With scores of blaxploitation films appearing in the mid-70s, the concept of the "black samurai" was being explored heavily influenced by the popular novel series by Marc Olden (of which this film is based on his sixth entry). The rights for the project bounced around Hollywood for a couple of years before falling into the hands of Al Adamson and Independent International, with the auteur casting Jim Kelly (riding high from Enter the Dragon, Black Belt Jones, and Three the Hard Way) in the leading part, the first of their two collaborations under review here.
By turns marvelously simple and oddly complex, Black Samurai introduces us to Robert Sand (Kelly), an agent of D.R.A.G.O.N (or Defense Reserve Agency Guardian of Nations, an organization that is so much cooler (and sensical) in acronym than actual title), who is on vacation on the tennis court when he is visited by his superiors who task him with finding a girl named Toki, the daughter of a high ranking Chinese Ambassador and Sand's lover. The stakes are high as the ransom for Toki is the secret for a terrifying new weapon, the Freeze Bomb, and the one holding her hostage, Janicot (Bill Roy), causing further complications by dabbling in voodoo and ritual magic.
At this stage, Adamson is no amateur when it comes to being resourceful, and Black Samurai is remarkably impressive in how many oddities and entertainments it packs into its eighty-four minutes. The film rides the coattails of Kelly's popularity, the martial arts craze ignited by Bruce Lee, and the blaxploitation genre being churned out by multiple studios, while also teasing bits of sex (though a PG cut of the picture also exists), ritualistic magic, and a dastardly dwarf (not forgetting Adamson's favorite "car going over a cliff before exploding" stunt that one can set a drinking game to (though these films are pretty long, it would take a while to get a proper buzz going). Adamson films are best (most tolerable?) when he is not tethered by earlier footage he is tasked to make entertaining, and when able to execute a complete "vision" (cannot use that term seriously in most scenarios) one gets to truly see the bizarre qualities of his structures, with narratives taking detours based on the needs of what audiences might be attracted to rather than at the service of characters or plot. Voodoo magic? Sure, that is fine, this could be the next obstacle for Sand to tackle. And as with several of his films, one can see the character being applied to a franchise situation, though of his couple of dozen works that concept never came to fruition (with the mild exception of his The Naughty Stewardesses and Blazing Stewardesses, though the latter film very purposefully avoids being fully attached to its predecessor). But what remains the most surprising quality of Black Samurai is just how consistently entertaining all of these elements are, oddly gelling moreso than other Adamson joints, which often feel cobbled together from disparate parts instead of consistent (and with only four existing Adamson films left to see at the time of this writing (and knowing what those four films are), it feels almost safe to say this is the personal favorite of his output).
Enjoyably bonkers, though a hair less successful is Death Dimension, a film that seems to exist as a way to re-issue Black Samurai as a double bill, once again putting Jim Kelly, this time Detective J. Ash, and Myron Lee, as his partner Li, on the hunt of notorious criminal "The Pig" (played by Harold Sakata, of "Odd Job" fame giving yet another connection with the Bond franchise), who has stolen a state of the art bomb created for good but that also has the power to freeze and kill people (with the alternate title being the quite descriptive Freeze Bomb, which, with Sherman always looking to make the most of potential money, elevated the Lazenby/Sakata presence and diminished (or removed entirely) the Kelly one in its marketing). It certainly makes for an enjoyable ninety minutes, and is certainly not without its delightfully over-the-top moments, though fails to mesh quite as well as Black Samurai does.
Black Samurai
Dir. Al Adamson
84 Minutes
USA
1976
Starring: Jim Kelly, Bill Roy, Roberto Contreras, Marilyn Joi, Essie Lin Chia, Biff Yeager, Charles Grant, Jace Khan
***/*****
Death Dimension
Dir. Al Adamson
88 Minutes
USA
1978
Starring: Jim Kelly, Harold Sakata, George Lazenby, T.E. Foreman, Myron "Bruce" Lee
**1/2/*****
September 23rd, 2020