 1970s American films English-language action films {{1970s-US-film-stub