Re-Packaged Blaxploitation Movies & The Kung Fu Boom

[DragonClaws]

 

After the start of the Kung Fu movie boom in the West, some Blaxploitation titles were re-packaged and re-sold to audiences. Sure there are a lot more examples than the one featured below?, if any cares to share their finds?. Not being an expert on this genre, I wasnt sure if to include titles TNT Jackson(1974) starring Genie Bell, or Velvet Smooth(1976)? with Johnnie Hill , which was promoted as featuring Martial Arts, even though they were not straight up MA movies.

 

Kung POW, TNT Jackson(Jeannie Bell) gets her man, played by actor Stan Shaw.

 

 

 

 

[AlbertV]

Force Four was also known as Black Force

Black Fist was originally titled Bogard with an X-rating before it was cut down to an R with the new title.

 

Death Force also went by the title Fighting Mad

[ThunderScore]

[Gaijin84]

awesome topic - cinemageddon here i come!

[DragonClaws]

4 hours ago, AlbertV said:

Black Fist was originally titled Bogard with an X-rating before it was cut down to an R with the new title.

 

I have that movie on the MillCreek box-set I think?, I didnt know Bogard and Black Fist, were the same movie.

 

4 hours ago, AlbertV said:

Force Four was also known as Black Force

 

Recall this movie got its own thread on the forums, unless it was anohter casuality of th blackout in 2016?.

 

Thanks for the feedback @ThunderScore and @AlbertV.

[AlbertV]

16 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

 

I have that movie on the MillCreek box-set I think?, I didnt know Bogard and Black Fist, were the same movie.

@ThunderScore@AlbertV

Yeah I read there was controversy with Bogard, as the original produced the film financed the film through illegal means so the producers took the film and edited out the X-rated footage and re-released the film in 1977 under the Black Fist title. It did go by another title when New Line Cinema picked it up: The Black Street Fighter

[DragonClaws]

4 hours ago, AlbertV said:

It did go by another title when New Line Cinema picked it up: The Black Street Fighter

 

Did this re-issue coincide with Bronsons Streetfighter film?, maybe thats why they gave it a similar name?.

 

[DragonClaws]

 

Blaxploitation & Kung Fu

Link- https://museumofuncutfunk.com/2011/10/07/blaxploitation-and-kung-fu/

 

[Secret Executioner]

IMO, the best combination of Blaxploitation and Martial Arts was when Marvel Comics decided to team up Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Perfect blend.

 

 

 

[DragonClaws]

14 minutes ago, Secret Executioner said:

IMO, the best combination of Blaxploitation and Martial Arts was when Marvel Comics decided to team up Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Perfect blend.

 

Great example, and these editions must have been sold during the same era?.

 

 

20 Essential Black Kung Fu Connections

Link- https://www.theroot.com/20-essential-black-kung-fu-connections-1790868319

 

 

 

[Secret Executioner]

@DragonClaws From what I could find, these comics I posted earlier were originally released between 1978 and 1980. The whole thing ran from 1978 (starting with Power Man/Iron Fist #50, which marked yet another series' title change, this time from Power Man to Power Man/Iron Fist) to 1986. The characters were products of the 1970s, both declining in popularity when the Kung Fu and Blaxploitation crazes started wearing off. Their teaming up was initially a mean to avoid cancelling their individual series.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Man_and_Iron_Fist

 

Youtuber Lewis Lovhaug AKA Linkara discusses the background of these characters in a video about a pretty weird (but still very enjoyabe) issue of the series:

 

[DragonClaws]

5 minutes ago, Secret Executioner said:

@DragonClaws From what I could find, these comics I posted earlier were originally released between 1978 and 1980.

 

Thanks for that @Secret Executioner, Marvel were clearly infleunced by what was popular with cinema audiences at the time.

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

[DragonClaws]

 

Melinda(1972) was made just before the Kung Fu movie media exploision of the mid-70's. Later re-issued to cash in on it, with a decpetive adnvertising?.

 

[DragonClaws]

 

 

Anyone here watched Cowboys VS Karate Killers?, one of the movies in the 1970's newspaper advertisement above.

 

Blaxploitation meets Bruceploitation, starring Tong Long and Jack Pierce.

IMDB, Link- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164415/fullcredits

Quote

The members of an illicit organization called The Black Hand placed a lot of money on Bruce to throw a fight. When Bruce, however, costs them a million dollars they are not happy and plot revenge. They send an army of top martial artists from around the globe to bring him down. - IMDB

 

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

This could have been a real action classic, it just needed Ron Van Clief among the cast. Along with a much bigger budget.

 

 

[bearpower]

Jim Kelly

• Melinda (1972) – Charles Atkins
• Enter the Dragon (1973) – Williams
• Black Belt Jones (1974) – Black Belt Jones
• Three the Hard Way (1974) – Mister Keyes
• Golden Needles (1974) – Jeff
• Take a Hard Ride (1975) – Kashtok
• Hot Potato (1976) – Jones
• Black Samurai (1977) – Robert Sand
• The Tattoo Connection (a.k.a. E yu tou hei sha xing, Black Belt Jones 2) (1978)^[10] – Lucas
• Death Dimension (1978) – Lt. Detective J. Ash
• The Amazing Mr. No Legs (a.k.a. Mr. No Legs) (1979)^[11]
• One Down, Two to Go (1982) – Chuck
• Ron Van Clief
• Xia nan yang 1974
• Bamboo Trap 1975
• Mababagsik na anghel 1975
• The Black Dragon Revengers the Death of Bruce Lee
• The Squeeze 1975
• The way of Black Dragon 1979
• Kung Fu Fever 1979
• Enter Another Dragon 1979
• Tamara Dobson
• Cleopatra Jones 1973 
• Cleoparta Jones and the Casino of Gold 1975
• Rudy Ray Moore
• Dolemite 1975
• The Human Tornada 1976
• Petey Wheatstraw the Devil Son n Law 1977
• Disco Godfather  1979
• Carl Scott
• Bruce Lee The man The Myth 1976
• Soul Brother of Kung Fu 1977
• Sun Dragon 1979
• Kung Fu Executioner 1981
•  

 

 

 

[saltysam]

i keep reading Jim Kelly was in Amazing Mr No Legs but having watched it fairly recently i couldn't spot him anywhere.

[DragonClaws]

4 hours ago, saltysam said:

i keep reading Jim Kelly was in Amazing Mr No Legs but having watched it fairly recently i couldn't spot him anywhere.

 

 

[saltysam]

Wish we could get that in widescreen

[DragonClaws]

10 hours ago, saltysam said:

Wish we could get that in widescreen

 

Ditto.

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

The Blaxploitation Era: A Scrapbook from the ’70s

Source- https://briandanacamp.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/the-blaxploitation-era-a-scrapbook-from-the-70s/

 

 

 

[Secret Executioner]

Enter Jim "Dragon" Kelly as Black Belt Jones.  

 

[DragonClaws]

On 7/5/2019 at 7:15 PM, Secret Executioner said:

Enter Jim "Dragon" Kelly as Black Belt Jones.  

 

I think Ron Van Clief deserve's more priase, as much as I enjoy sme of Jim Kelly's movies.

 

I've now steered the thread more into Blaxpoitation and Martial Art movies. Rather than just re-packaged Blaxploitation flick's.