Blogtown, PDX

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Film He Clobbers the Mob as Black Belt Jones.

Posted by Erik Henriksen on Thu, Jul 5 at 3:10 PM

Hey, so what are you doing tonight? Yeah, yeah, that sounds really interesting, whatever. HERE’S WHAT I’M WATCHING TONIGHT:

Yes. Them’s the opening credits from one of my favorite movies ever, Black Belt Jones. Your plans for this evening look like crap now, don’t they?!

I’d wholeheartedly recommend watching Black Belt Jones if I knew where to find it. I’m not sure if Netflix has it, and I have yet to see it in a video store in Portland. I only found out about it when I was working at a Salt Lake City movie theater in high school, and a fellow film nerd recommended it to me. I found it at a local Hollywood Video a day or two later—the VHS tape buried under, I shit you not, a layer of dust about a quarter of an inch thick—and rented it, watched it, loved it. When I went back a week later to rent it again, it was gone. Luckily, they’d just moved it to their “movies no one ever rents except for high schoolers with too much time on their hands so now they’re for sale for CHEAP” bin, and I picked it up for like $5… $5 that happened to be the best $5 I have ever spent.

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Comments

As per their website:

http://www.moviemadnessvideo.com/

Movie Madness has Blackbelt Jones on vhs and Black Belt Jones 2 The Tattoo Connection on dvd.

Posted by old guy | July 5, 2007 4:11 PM

That's easily the best theme song EVER.

Posted by Mike Williams | July 5, 2007 4:45 PM

I haven't seen the movie but I listen to the soundtrack ALL THE TIME.

Posted by mike | July 5, 2007 5:28 PM

That's awesome to know that Movie Madness has Black Belt on VHS! And I've seen Black Belt Jones 2: The Tattoo Connection there before, but it's totally a misnomer! (Which, annoyingly and charmingly, happens all the time w/ kung fu flicks--non-related films being shamelessly retitled.) Tattoo Connection is actually a whole different movie, with Jim "Dragon" Kelly playing a whole other character. (That film's also from Hong Kong, whereas BBJ was American, through and through.)

Unless I'm mistaken, the REAL Black Belt Jones 2 is a sequel that's (bewilderingly) called Hot Potato, in which Kelly still plays Black Belt Jones, but goes to Asia or some shit and rides on an elephant. That's all I remember. While BBJ was an unintentionally hilarious action/drama, they actually tried to make Hot Potato funny, and failed miserably. I only made it like 20 minutes in before calling it quits. But that was like 10 years ago; maybe I should give it another try, esp. since it looks like Movie Madness has that, too.

Posted by Erik Henriksen | July 5, 2007 6:56 PM

I am positive that I've rented it from a shop somewhere in Portland. It was shortly after I first moved to town and I can't remember where I got it.
Damn likker!

Posted by rico | July 5, 2007 6:57 PM

Wow, that's so awesome Movie Madness does indeed have this! I'll have to revisit it again soon.

Back in my junior year of high school in the early 90's in Nowhere-town, MN my friends and I discovered this movie and we became so obsessed we even auditioned for the school Variety Show with a verbatim renactment of a scene. (Needless to say we did not make the final cut).

Man, thanks for the reminder. Off to Youtube......

Posted by Ryan | July 5, 2007 7:11 PM

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