The Final Comedown (1972)

"The Final Comedown" is an unforgettable portrayal of racism between blacks and whites in the early 1970's and how hate and bitterness in both races drove them to dislike and kill each other without cause or provocation. Billy Dee Williams stars as "Johnny Johnson", the leader of a group of young men and women who have vowed to take down and kill any white man that stands in their way. Most of the movie is centered around a showdown between the police and Johnny's group. Johnny is shot early in the movie and is tended to by others in an alley. Much of the back story is given in flashbacks.

Johnny's story starts when he was a little boy and while playing football with some friends, he sees two white police officers forcing a black woman down onto her back in a wooded area. This image stays with Johnny and planted the seeds of hate toward whites. Those seeds were watered and nourished by moments in his life when he felt the hate of racism

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Even though Johnny tried his best to please his mother and father by going to school and getting a diploma and get a job, no company would take him because of the color of his skin. When he buys a car, the police arrest him for stealing it. When he goes to dinner with a white friend, his friends family shows their true colors. In the end, Johnny looses his fight, and everything he thought the was fighting for.

The visuals in the movie were stunning. White man's dominance is displayed when one black man is trapped and nearly thirty white police are surrounding him. The movie moves fast. Blink and you may miss something. An amazing portrayal of hate and prejudice. Think you know what life is like in the ghetto and trying to do your best while "The Man" is still pushing you down just because your black? See this movie. You may change your mind.

The Final Comedown was written and directed by Oscar Williams and was re-released in 1976 under the title of "Blast" and Frank Arthur Willis on is credit as directing the movie that had additional footage.