Blaxploitation on 4K UHD

14 blaxploitation films on 4K Blu-ray, ranked S to D by transfer quality. 1 S-Tier picks including Shaft.

Shaft(1971)

6.6/10

dir. Gordon Parks

S-Tier

Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray

The Black Gestapo(1975)

4.7/10

dir. Lee Frost

A-Tier

Dark Force #4 from June 2023, native 4K from a fresh scan with HDR10 and a 300-copy limited slipcover. Lee Frost's 1975 blaxploitation is the kind of grindhouse title that usually gets a soft 2K master, so the native 4K route is the surprise. The slipcover edition is gone, the bare disc is what Dark Force is moving now.

Dark Force Entertainment · 4K Ultra HD

Velvet Smooth(1976)

3.3/10

dir. Michael Fink

B-Tier

Dark Force #6 from November 2023. Michael Fink's 1976 blaxploitation with Johnnie Hill as a martial artist tracking a kidnapped sister, 4K UHD plus Blu-ray combo with a slipcover. The kind of regional grindhouse fare that gets one shot at HD survival.

Dark Force Entertainment · 4K Ultra HD

Across 110th Street(1972)

7.0/10

dir. Barry Shear

In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?

Black Caesar(1973)

6.4/10

dir. Larry Cohen

Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.

Bucktown(1975)

6.2/10

dir. Arthur Marks

Duke Johnson visits a small Southern town, intent on burying his brother. After the funeral, he learns that he must stay for 60 days, for the estate to be processed. A few locals convince Duke to reopen his late brother's nightclub, and soon the local redneck policemen are intimidating Duke with threats of violence. Duke refuses to pay the bribes they demand, so then he and his lady friend Aretha are threatened and attacked by the crooked cops. Rather than take them on himself, Duke calls on his old pal Roy. Roy brings a few buddies to Bucktown, and they bring justice to the small town. With the redneck cops out of the way, Duke lets his guard down. Then the situation gets out of hand again. Finally, Duke must settle the score himself.

Coffy(1973)

6.8/10

dir. Jack Hill

After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.

Cotton Comes to Harlem(1970)

6.4/10

dir. Ossie Davis

Harlem's African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O'Malley, who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson look into O'Malley's scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. However, the police, O'Malley, and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.

Foxy Brown(1974)

6.5/10

dir. Jack Hill

A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.

Friday Foster(1975)

6.0/10

dir. Arthur Marks

Friday Foster, a magazine photographer, goes to Los Angeles International airport to photograph the arrival of Blake Tarr, the richest black man in America. Three men attempt to assassinate Tarr. Foster photographs the melee and is plunged into a web of conspiracy involving the murder of her childhood friend, a US senator, and a shadowy plan called "Black Widow".

Hell Up In Harlem(1973)

5.9/10

dir. Larry Cohen

A Harlem gangster must rescue his ex-wife, who's been kidnapped by the Mafia.

Sheba, Baby(1975)

5.7/10

dir. William Girdler

Sheba, a Chicago private detective returns back home to Louisville, Kentucky, to help her father fight mobsters.

Slaughter's Big Rip-Off(1973)

5.8/10

dir. Gordon Douglas

Vigilante Slaughter comes under attack from Duncan, a local money launderer whose hit-man traps Slaughter in a car at a cliff, but Slaughter escapes, arms himself, and goes after Duncan's hideout.

Truck Turner(1974)

6.9/10

dir. Jonathan Kaplan

Truck Turner and his partner Jerry, who make their living as bounty hunters in Los Angeles, are hired to hunt down Gator, a pimp who has skipped bail.