The Best Blaxploitation Movies Of All-Time
“What are the best Blaxploitation Movies Of All-Time?” We looked at 76 of the top Blaxploitation films, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 33 films, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Blaxploitation” movie lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 40+ movies, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Top 33 Blaxploitation Movies Of All-Time
33 .) Black Samson (1974) directed by Charles Bail
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
Noble nightclub owner Samson does his best to keep his neighborhood clean of crime and drugs. When vicious mobster Johnny Nappa tries to muscle in on Samson’s territory, Samson takes a brave stand against Nappa and his flunkies.
32 .) Bucktown (1975) directed by Arthur Marks
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
Duke Johnson visits a small Southern town, intent on burying his brother. After the funeral, he learns that he must stay for 60 days, for the estate to be processed. A few locals convince Duke to reopen his late brother’s nightclub, and soon the local redneck policemen are intimidating Duke with threats of violence. Duke refuses to pay the bribes they demand, so then he and his lady friend Aretha are threatened and attacked by the crooked cops. Rather than take them on himself, Duke calls on his old pal Roy. Roy brings a few buddies to Bucktown, and they bring justice to the small town. With the redneck cops out of the way, Duke lets his guard down. Then the situation gets out of hand again. Finally, Duke must settle the score himself.
31 .) Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) directed by Ossie Davis
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- IMDB
- LA Times
Harlem’s African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O’Malley, who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson look into O’Malley’s scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. However, the police, O’Malley, and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.
30 .) Detroit 9000 (1973) directed by Arthur Marks
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- Complex
- NY Times
After a fundraiser for a black politician is robbed, Detroit police put two detectives, one white and one black, on the case, who try to work together under boiling political pressure.
29 .) Five on the Black Hand Side (1973) directed by Oscar Williams
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
Leonard Jackson plays a barber who is also the domineering head of a middle-class African American family. Jackson is forced to rethink his values when his previously docile wife (Clarice Taylor) joins their three children in rebelling against her husband’s retrogressive behavior.
28 .) Ganja & Hess (1973) directed by Bill Gunn
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Complex
- IMDB
After being stabbed with an ancient, germ-infested knife, a doctor’s assistant finds himself with an insatiable desire for blood.
27 .) Hell Up in Harlem (1973) directed by Larry Cohen
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
Tougher than Shaft and smoother than Superfly, this high-voltage sequel to Black Caesar explodes with enough action to incinerate New York City. Packed with machine-gun mayhem and riveting adventure, Hell Up in Harlem is nothing less than a modern-day tribute to the classic 30s gangster film. Fred Williamson is Tommy Gibbs, a fearless, bulletproof tough guy who blasts his way from the gutter to become the ultimate soul brother boss. Tommy steals a ledger with the name of every crooked cop and man in the city. Enlisting the aid of his father and an army of Harlem hoods, Gibbs goes from defense to offense, launching a deadly attack on his enemies that sets off a violent chain reaction from Harlem all the way to the Caribbean, climaxing in one of the hottest turf-war shoot-outs in Hollywood history.
26 .) Sugar Hill (1974) directed by Paul Maslansky
Lists It Appears On:
- Dat History Guy
- Flick Chart
- Paste Magazine
When her boyfriend is brutally murdered, after refusing to be shaken down by the local gangsters running their protection racket, Sugar Hill, decides not to get mad, but BAD! Calling upon the help of aged voodoo queen Mama Maitresse, Sugar entreats her to call upon Baron Zamedi, the Lord of the Dead, for help in gaining a gruesome revenge. In exchange for her soul, the Dark Master raises up a zombie army to do her bidding. The bad guys who thought they were getting away clean are about to find out that they’re DEAD wrong.
25 .) The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972) directed by Martin Goldman
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- Complex
- IMDB
A trio of runaway slaves evade authorities in the Old West.
24 .) Trick Baby (1972) directed by Larry Yust
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Complex
- EW
Two Phildelphia con men try to evade gangsters they have conned and cops who are trying to put them in jail.
23 .) Uptown Saturday Night (1974) directed by Sidney Poitier
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- IMDB
Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby team up in this hilarious misadventure as buddies Steve and Wardell, who head uptown to a swanky nightclub. Unfortunately, thieves hit the club and steal Steve’s wallet — which happens to hold a winning lottery ticket. Poitier also directed this classic 1970s comedy, which co-stars Harry Belafonte as Godfather figure Geechie Dan Beauford and Richard Pryor.
22 .) Black Belt Jones (1974) directed by Robert Clouse
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- Flick Chart
- Taste Of Cinema
Jones is a secret agent who has gone into semi-retirement, concentrating instead on teaching the martial arts to inner city youths. The karate school is run by a kindly old coot named Pops ,played by Scatman Crothers. His gambling debts, however, bring the local thug, Pinky, down on him. To make matters worse, Pinky is then hired by some white thugs who want to get a hold of the property Pops’ school occupies so they can build a shopping mall. When things get heavy, Black Belt Jones leaps into action. Only he’s not alone. Pops’ daughter, Sidney, shows up to lend a hand, proving herself every bit as agile and powerful a martial artist as Jones.
21 .) Coonskin (1975) directed by Ralph Bakshi
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Complex
- IMDB
- NY Times
A multi-layered satire of race relations in America. Live-action sequences of a prison break bracket the animated story of Brother Rabbit, Brother Bear, and Preacher Fox, who rise to the top of the crime ranks in Harlem by going up against a con-man, a racist cop, and the Mafia.
20 .) Penitentiary (1979) directed by Jamaa Fanaka
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Complex
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
A hitchhiker named Martel Gordone gets in a fight with two bikers over a prostitute, and one of the bikers is killed. Gordone is arrested and sent to prison, where he joins the prison’s boxing team in an effort to secure an early parole and to establish his dominance over the prison’s toughest gang.
19 .) The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973) directed by Ivan Dixon
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
A black man plays Uncle Tom in order to gain access to CIA training, then uses that knowledge to plot a new American Revolution.
18 .) Willie Dynamite (1974) directed by Gilbert Moses
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- EW
- eZine Articles
Willie Dynamite is a pimp who operates in New York City. Willie was a big success as a pimp, but now, just as fast as he rose to the top, he has hit bottom. A former prostitute who has become a social worker tries to get Willie to clean up his life while it is still possible.
17 .) Cleopatra Jones (1973) directed by Jack Starrett
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- IMDB
- NY Times
- Paste Magazine
Cleopatra Jones is assigned to crack down on drug trafficking in the United States and abroad. After she burns a Turkish poppy field, the notorious drug lord Mommy is furious at the loss of her supply and vows to destroy her.
16 .) Cooley High (1975) directed by Michael Schultz
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- Taste Of Cinema
In the mid-1960s, a group of high school friends who live on the Near North Side of Chicago enjoy life to the fullest…parties, hanging out, meeting new friends. Then life changes for two of the guys when they meet a pair of career criminals and get falsely arrested in connection with stealing a Cadillac. We follow their lives through the end of high school and the dramatic end to their school.
15 .) Friday Foster (1975) directed by Arthur Marks
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- Complex
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
- NY Times
Friday Foster, an ex-model magazine photographer, goes to Los Angeles International airport to photograph the arrival of Blake Tarr, the richest black man in America. Three men attempt to assassinate Tarr. Foster photographs the melee and is plunged into a web of conspiracy involving the murder of her childhood friend, a US senator, and a shadowy plan called “Black Widow”.
14 .) The Mack (1973) directed by Michael Campus
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- eZine Articles
- Flick Chart
- LA Times
- Taste Of Cinema
Goldie returns from five years at the state pen and winds up king of the pimping game. Trouble comes in the form of two corrupt white cops and a crime lord who wants him to return to the small time.
13 .) Three the Hard Way (1974) directed by Gordon Parks Jr.
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- IMDB
- NY Times
The story involves a white supremist plot to taint the United States water supply with a toxin that is harmless to whites but lethal to blacks. The only obstacles that stand in the way of this dastardly plan are Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly, who shoot, kick and karate chop their way to final victory.
12 .) Across 110th Street (1972) directed by Barry Shear
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- eZine Articles
- Film School Rejects
- Taste Of Cinema
In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?
11 .) Dolemite (1975) directed by D’Urville Martin
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- Film School Rejects
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- LA Times
Dolemite is a pimp who was set up by Willie Greene and the cops, who have planted drugs, stolen furs, and guns in his trunk and got him sentenced to 20 years in jail. One day, Queen B and a warden planned to get him out of Jail and get Willie Green and Mitchell busted for what they did to him.
10 .) Slaughter (1972) directed by Jack Starrett
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
- LA Times
- NY Times
Slaughter, a former Green Beret, avenges the killing of loved ones by the Mob, and in so doing is coerced by the Feds into traveling to Mexico to finish off surviving mobsters.
9 .) Trouble Man (1972) directed by Ivan Dixon
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- eZine Articles
- Film School Rejects
- IMDB
It seems that masked men are knocking over the floating crap games of Chalky and Pete. Chalky and Pete hire the cool, loose, elegant Mr. T to fix things. Then, the masked manipulators set up the death of a collector for a rival gang lord. It looks like it’s up to T to hold a gang war from breaking out, keep the police off his back, and earn his fee from Chalky and Pete.
8 .) Truck Turner (1974) directed by Jonathan Kaplan
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- Complex
- eZine Articles
- Film School Rejects
- Flick Chart
- NY Times
Ex-football star turned skip-tracer, Turner specializes in bringing in the criminals police are too scared to chase, and when he’s hired to capture sociopathic pimp Gator, he finds himself confronted by the most vicious killers in the underground scene.
7 .) Blacula (1972) directed by William Crain
Lists It Appears On:
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- EW
- Flick Chart
- LA Times
- NY Times
- Taste Of Cinema
An 18th century African prince is turned into a vampire while visiting Transylvania. Two centuries later, he rises from his coffin attacking various residents of Los Angeles and meets Tina, a woman who he believes is the reincarnation of his deceased wife.
6 .) Foxy Brown (1974) directed by Jack Hill
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- Complex
- EW
- Flick Chart
- LA Times
- Paste Magazine
- Taste Of Cinema
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
5 .) Black Caesar (1973) directed by Larry Cohen
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- eZine Articles
- Film School Rejects
- Flick Chart
- IMDB
- LA Times
Tommy Gibbs is a tough kid, raised in the ghetto, who aspires to be a kingpin criminal. As a young boy, his leg is broken by a bad cop on the take, during a payoff gone bad. Nursing his vengeance, he rises to power in Harlem, New York. Angry at the racist society around him, both criminal and straight, he sees the acquisition of power as the solution to his rage.
4 .) Shaft (1971) directed by Gordon Parks
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- EW
- Flick Chart
- LA Times
- NY Times
- Taste Of Cinema
Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
3 .) Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971) directed by Melvin van Peebles
Lists It Appears On:
- BFI
- Complex
- EW
- eZine Articles
- Flick Chart
- LA Times
- NY Times
- Taste Of Cinema
After saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from “the man” with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.
2 .) Coffy (1973) directed by Jack Hill
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- BFI
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- eZine Articles
- Film School Rejects
- Flick Chart
- LA Times
- NY Times
- Paste Magazine
After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.
1 .) Super Fly (1972) directed by Gordon Parks Jr.
Lists It Appears On:
- Audiences Everywhere
- BFI
- Complex
- Dat History Guy
- EW
- eZine Articles
- Flick Chart
- LA Times
- NY Times
- Taste Of Cinema
Super Fly is a cocaine dealer who begins to realize that his life will soon end with either prison or his death. He decides to build an escape from the life by making his biggest deal yet.
The 40+ Additional Best Blaxploitation Movies
| # | Movies | Directors | Lists |
| 34 | Black Dynamite | Flick Chart | |
| – | – | – | LA Times |
| 35 | Black Gunn (1972) | Robert Hartford-Davis | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 36 | Black Heat (1976) | Al Adamson | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 37 | Black Mama White Mama (1973) | Eddie Romero | IMDB |
| – | – | – | Complex |
| 38 | Black Shampoo (1976) | Greydon Clark | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 39 | Cool Breeze (1972) | Barry Pollack | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 40 | Hammer (1972) | Bruce D. Clark | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 41 | I’m Gonna Git You Sucka! | EW | |
| – | – | – | Flick Chart |
| 42 | JD’s Revenge (1976) |
Dat History Guy
|
|
| – | – | – |
Film School Rejects
|
| 43 | Live and Let Die (1973) | Guy Hamilton |
Taste Of Cinema
|
| – | – | – | Complex |
| 44 | Mandingo |
Dat History Guy
|
|
| – | – | – | Flick Chart |
| 45 | Petey Wheatstraw (1977) | Cliff Roquemore | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 46 | Shaft in Africa (1973) | John Guillermin | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 47 | Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973) | Henning Schellerup | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 48 | That Man Bolt (1973) | Henry Levin | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 49 | The Black Gestapo (1975) | Lee Frost | Complex |
| – | – | – | IMDB |
| 50 |
The Education of Sonny Carson (1974)
|
Dat History Guy
|
|
| – | – | – | BFI |
| 51 | A Piece of the Action |
Dat History Guy
|
|
| 52 | Abby (1974) | Complex | |
| 53 | Across | Flick Chart | |
| 54 | Blackenstein (1973) | Complex | |
| 55 | Bone (1972) |
Film School Rejects
|
|
| 56 | Buck and the Preacher |
Dat History Guy
|
|
| 57 | Car Wash | Flick Chart | |
| 58 | Darktown Strutters (1975) |
Paste Magazine
|
|
| 59 | Disco Godfather (1979) | Complex | |
| 60 |
DOLEMITE 2: THE HUMAN TORNADO (1976)
|
EW | |
| 61 | Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976) | Complex | |
| 62 | Jackie Brown | LA Times | |
| 63 | Let’s Do It Again |
Dat History Guy
|
|
| 64 | Man and Boy |
Dat History Guy
|
|
| 65 | Putney Swope | Flick Chart | |
| 66 | Scream, Blacula, Scream! | Flick Chart | |
| 67 | Sheba, Baby (1975) |
Film School Rejects
|
|
| 68 | T.N.T. Jackson (1974) | Complex | |
| 69 | Tales From The Hood (1995) |
Film School Rejects
|
|
| 70 |
THE AVENGING DISCO GODFATHER (1979)
|
EW | |
| 71 | The Beast Must Die (1974) |
Film School Rejects
|
|
| 72 | The Big Score (1983) |
Film School Rejects
|
|
| 73 | The Candy Tangerine Man’ (1975) | NY Times | |
| 74 | The Human Tornado (1976) | Complex | |
| 75 | The Monkey Hustle |
Dat History Guy
|
|
| 76 | TNT Jackson (1974) |
Paste Magazine
|
13 Best Blaxploitation Film Sources/Lists
| Source | Article |
| Audiences Everywhere | 10 Best Blaxploitation Films – Audiences Everywhere |
| BFI | 10 great blaxploitation movies | BFI |
| Complex | The 50 Best Blaxploitation Movies | Complex |
| Dat History Guy | Soul Power: The 25 Greatest Blaxploitation Films | Soul Therapy |
| EW | 10 Best Blaxploitation Flicks | EW.com |
| eZine Articles | Top 10 Greatest Blaxploitation Movies of the Seventies |
| Film School Rejects | 20 Blaxploitation Films to Close Out Black History Month |
| Flick Chart | The Best Blaxploitation Movies of All Time – Flickchart |
| IMDB | The 50 Best Blaxploitation Movies of All Time (Complex Magazine |
| LA Times | 11 blaxploitation movies that helped define the genre – Los Angeles |
| NY Times | Like the New ‘Superfly’? Stream These 13 Classic Blaxploitation Films |
| Paste Magazine | The 5 Female-Led Blaxploitation Flicks to Watch after Proud Mary |
| Taste Of Cinema | The 10 Best Blaxploitation Films of All Time « Taste of Cinema – Movie |
