Across 110th Street

Infobox_Film
name = Across 110th Street


caption = Theatrical Poster
director = Barry Shear
producer = Anthony Quinn
Fouad Said
Barry Shear
writer = Novel: Wally Ferris Screenplay: Luther Davis
starring = Anthony Quinn Yaphet Kotto Tony Franciosa
music = Bobby Womack, J. J. Johnson
cinematography =
distributor = United Artists
released = December 19, 1972
runtime = 102 minutes
country = United States
language = English
budget =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0068168

"Across 110th Street" is a 1972 American crime-drama film, starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, and Tony Franciosa, and directed by Barry Shear. Commonly associated with the blaxploitation genre at the time, it has received considerable critical praise from writer Greil Marcus and others for being a film that surpassed the limitations of that genre. [ [http://www.popmatters.com/film/reviews/a/across-110th-street.shtml Pop Matters] web site.]

Plot

This film is set in Harlem, of which 110th Street is an informal boundary line.

Kotto plays a by-the-book black police lieutenant who has to work with a crude, racist and streetwise Italian-American captain, played by Quinn. They are after three black robbers who slaughtered five men—three Italians and two Blacks—in a raid on a Mob owned Harlem policy bank that netted $300,000. The getaway driver is played by Antonio Fargas. Franciosa plays a Mafia lieutenant who, with his henchmen, goes after the hoods. Paul Benjamin plays the troubled but good-hearted Jim Harris, which is the last of the surviving hoods; he makes his choice in the emotional climax.

In one of many violent scenes, Franciosa finds Fargas' character and brutalizes him in a Harlem whorehouse.

Background

The mixture of natural, uncontrived, down-to-the-bone dialogue and 1970s dress and behavior accounts for the film's enduring appeal. The inclusion of violence is viewed as not gratuitous, but rather an integral part of what happens, and what has to happen, given the circumstances. The movie was filmed on location in Harlem, making the film an interesting comparison of the neighborhood of that time, and now, with its recent urban revival. Technically, the film is also notable as being the first feature film to use a self-blimped camera (the Arriflex 35BL) for sync sound; the much-reduced size of the camera allowed the production to not only use more hand-held shots and smaller locations than normal, but also record usable sound at the same time - an endeavor not previously possible under those circumstances.

Cast

* Yaphet Kotto as Lt. Pope
* Anthony Quinn as Capt. Mattelli
* Anthony Franciosa as Nick D'Salvio
* Burt Young as Lapides
* Antonio Fargas as Henry J. Jackson
* Richard Ward as Doc Johnson
* Gilbert Lewis as Shevvy
* Frank Adu as Black Assistant
* Frank Arno as Detective Rizzo
* Joseph Attles as Mr. Jessup
* Paul Benjamin as Jim Harris
* Ed Bernard as Joe Logart
* Tina Beyer as Black Whore
* Gerry Black as Patrolman
* Samuel Blue Jr. as Dr. Christmas

oundtrack

Infobox Album |
Name = Across 110th Street Soundtrack [United Artists]
Type = Album
Artist = Bobby Womack


Released = 1972
Recorded = 1972
Genre = R&B
Length = 30:13
Label = United Artists
Producer = Bobby Womack
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0pfuxqq5ldhe link]
Last album = "Understanding (album)" (1972) and

This album = "Across 110th Street Soundtrack" (1972)

Next album = "Facts of Life (album)" (1973)

The film's critically-praised title song, by Bobby Womack, was a #19 hit on the Billboard Top Black Singles chart in 1973, and was later featured in Quentin Tarantino's 1997 blaxploitation homage "Jackie Brown". It is also heard in Ridley Scott's 2007 "American Gangster," [imdb title|id=0765429|title=American Gangster.] and as a background song for the video game True Crime: New York City.

* "Across 110th Street" (performed by Bobby Womack and Peace) (US #56, R&B #19)
* "Harlem Clavinette" (performed by J.J.Johnson and his Orchestra)
* "If You Don't Want My Love" (performed by Bobby Womack and Peace)
* "Hang On In There" (performed by J.J.Johnson and his Orchestra)
* "Quicksand" (performed by Bobby Womack and Peace)
* "Harlem Love Theme" (performed by J.J.Johnson and his Orchestra)
* "Across 110th Street (instrumental)" (performed by J.J.Johnson and his Orchestra)
* "Do It Right" (performed by Bobby Womack and Peace)
* "Hang On In There" (performed by Bobby Womack and Peace)
* "If You Don't Want My Love" (performed J.J.Johnson and his Orchestra)
* "Across 110th Street - Part II" (performed by Bobby Womack and Peace)

References

External links

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