| Gordon's War | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ossie Davis |
| Written by | Howard Friedlander & Ed Spielman |
| Produced by | Robert Schaffel |
| Starring | Paul Winfield |
| Cinematography | Victor J. Kemper |
| Music by | Angelo Badalamenti (as Andy Badale), Al Elias |
| Production company | Palomar Pictures |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.6 million |
| Box office | $1,250,000 (US/ Canada rentals) |
Gordon's War is a 1973 action film written by Howard Friedlander and Ed Spielman, and directed by Ossie Davis. It stars Paul Winfield as Gordon Hudson. Gordon's War was made at the height of blaxploitation films popularity from the early 1970s featuring some of the racial stereotypes of the genre.
Plot
A Vietnam veteran returns home to find drug dealers and addicts now rule his old neighborhood, and that even his own wife has fallen victim to drugs. Together with three of his buddies from Vietnam, he fights back.
Using tactics borrowed from war that involve them not using the cops, they find that the culprit to all of the trouble is a couple of white salesmen.
Cast
- Paul Winfield as Gordon Hudson
- Carl Lee as Bee Bishop
- David Downing as Otis Russell
- Tony King as Roy Green
- Gilbert Lewis as Harry "Spanish Harry" Martinez
- Carl Gordon as Luther "The Pimp"
- Nathan Heard as "Big Pink"
- Grace Jones as Mary
- Jackie Page as Bedroom Girl
- Chuck Bergansky as White Hitman
- Adam Wade as Hustler
- Hansford Rowe as Dog Salesman
- Warren Taurien as "Goose"
- Ralph Wilcox as Black Hitman
- David Connell as Hotel Proprietor
- Rochelle LeNoir as Gordon's Wife
- Charles McGregor as Jim, Drug Dealer On Subway Station Platform (uncredited)
Soundtrack
The music heard throughout the film has become a well-respected album in its own right, performed by Badder Than Evil, Barbara Mason, New Birth and Sister Goose And The Ducklings.
Most songs were composed and performed by Badder Than Evil, a funk / R&B project of Albert Sahley Elias (credited as Al Elias) and Angelo Badalamenti (credited as Andy Badale). Their track Hot Wheels (the chase) has been sampled by scores of artists including Public Enemy, Coldcut and Blade.
Reception
The New York Times called it an inconclusive film, one that had a "format and substance—a black theme dramatized, for practical, constructive purposes—remain exceeded by its goal." Jacob Knight of Birth.Movies.Death called it "one of the most valuable works to come out of '70s Blaxploitation."
See also
References
- Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p257
- "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 60
- "'Gordon's War' Views Drug Scene". The New York Times. 1973-08-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
- "The Savage Stack - GORDon's WAR (1973)". 23 April 2018.
External links
| Films directed by Ossie Davis | |
|---|---|
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- 1973 films
- Blaxploitation films
- 1973 action films
- 20th Century Fox films
- Films directed by Ossie Davis
- Films set in New York City
- Films scored by Angelo Badalamenti
- 1970s English-language films
- American exploitation films
- American action films
- 1970s American films
- English-language action films
- 1970s action film stubs
- 1970s American film stubs