Gordon's War

Gordon's War is an overlooked gem that needs to be seen by any fan of 70's Blackspoitation.

OK, so this isn't one of the best movies ever made, but it is one of the better Blaxploitation films and is still not very well known.

A Vietnam vet returns home to Harlem, to find out his lady died from an overdose. This Heroin problem is not only a problem for him, but dope and pimps are taking over the whole neighborhood. He wants justice, not just for his woman but for his neighborhood and for his people.

He gets a group of his buddies from the Nam, and they form a a 4 man task force to push the dealers out of Harlem.

This movie is creative and fun, if you don't try to take it too seriously. Fans of the genre will recognize many of the actors in the movie.

This team not only tackles the dealers, the attack the infrastructure, and keep on fighting until they get all the way to the top until they get all the way to the top.

Paul Winfield presence is strong.

This is really more of an crime-action movie than a crime-drama. Car chases, fighting, comedy, and a few slick quotables in it as well.

If you like Blaxploitation flicks, you'll want to see this.

I love this one alot I've seen it now about 12 times. Such a great perfomance by the main character .Good gritty Harlem NYC locations and situations.This film really hits home for me ,I grew up on some of those filthy streets .One mans noble mission to rid the neighborhood of this poison called drugs,is the focus of this film .Ozzie we love you ! I only wish this was true life . I would tell anyone to give this a try one evening ,but it seems to be such a rare piece...

Paul Winfield stars as the eponymous hero in this highly satisfying, gritty and violent actioner in which after returning home from Nam and finding his beloved wife has died of an overdose, our hero decides to wage war on the drug pushers, pimps and general low life infesting the streets of Harlem. Unfortunately, Gordon is brought to the swift realisation (painfully!) that one man alone is not enough to tackle the problem, so enlists the aid of some old army buddies including the ever super cool Tony King and promptly sets about coming down heavy on the nefarious wretches who are destroying the neighbourhood.

Bucket loads of glorious violence and some fine action set pieces follow in this solidly rendered flick which is all the more sadly, so little known. Winfield, although hardly pushed in this, is fine as ever as are the rest of the cast and the director really succeeds in making us care about these protagonists in the ever more perilous situation they find themselves in. Special mention also to the highly exciting final chase scene in this although the final conclusion involving the assassination of the apparent 'real' top dog running all of the drugs business in the area is regretfully somewhat confusing not to mention unsatisfyingly abrupt. Nonetheless, such a small matter in no way detracts from the overall entertainment value of all that precedes it. Highly recommended.

This is by no means another cookie-cutter 70's Black crime drama: Paul W. and his band of Vietnam War Vets have come back to Harlem to try to eradicate the pimps and pushers who are sowing the seeds of devastation in their community. What is significant to me is the well orchestrated and articulated courses of action that they employ to achieve their goals. Gordon (Paul W.), the leader, demands discipline and dedication from his fellow Vet brothers to carry out the difficult tasks at hand and they in turn fulfill those demands by utilizing their own special skill sets in their own individual fashion. Note the technical skills used to set up command headquarters liaison and communication and also the street skills used in flushing out the dope den by "fakin' the funk" to simulate rat poison dope cutting.

The film moves along at a brisk pace, by not overindulging in extreme doses of gratuitous violence and wasted motion. The progression of events is shown in a logical and entertaining fashion, thanks to the directorial skills of Ossie Davis and by injecting "New Birth" cuts into the soundtrack.

Even though this is purportedly a Black film set in Harlem, you don't see any extreme cases of race badgering and "Honkey" this and that name calling. These brothers depicted here have returned to put out any and all hoodlums involved in the Harlem crime scene, whether it's Spanish Harry and his boys in the 'hood or the fat cat suppliers up the ladder in downtown Manhattan. To Gordon and his men, you mess around, you lay around! Even though this film is now 35 years old, the principles are still as applicable to today's problems as they were to the problems back in the day.