BY DARREN ALLISON
Nurse Coffy (Pam Grier) grieves over a sister ruined by
drugs and takes murderous revenge on the pimps and pushers who victimized her.
When her former policeman boyfriend is beaten for refusing to take bribes,
Coffy blasts her way up the corruption trail to drug kingpin Arturo Vitroni (Allan
Arbus) and the fabulous pimp master King George (Robert DoQui). But her
disillusion is complete when she discovers that her classy politician boyfriend
Howard Brunswick (Booker Bradshaw) is also part of the syndicate. Considering “Coffy
“was made on a shoestring budget, the film still works very well, which is
probably down to Jack Hill’s witty, jive talking script and fine direction. The
action is great, probably some of the best to ever emerge from the
Blaxploitation / Soul Cinema genre.
Arrow’s Blu-ray release boasts a lush transfer with
rich colour detail; the film’s opening pin sharp credits appear to almost leave
the screen. The film makes its world début on the Blu-ray format - with a fully
restored High Definition (1080p) presentation. Daytime scenes in particular
look fresh and revived – with my eyes drawn continuously towards the film’s
beautiful solid blue skies. Internal scenes such as the sordid night club
sequences retain a balanced warmth without ever losing fine detail. Night shots,
however, do vary to some degree with some milky greys appearing in place of
solid blacks, but this is no doubt due to the production values and original
lighting conditions. Actually, it provides a nice little reminder that the
viewer is watching a low budget, genuine grindhouse movie. “Coffyâ€â€™s near-perfect
re-mastering process more often than not leads us to believe we are watching a
much larger budgeted production.
The film’s audio is presented in its original
uncompressed mono, which is clear and very acceptable. The masterful soundtrack
(produced, composed, and arranged) by Roy Ayers is allowed to flow naturally.
Free from any forced tweaking, the film unfolds better for it - while also
keeping the purists among us completely satisfied.
The disc's extras are also very impressive.
Writer-director Jack Hill’s audio commentary is both enthusiastic and
informative. Hill doesn't pause for a second, continuously narrating each shot
with production stories, background information on cast and crew and an
incredibly interesting insight into the whole social scene including racism and
feminist issues – it is both a joy and a first-hand education. Other bonus
extras include:
- “A Taste of Coffy“– is a brand new interview with Jack
Hill, a few stories are repeated from the audio commentary, but there is also a
lot of additional material to digest.
- “The Baddest Chick in Town!†– A brand new interview
with Pam Grier on Coffy and its follow up, Foxy Brown is a great little
featurette and full of fascinating stories.
- The original theatrical trailer and an image gallery
are also included.
There is also a very good video essay, simply titled
‘Blaxploitation!’, presented by author Mikel J. Koven. I thought this would be the weakest link among
the extras, but I was pleasantly surprised – it’s actually a joy from start to
finish and had me hanging on to every word. The presentation is also packed
with stills and lots of beautifully produced film posters that were
representative of the genre.
Arrow have provided an
informative booklet and produced a very cool, reversible sleeve featuring
original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx – Overall, it’s all
just about perfect.
"COFFY" WILL BE RELEASED ON 6 APRIL. CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK