Dir: George McCowan
1970
***
George McCowan's 1970 War drama is not quite a Blaxploitation film in the classic sense but it is definitely a precursor to what the sub-genre would become. In truth, it's a larger budget away from being quite the War classic. The story and heart is an important part of social history, there are moments, particularly the final scene, that are as powerful as any award-winning mainstream drama. The cast are brilliant, not one person delivers a sub-standard performance, far from it in fact, Stephen Boyd, Robert Hooks, Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor are all very convincing, it's just a shame that the quality for recording was so poor. The editing is absolutely awful but I think George McCowan is unfairly seen as a terrible director, it's true he made some dire films but this is usually down to poor story and small budget, for what he had I thought he always did a good job, all things considered. Carter's Army, or Black Brigade as it was more commonly known, is certainly one of his better efforts.
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