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Foxy Brown (1974 film)
Encyclopedia
Foxy Brown is a 1974 blaxploitation
film written and directed by Jack Hill
. It stars Pam Grier
as the title character, described by one character as "a whole lot of woman" who showcases unrelenting black sexiness while battling the villains.
) seeks revenge. She links her boyfriend's murderers to a "modeling agency
" run by Steve Elias (Peter Brown
) and Miss Katherine (Kathryn Loder). Foxy decides to pose as a prostitute to infiltrate the company, and helps save a fellow black woman from a life of drugs and sexual exploitation. This leads Foxy to a variety of revenge-themed setpieces — often violent and sexual — that range from cremating
sex slave
dealers to castrating
a foe and presenting his severed genitals to his girlfriend.
(1973), also starring Pam Grier, and in fact the working title of the film was "Burn, Coffy, Burn!". However, American-International Pictures decided at the last minute it did not want to do a sequel, even though Coffy was a huge hit. Therefore, it is never said exactly what kind of job Foxy Brown has -- "Coffy" was a nurse and since this was no longer to be a sequel, they could not give Foxy Brown that job and did not have time to rewrite the script to establish just what kind of job she had.
On the audio commentary on the film's DVD
release, Hill also mentioned that he was initially against the outfits that the wardrobe department chose for Foxy Brown. Since Pam Grier had become a star in her prior film Coffy
, there was an impetus to present the actress as even more stylish than she had appeared in the previous film. But Hill, by his own account, initially felt that the outfits were too trendy and specific to the time period, and within a few years would cause the film to look dated and obsolete. In the years since the film's release, however, Hill has reversed his opinion on Foxy's clothes, particularly in the wake of not only Foxy Brown's ascent into pop culture icon, but also the '70s nostalgia movement that started in the mid-1990s.
Hill also mentioned that the character of Foxy Brown became something of a female empowerment symbol that seemed to transcend the time period of the film. As such, Hill believes, Foxy's 1970s clothes and hairstyles merely add to the charm of the character.
, and a soundtrack album was released on Motown Records
in 1975.
of the genre. The film has directly influenced or been mentioned in many other films, including, but not limited to:
It is often noted by film historians as one of the first blaxploitation films to provide a portrayal of a strong and independent woman; until Pam Grier
, women often existed exclusively to support their men for a small part of the film.
Additionally, Foxy Brown and the preceding film Coffy
are unique for their establishment of pushers and pimps as villain
s. Before these films, the blaxploitation genre often espoused empathy for the social positions of such individuals.
The cult television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force
parodies the name with Meatwad
's doll, Boxy Brown.
The web series Transylvania Television features Kim Ho-Tep, a blacksploitation mummy character based on the Foxy Brown archetype.
Pam Grier titled her memoir Foxy: My Life in Three Acts (2010), clearly influenced by this film.
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film written and directed by Jack Hill
Jack Hill
Jack Hill is an U.S. film director, noted for his work in the exploitation film genre. Despite this, several of Hill's later films have been characterized as feminist works.Hill was born in Los Angeles...
. It stars Pam Grier
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
as the title character, described by one character as "a whole lot of woman" who showcases unrelenting black sexiness while battling the villains.
Plot
When her government-agent boyfriend is shot down by members of a drug syndicate, Foxy Brown (Pam GrierPam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
) seeks revenge. She links her boyfriend's murderers to a "modeling agency
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
" run by Steve Elias (Peter Brown
Peter Brown (actor)
Peter Brown is an American television actor known for his role as Deputy Johnny McKay opposite John Russell in the 1958 Warner Bros. western series Lawman.-Early life:...
) and Miss Katherine (Kathryn Loder). Foxy decides to pose as a prostitute to infiltrate the company, and helps save a fellow black woman from a life of drugs and sexual exploitation. This leads Foxy to a variety of revenge-themed setpieces — often violent and sexual — that range from cremating
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
sex slave
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
dealers to castrating
Castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
a foe and presenting his severed genitals to his girlfriend.
Production
According to director Jack Hill, this was originally intended to be a sequel to his CoffyCoffy
- Track listing :# "Coffy Is The Color" - 3:03Vocals – Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roy Ayers, Wayne Garfield# "Priscilla's Theme" - 3:58# "King George" - 3:00Vocals – Roy Ayers# "Aragon" - 2:55# "Coffy Sauna" - 2:16# "King's Last Ride" - 1:10# "Coffy Baby" - 2:26...
(1973), also starring Pam Grier, and in fact the working title of the film was "Burn, Coffy, Burn!". However, American-International Pictures decided at the last minute it did not want to do a sequel, even though Coffy was a huge hit. Therefore, it is never said exactly what kind of job Foxy Brown has -- "Coffy" was a nurse and since this was no longer to be a sequel, they could not give Foxy Brown that job and did not have time to rewrite the script to establish just what kind of job she had.
On the audio commentary on the film's DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release, Hill also mentioned that he was initially against the outfits that the wardrobe department chose for Foxy Brown. Since Pam Grier had become a star in her prior film Coffy
Coffy
- Track listing :# "Coffy Is The Color" - 3:03Vocals – Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roy Ayers, Wayne Garfield# "Priscilla's Theme" - 3:58# "King George" - 3:00Vocals – Roy Ayers# "Aragon" - 2:55# "Coffy Sauna" - 2:16# "King's Last Ride" - 1:10# "Coffy Baby" - 2:26...
, there was an impetus to present the actress as even more stylish than she had appeared in the previous film. But Hill, by his own account, initially felt that the outfits were too trendy and specific to the time period, and within a few years would cause the film to look dated and obsolete. In the years since the film's release, however, Hill has reversed his opinion on Foxy's clothes, particularly in the wake of not only Foxy Brown's ascent into pop culture icon, but also the '70s nostalgia movement that started in the mid-1990s.
Hill also mentioned that the character of Foxy Brown became something of a female empowerment symbol that seemed to transcend the time period of the film. As such, Hill believes, Foxy's 1970s clothes and hairstyles merely add to the charm of the character.
Soundtrack
The film's songs were written and performed by Willie HutchWillie Hutch
Willie McKinley Hutchison, known professionally as Willie Hutch was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s....
, and a soundtrack album was released on Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
in 1975.
Release on DVD & HD
- In 2001 it was released on DVD.
- In 2010 it was digitized in High Definition (1080i) and broadcast on MGM HDMGM HDMGM HD is an all high-definition television channel. It features commercial-free movies from MGM's library of approximately 1,200 movies mastered in a high-definition-compatible format as well as feature films from their library of 4,100 theatrical titles...
.
Influence
Foxy Brown is one of the most influential blaxploitation films; Pam Grier's character is often considered to be the female archetypeArchetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
of the genre. The film has directly influenced or been mentioned in many other films, including, but not limited to:
- Girl 6Girl 6Girl 6 may refer to:*Girl 6, a 1996 film by Spike Lee*Girl 6 , the soundtrack for the film, composed by Prince*“Girl 6” , the title song for the soundtrack...
(1996) - Jackie Brown (starring Pam Grier) (1997)
- Urban LegendUrban Legend (film)Urban Legend is a 1998 horror film starring Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Jared Leto, Michael Rosenbaum, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Loretta Devine, Robert Englund, John Neville, Joshua Jackson, Regina King, and Tara Reid...
(1998) - Urban Legends: Final CutUrban Legends: Final CutUrban Legends: Final Cut is a 2000 slasher film and sequel to the 1998 film Urban Legend. It stars Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis, Loretta Devine, Anthony Anderson, Hart Bochner, Rebecca Gayheart, Regina Hall, Yani Gellman, and Eva Mendes...
(2000) - Bones (starring Pam Grier) (2001)
- Undercover BrotherUndercover BrotherUndercover Brother is a 2002 American comedy film starring Eddie Griffin and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. The screenplay is by Michael McCullers and co-executive producer John Ridley, who created the original internet animation characters. It spoofs blaxploitation films of the 1970s as well as a...
(2002) - Austin Powers in GoldmemberAustin Powers in GoldmemberAustin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film and the third installment of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember,...
(2002) - House of the DeadHouse of the Dead (film)House of the Dead is a 2003 action-horror film adaptation of the successful 1996 light gun arcade game of the same name produced by Sega. The film was directed by Uwe Boll. The film was universally panned by critics.-Plot:...
(2003) - Urban Legends: Bloody MaryUrban Legends: Bloody MaryUrban Legends: Bloody Mary is a 2005 horror film starring Kate Mara, Robert Vito, Tina Lifford, Jeff Olson, Tamala Jones, Michael Gregory Coe, and Ed Marinaro....
(2005)
It is often noted by film historians as one of the first blaxploitation films to provide a portrayal of a strong and independent woman; until Pam Grier
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
, women often existed exclusively to support their men for a small part of the film.
Additionally, Foxy Brown and the preceding film Coffy
Coffy
- Track listing :# "Coffy Is The Color" - 3:03Vocals – Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roy Ayers, Wayne Garfield# "Priscilla's Theme" - 3:58# "King George" - 3:00Vocals – Roy Ayers# "Aragon" - 2:55# "Coffy Sauna" - 2:16# "King's Last Ride" - 1:10# "Coffy Baby" - 2:26...
are unique for their establishment of pushers and pimps as villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
s. Before these films, the blaxploitation genre often espoused empathy for the social positions of such individuals.
The cult television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Aqua Teen Hunger Force , retitled Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 in 2011, is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network late night programing block, Adult Swim, as well as Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4 Canada's ADd block in Canada...
parodies the name with Meatwad
Meatwad
Meatwad is a fictional character on the Adult Swim animated television series Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1, which was originally titled Aqua Teen Hunger Force since its premiere in 2000 until 2011...
's doll, Boxy Brown.
The web series Transylvania Television features Kim Ho-Tep, a blacksploitation mummy character based on the Foxy Brown archetype.
Pam Grier titled her memoir Foxy: My Life in Three Acts (2010), clearly influenced by this film.