BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Micransix Crappy film

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Mr-Fusion A hard-nosed look at race relations in the gutters of Harlem, if "Across 110th Street" has any surprises, it's that empathy exists in unlikely places. Look, everyone knows that you don't steal from the mob, and yet you actually feel kinda bad for the murderous schlubs that cross this line - if only because of the mafia's gruesome rampage.And all the while, Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto butt heads as they try to put out the fire. The NYPD detective pairing isn't exactly "In the Heat of the Night", but it's not far off, and Quinn's boorish old-world racist isn't evil in his own right. Still, it was easy to root for Kotto on this one. Cold, unrelenting and vicious, this is a worthwhile crime movie all around.7/10

seymourblack-1 "Across 110th Street" is a powerful crime drama that's action-packed, fast-moving and very violent. Its numerous conflicts, rampant racism and volatile characters generate an incredible amount of tension and the quantities of blood, bullets and brutality featured are absolutely extraordinary. What distinguishes this movie from so many other similar ones, is its tremendously well-drawn characters. They provide a fascinating focus for everything that happens and also provide insights into their motivations. This makes them seem really authentic and through them, the ways in which poverty and desperation can lead to criminality is illustrated in a style that makes its point strongly without ever becoming too heavy-handed.During a meeting at a Harlem apartment during which a couple of Mafia gangsters and their local associates are counting out their week's takings, two men dressed in police uniforms steal the cash amounting to $300,000 and kill all five men before making their clumsy getaway during which they also kill a couple of police officers. The Mafia boss is determined not to lose his operations in Harlem and so appoints his son-in-law, Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa) to hunt down the gang who carried out the heist and retrieve the money they've stolen. D'Salvio is also aware of how important it is that these men need to be punished in a way that will deter others from doing the same thing in the future.NYPD Captain Frank Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) assumes that he'll be assigned to the case but is soon informed that he is to work with Lieutenant William Pope (Yaphet Kotto) who has been put in charge of the investigation. Mattelli, a white, racist Italian-American who's nearing retirement is incensed by this decision but is left with no choice in the matter. Pope is significantly younger, well-educated and black. He operates "by the book" and is disgusted by Mattelli's methods which mostly involve beating his suspects senseless in order to try to illicit information from them.Nick D'Salvio conscripts the help of some Harlem hoods led by Doc Johnson (Richard Ward) and together, they work determinedly to pursue the men who stole their cash so that they can reach them before the police do. A number of surprise developments and the continuing friction between everyone involved then cause a number of further problems before each of the thieves is eventually identified and hunted down.The three incompetent thieves who stole the Mafia money did so because they were so desperate to escape the poverty and squalor that characterised their daily lives and despite being fully aware of the dangers involved couldn't see any other means of escape. Their leader, Jim Harris (Paul Benjamin) recognised that as an uneducated 42-year-old black ex-con with epilepsy, his job prospects were minimal and the heist was his only chance of a better future. The fear and desperation that Harris and Joe Logart (Ed Bernard) experience is powerfully expressed in Benjamin and Bernard's marvellous performances and Antonio Fargas is also brilliant as their larger-than-life getaway driver.Anthony Franciosa is terrific as the sadistic D'Salvio who's a nervy man with a point to prove to his superiors and Yaphet Kotto and Anthony Quinn also impress as the mismatched detectives. The use of hand-held cameras and location shots contribute strongly to the very realistic feel of this movie and the musical contributions by Bobby Womack and J J Johnson are the icing on the cake.

brianwarner-530-226596 Criminally underrated 70's crime pic.....fully equal to Dirty Harry & The French Connection, but virtually unheard of at least here in the UK- I IMPLORE fans of hardboiled urban thrillers to check this out, you won't be disappointed! 3 black hoods rob $300,000 from the mafia, killing 2 cops and some mobsters in the process. The mob send in Nick D'salvio, a paranoid sadist married to the bosses daughter & desperate to prove himself worthy to his formidable father in law. The two senior policemen on the case are like chalk and cheese- Capt. Martelli is 55 & a corrupt, hardened, cynical veteran of the streets whose time is clearly drawing to a close. Wheras Lt. Pope is a young black detective- ambitious but fundamentally honest & by the book, and therefore appalled by Martelli's violent and sometimes illegal methods. What raises this film above the norm isn't the rather generic plot. The performances are uniformly excellent- but it's really the writing and directing that elevate this film to greatness.....Martelli and Pope (played by Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto respectively) don't become "buddies" like Riggs and Mortaugh in Lethal Weapon, the simmering tension & mistrust between them remains- as it would in real life. The 3 robbers, whilst never glamourised (only one is shown as having any kind of real conscience, and their leader is dangerously & unpredictably violent), are far from cardboard cut out bad guys- they're all three dimensional characters, a realistic mix of good and bad, with understandable motives. The psychopathic D'Salvio on the other hand is a truly nasty piece of work with no redeeming features, but even he is intriguingly multi-layerd- particularly in his dealings with the positively Machiavellian boss of the Harlem crime syndicate Doc Johnson, in his own way the most ruthless and streetwise character in the movie.....On paper D'Salvio is the senior mobster, and so should have the upper hand, but Johnson expertly plays on his insecurities to gain the upper hand in a masterfully played scene. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the film is how well it has aged- made over 40 years ago it still holds up well today. Also the level of violence is very strong, even when compared to the many other tough thrillers of the time, but it's never gratuitous- like The French Connection, this is a film about the seamy side of life in New York's ghetto, and director Barry Shear captures the mood and texture of grim n gritty 70's Harlem in a way few have managed. A must see for those who like their thrillers edgy, realistic and uncompromising!

tieman64 Set in the mean streets of Harlem, "Across 110th Street" is one of the better blaxploitation films released in the early seventies. With two fairly big stars in lead roles (Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto), the film also had a slightly larger budget than most of its siblings.The plot revolves around two detectives, played by Kotto and Quinn, who attempt to bring down a black gang. Unfortunately things don't go as planned, mostly because Kotto is black and Quinn is a racist Italian. Written, directed and produced by whites, this film pretends to make a racial statement (the last shot is that of a white on black handshake), but like most of these white-directed blaxploitation films, it's all rage and anger, everyone despicable, nasty and vile.The film ends with a massive shootout (lots of squibs and submachine guns) that was memorable in its day. Today the film is remembered mostly for influencing Tarantino's "Jackie Brown", particularly its opening shot.6/10