Boss Nigger is a 1975 blaxploitation film directed by Jack Arnold. It stars former football player Fred Williamson, who
both wrote and co-produced the film. Boss
Nigger is the first film for which Williamson was credited as screenwriter or producer.[1]
Boss Nigger was released in some areas under the title The Boss or The Black Bounty Killer.[1]
Plot summary
Two Black bounty hunters, "Boss Nigger" and
Amos (Williamson and D'Urville Martin), ride into a small Western town in pursuit of a fugitive
(William Smith). When they discover that the town has no sheriff, "Boss Nigger" takes that position for himself after outsmarting the cowardly white mayor (R.G. Armstrong).[2][3]
Critical analysis
Initial release
On its initial release, Vincent Canby of The
New York Times described Boss Nigger as "a pleasant surprise if you stumble upon it without warning." Canby
characterized Williamson's acting as "an immensely self-assured parody of the Man With No Name played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's films."[4]
Canby concluded his review by highlighting what made Boss Nigger notable among Black Westerns:
- Most black Westerns either ignore race or make it the fundamental point of the movie. Boss Nigger somehow manages to
do both quite successfully.[4]
Later critics
In its review of Boss Nigger, written in the early 21st century,
Time Out suggested that Williamson was parodying
the violent roles he had played in other blaxploitation films. The review noted that Boss Nigger was notable for its
"old-fashioned bloodless violence."[2]
Writing in 2006, film critic Ryan Diduck described the marketing of Boss Nigger and other blaxploitation films to Black
audiences as an example of "empowerment through an overturned representation of
long-established agency limitations for black men." Diduck specifically cited the trailer
for Boss Nigger for the manner in which it elicits feelings of Black superiority and white hysteria and encourages the
audience to identify with the outsider hero who finds himself at odds with the rules of
white America.[5]
William Smith on Boss Nigger
In a 1998 interview, Smith spoke of his experience filming Boss Nigger.
Smith, who is white, said that he never felt any racial tension, despite the fact that production took place during the height of
the Black Power movement. He went on to describe the making of the film:
- I was killed in ... Boss Nigger by Fred Williamson. We had a great time with our fights. We went down to Arizona to film Boss with R.G. Armstrong.
He had a lot of urban, black kids on the set. They were falling off their horses like Neville
Brand did in Laredo — only they weren't drunk, of course. Fred and I had a great
fight scene in that, more than one.[6]
References
- ^ a b Boss Nigger,All Movie Guide. Retrieved on
May 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Time Out Film Review - Boss Nigger, Time Out Film Guide 13.
Retrieved on May 5, 2007.
- ^ Boss Nigger,Internet Movie Database.
Retrieved on May 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Vincent Canby, "'Boss Nigger,' Black Western, Proves a Surprise", The New York
Times, February 27, 1975. Retrieved on
May 5, 2007.
- ^ Ryan Diduck, "Of Race, Representation and
Responsibility in Jenni Olson’s Afro Promo", Offscreen, Volume 10, Issue 2
(February 28, 2006). Retrieved on May
5, 2007.
- ^ "William Smith in His Own Words", William Smith Official Fan Site. Retrieved on
May 5, 2007.
External links
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