Legend of Nigger Charley (1972)

Violent black Western about a Virginia slave who becomes a fugitive after killing treacherous overseer. Title song sung by Lloyd Price. Product Description

Blax Film DVD review

As of this writing the only way I know of to see this title is thru the "Blax" DVD edition available at Amazon or on ebay. I finally took the plunge and got this disc and watched it last night. If you, like me, wanted more information about the DVD, here you go.

The DVD is fullscreen. It is transferred from a videotape source, most likely 3/4" betamax. It seems likely the source was originally taped off-air as there seem to be "reception" problems such as a static-filled hiss on occasion, like one might hear when watching an antenna broadcast and a plane flies overhead. Also the image is unclear at times, "ghosting" is present, and there are pervasive video "dropouts" (white dots and lines) throughout. On occasion there is video "wrinkle" that is unique to 3/4" broadcast elements.

The film is edited for broadcast standards. Mild swear words are muted, so phrases come out like "you God-... son of a...," although there are pervasive uses of the "n-word" throughout. Some scenes seem to indicate clumsy editing for content ... Love scenes seem truncated, especially, and there is no blood to be seen onscreen, but lots of guns are fired.

The film itself has low production values and is little more than a curiosity piece based on the inflammatory title. The cinematography is very soft-focused with tons of diffused lighting and the sound is too hot in interiors, which all lends the impression of a cheap movie made for TV. I was constantly reminded of "Roots" and I suspect the film might have been trying to capitalize on that series' popularity and challenging subject matter. Its nice to see Fred Williamson in anything though, and fans will want to see the movie despite the shortcomings of this DVD.

DVD also includes 2 unrelated trailers, one for DOLEMITE and another for DR. BLACK AND MR. HYDE, both of which have been lifted from VHS trailer tapes made by "Something Weird Video," and they retain the SWV watermark in the corner.

I suspect that "Blax" is not necessarily a legitimate, up-and-up DVD label, and viewers should be aware that if a seller claims the film is "factory sealed," that carries very little real merit and the buyer should expect a viewable film but of little more than solid "bootleg" quality. Cover art is very nice and derived from a Spanish one-sheet. DVD's physical quality itself is very high, with nice art on the label and solid playback, but again, the source material is watchable but leaves a great deal to be desired. I paid about $4 and only narrowly avoided feeling taken advantage of. You are buying curiosity over quality in this case.
October 24, 2007

the legend of nigger charlie

ACTUALLY I THINK IS THE BEST WORK FRED WILLIAMSON EVER DID, SANS THREE THE HARD WAY, IT IS ENTERTAINING THRU OUT AND DURVILLE MARTIN IS A GREAT SIDEKICK, THE STORY ALMOST FEASIBLE, A SLAVE'S MAMA BARGINS FOR HIS FREEDOM BUT AN EVIL SLAVEHOLDER TEARS UP HIS FREEDOM PAPERS AND PROMPLY GETS WHUPPED FOR IT, A NICE MOVIE REALLY I WOULD PUT IT IN THE BLACK FLICK TOP TEN September 13, 2007

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