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Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold
Sometimes nothing beats a good 70s era blaxpoitation movie for sheer
entertainment. Like the "80s action movie" this type of movie has been
consigned to history, usually as a more embarassing form of
entertainment than a revered institution. If anything, these movies need
to be more widely available as aside from being commentaries on the
treatment of the urban black population in america in the 70s, they also
provide some genuinely fun movie experiences that deliver great
enrtainment.
This movie is a sequel to the original Cleopatra Jones movie from a few
years earlier which for all intents and purposes is a direct result of
the popularity of the Pam Grier starred Coffy movie (and later Foxy
Brown) that featured a sexy and sassy black woman taking the law into
her own hands, with venegeance on her mind.
Where Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold differs is that it attempts
to be a little more accessible to a wider audience. Sure, theres drugs,
violence and language, but its not nearly as extreme as the earlier Pam
Grier movies. Cleo (played by the amazonianly statuesque Tamara Dobson)
is portrayed as a fun loving fashion plate who'll get the job done by
her own rules, but always seems playful and rarely serious, even in the
most threatening scenes. It certainly gives her a lot of charm, but also
ensures the mood never gets too suspenseful for the duration of the
movie.
The plot involves undercover agents attempting to expose heroin cartel's
in Asia, but it goes horribly, so Cleopatra Jones is brought in to sort
the situation out and get to the bottom of stopping the evil heroin
cartels once and for all.
The plot is as it sounds: wafer thin and reasonably unrealistic in how
it develops. But thats not what you're watching it for. You came for the
action, the 70s dialogue and the incredibly brutal 70s fashion. This
filme delivers all of these "must haves" in droves and theres very few
scenes in the entire movie that aren't entertaining. The setting for the
movie is Hong Kong, so expect lots of sweeping vistas of Hong Kong's
high rises, street markets and boat dotted harbour, plus this also means
you get a very cute private detective, Mi Ling Fong (played very well by
Ni Tien) who's street smarts and local knowledge aid Cleopatara Jones
immeasurably. The cast has a surprise inclusion of Stella Stevens as the
villianess of the piece and Norman Fell plays the atypical "by the book"
law man who is constantly being riled up by Cleo's own methods of
investigation.
Its hard not to like this movie, I thought it was a great piece of
cinema that was very well produced and photographed, When put into
perspective with the time it was made in. Defintiely a keep your brain
in neutral and enjoy the ride type movie, if there ever was one.
Video: I was very surprised with the quality of the video. The 2.35:1
enhanced transfer is very detailed and only has minor dirt and scratches
as obvious flaws. The colour is vibrant and the night scenes, while not
super clear, are still very watchable and do exceedingly well at showing
off the action on screen. Too often these movies get absoloutely dire
transfers, but its great see one transferred so well, you'll definitely
see every sequin and detail in all of Cleo's incredibly over the top
wardrobe. Based on the source material, this is an exceptional transfer.
Audio: As expected the sound isn't exactly of reference quality. The
audio generally sounds very thin with very little dynamic range. Based
off the source material, this is no surprise. Whats here is
serviceable however and all the dialogue is nice and clear with only a
few minor inconsistencies. I doubt there'll ever be a DTS remastering of
Celopatra Jones and the Casino Of Gold so enjoy whats on offer here as
its good quality and an accurate rendition of how it would have sounded
in cinemas at the time it was released.
Extras: Zero, interactive menus and scene access don't constitute as
extras I'm afraid. Its a shame there isn't a commentary, as they are
usually fascinating recollections of the times the film was made it,
Foxy Brown (region 1) benefitted greatly from an excellent and
informative commentary from director Jack Hill. As it stands, no extras
are afforded on this release.
I'd recommend this film to anyone looking for a great piece of 70s
action. It differs from a lot of traditional blaxpoitation films due to
its setting, so theres a more pronounced martial arts angle to the
action. This Eastern flavour makes Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of
Gold quite an oddity, and makes for some great B movie style 70s action. |
