PIECE OF THE ACTION/UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT (DVD/DBFE/2 DISC) DVD

A Piece of the Action
Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, co-stars of the comic capers Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again, team up again for this socially conscious comedy-adventure. This time out, Poitier and Cosby play Manny Durrell and Dave Anderson, Windy City con artists with a long history of cheating crooks who rip off the poor. They are blackmailed by retired cop Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) into "giving back to the community." Manny and Dave soon find themselves posing as career counselors for a group of surly inner-city youths at a local community center. Despite the efforts of such unruly kids as class clown Gerald (Eric Laneuville) and bitter Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Manny actually begins to take pride in the help he's giving to his students. Soon, though, he's forced to deal with two additional obstacles: the arrival of his girlfriend's obnoxious parents (Gammy Burdett and Wonderful Smith) and the attentions of a local mobster (Titos Vandis) upset that he's been had. As with his previous Cosby collaborations, Poitier directed A Piece of the Action, whose cast also includes Denise Nicholas as a community center leader, Tracy Reed as Manny's girlfriend, Nikki, and Ja'net DuBois as Nikki's tipsy aunt, Nellie. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Uptown Saturday Night
Uptown Saturday Night is a delightful comedy directed by and starring Sidney Poitier. Steve Jackson (Sidney Poitier) is a factory worker. One evening, when boredom gets the best of him, Steve and his pal Wardell (Bill Cosby) decide to go to an underground gambling club to have some fun. While they are there the place is held-up and Steve's wallet is stolen. When Steve and Wardell learn that the wallet contains a winning lottery ticket, the friends go on a desperate search to find it. Shape Eye Washington (Richard Prior), an incompetent private eye, is enlisted to aid them in their search through the criminal underworld where they come up against Geechie Dan Beauford (Harry Belafonte) the mobster who runs the town. Belafonte, in a hilarious parody of Marlon Brando in The Godfather, steals the show. The movie was a huge success and led to two sequels, Let's Do It Again and A Piece of the Action, both also directed by Poitier. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Cast Hope Clarke as Sarah Thomas Bill Cosby as Dave Anderson Ja'net DuBois as Nellie Bond Jason Evers as Ty Shorter Frances Foster as Bea Quitman James Earl Jones as Joshua Burke Marc Lawrence as Louie Denise Nicholas as Lila French Sidney Poitier as Manny Durrell Tracy Reed as Nikki McLean Titos Vandis as Bruno Sidney Poitier as Steve Jackson Bill Cosby as Wardell Franklin Harry Belafonte as Geechie Dan Beauford Calvin Lockhart as Silky Slim Flip Wilson as The Reverend Richard Pryor as Sharp Eye Washington Rosalind Cash as Sarah Jackson

Crew Charles C. Washburn - First Assistant Director Sidney Poitier - Director Pembroke J. Herring - Editor Tom Scott - Composer (Music Score) Morgan Ames - Songwriter Tom Scott - Songwriter Monty Westmore - Makeup Alfred Sweeney - Production Designer Fred Koenekamp - Cinematographer Melville Tucker - Producer Robert de Vestel - Set Designer Charles Spurgeon - Special Effects Harry W. Tetrick - Sound/Sound Designer Frank C. Regula - Sound/Sound Designer Richard Wesley - Screenwriter Charles C. Washburn - First Assistant Director Sidney Poitier - Director Pembroke J. Herring - Editor Tom Scott - Composer (Music Score) Morgan Ames - Songwriter Tom Scott - Songwriter Monty Westmore - Makeup Alfred Sweeney - Production Designer Fred Koenekamp - Cinematographer Melville Tucker - Producer Robert de Vestel - Set Designer Charles Spurgeon - Special Effects Harry W. Tetrick - Sound/Sound Designer Frank C. Regula - Sound/Sound Designer Richard Wesley - Screenwriter

A Piece of the Action
The third and final installment in the Bill Cosby/Sidney Poitier "trilogy," A Piece of the Action again abandons the characters and plot lines of previous outings to provide a new variation on the stars' buddy dynamics. The film also eschews straight-up crime comedy for something a little more socially conscious. Although the comedic bits prove too broad to gel particularly well -- unless one counts the unintentional humor in hearing Poitier meticulously intone, "You not dealing with a boy, titty-sucker" -- the caper elements provide a nice contrast to prevailing Blaxploitation stereotypes. As in Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do It Again, the film's classy gangster schtick is borrowed from classic crime flicks rather than their gaudier '70s descendants. A Piece of the Action may not have seemed au courant at the time of its release, but its breezy entertainment has dated fairly well. The film also, however, offers a thoughtful streak during the plot thread in which Poitier (echoing his performances in The Blackboard Jungle and To Sir, With Love) teaches job skills to a group of inner-city youths. In stark contrast to such feel-good, white-savior mythology as Dangerous Minds and The Principal, A Piece of the Action treats the subject intelligently and from several angles, exploring downwardly mobile peer pressure and bourgeois guilt with something approaching real insight. The neat ending may not completely resolve such thorny issues, but for a supposedly lightweight romp, this film has a lot on its mind. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
 

Uptown Saturday Night
(not reviewed)
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: A Piece of the Action: Widescreen (16x9 1.85:1) version Documentary Dynamite Duo: A Retrospective Poitier/Cosby movie trailer gallery Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only) Uptown Saturday Night: Widescreen (16x9 1.85:1) version Commentary by Dr. Todd Boyd, author of Am I Black Enough for You?: Popular Culture From the 'Hood and Beyond Documentary The Lowdown on Uptown: A Retrospective Theatrical trailer Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only) DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 239 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1, Side A -- Piece of the Action 1. Thief in the Night [5:07] 2. Crime Scene Credits [1:43] 3. Miss Moneybag [4:39] 4. Screwed [2:44] 5. Cashing Out [2:22] 6. Warning Sign [1:55] 7. Important Invitation [5:52] 8. Lunch Summons [3:33] 9. Volunteers [5:43] 10. Job Applicants [4:33] 11. Dues-Paying Orientation [5:21] 12. Board Night [2:38] 13. Surprise Surprise [4:08] 14. Attention Span Spin [6:02] 15. A Different Approach? [2:29] 16. Hitters Getting Hit [5:12] 17. Incentives [5:43] 18. Willie's Interview [5:28] 19. Not Ready [3:26] 20. Get to Know Me [4:02] 21. Date Watch [2:11] 22. Common Courtesy [3:10] 23. Man on the Street [2:50] 24. A Night Out [3:50] 25. Open Door [2:15] 26. Getting the Picture [4:13] 27. Suspicious Characters [3:02] 28. Bruno's Got Them [3:04] 29. Burke at Work [3:53] 30. Two Hasty Heists [4:36] 31. The Exchange [3:16] 32. Talking a Deal [7:27] 33. Commencement [4:38] 34. Honest Work [3:42] Disc #1, Side B -- Uptown Saturday Night 1. Credits [4:05] 2. Loving Memories [3:35] 3. Name the Time [3:09] 4. Madame Zenobia's [4:49] 5. Leggy Peggy [4:43] 6. Bandits [5:21] 7. No Joy Juice [2:49] 8. Dream Woman? [2:09] 9. Winning Ticket...Lost! [2:43] 10. Suspicious Character [1:50] 11. Sharp Eye Washington [6:11] 12. The Congressman... [4:25] 13. ...and His Beloved Wife [2:36] 14. The Waldorf Crowd [3:24] 15. Little Seymour [5:38] 16. Geechie Dan [4:01] 17. Shooting Spree [3:22] 18. Slim Sent Them [2:55] 19. Wardell's Version [5:10] 20. Silky and Geechie [4:43] 21. Churchgoers [3:42] 22. Loose Lips [4:30] 23. Picnickers and Pilferers [3:42] 24. Police Presence [5:40] 25. Hammered [4:07] 26. Leap for the Loot [1:44] 27. Plans and Cast List [2:53]