The Spook Who Sat by the Door

[Umoja]

My parents came back from the black film festival with a copy of this DVD. I watched it and was blown away, it's easily one of the best movies I've seen in my life. Very strong message.

The rundown is that a senator is running for president, and needs to garner a few more votes. So he decides to force integration of the CIA by allowing blacks in. The men who are being trained are supposed to fail, but one of them ends up as a full member of the CIA. Long and short he leaves the CIA, and uses his training to turn a street gang into an urban guerilla army.

I guess being an anarchist at heart makes the movie even more fun to watch, as if seeing the National Guard get killed by Guerillas isn't cool enough.

Funny thing about the movie is that when it came out in the 70's, it was really controversial, but copies of it "mysteriously" went missing, and the only way to see it was on bad bootlegs. Someone found it in a hollywood vault recently, and it's become widely available now. If anyone finds it, it's highly recommended.

[red_ale]

Wow, that does sound good. I'm going to have to pick up a copy of that.

[pandora]

This movie is totally bad ass, will find out how to get copies, but you can check on line as it is being produced now.

People will recognize one speech from it in particular as being used by DEAD PREZ interestingly the sound was screwed up there like they recorded the sample directly from the straight copy.

The author and filmmaker Sam Greenlee I believe gives a great speech attached to it about conditions being the same as 30 years ago, and what sell outs most of the African Americans in Hollywood are, and how most Black leaders are elitest.

Says he can make three more movies just like it if you gave him a million dollars.

But what is most important is it is the only movie in the Blaxploitation flix that shows what a guerilla war between blacks and whites in this country would look like, filmed during Vietnam Greenlee's character makes a great point:

"They can't control Vietnam and keep us on our ass if we decided to rise up they would have to make a choice"

By the end of the movie 8 cities have joined and airborne has been brought in, one white soldier who has been hit asks, "Why me" to a guerilla in a ski mask, the guerilla replies, "this is war"

The movie has very strong historical connections, during the LA riot, the National Guard was poised outside of every US city in case it decided to "spread"
The movie poises what if instead of just rioting, we were organized?
Excellent movie, believe the graphics are the same as used as Raise the Fist employed. Showing our sources, eh? :P

Not a bad one. Definately dangerous, UA tries to have a denouncement at the begining "We don't actually mean rise up against white oppression" which the film maker scoffs.

[king Royale]

That sounds great. If anybody could find a way to distribute copies, that would be awesome; you could put it up for download here.

:ph34r:

[guerillablack]

Or you can buy it. Jesus. Can the brother who made the film make some money, since it was pulled out of theatres two weeks into it?

[guerillablack]

I showed this movie at movie night at my school. They loved it. Got some people interested in the movement now.

[last_angry_man]

the film was produced and directed by the late Ivan Dixon, Sgt. Kinchloe from Hogan's Heroes. Dixon died last week and I ran across mention of this film in one of his obituaries. $18 at Amoeba records - what a friggin' movie!