One brother’s war against the Man…….Rockne Tarkington stars in this blaxploitation fan-favorite. When white drug dealers try to move their operation into the ‘hood, they do not plan on a local nightclub owner, a master of martial arts known locally as Black Samson. They try to make a deal. They try to kill him. But when they beat up his girlfriend, the dealers go to far. Samson (Tarkington) leads his pet lion and the people of the neighborhood in a war that drives the drug pushers out of Samson’s piece of the ‘hood. Newly remastered for Blu-ray from 4K scans of the original camera negative.

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Video Quality

Black Samson gets a striking upgrade on Blu-Ray courtesy of Warner Archive with a new 1080p transfer derived from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative. There are some bold colors featured in the environments, such as the lighting in the club, that elevate the film quite precipitously. This disc represents the locales with a degree of clarity and nuance that is unbelievable. Skin tones are natural, consistent, and detailed, and the presentation offers peerless black levels free from crush. The restoration has retained the rich natural film grain free of any serious compression artifacts or other such digital anomalies. There are intricacies of the production design that have never been clearer in exhibition. Warner Archive has impressed by every metric here.

Audio Quality

Warner Archive gives this Blu-Ray a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that represents the material without a hiccup. One of our favorite aspects of the film is the music, and both the music and the score from Allen Toussaint sound incredible as they execute every note with unwavering fidelity. Dialogue remains anchored in the center channel with environmental sounds executed properly in the dual mono mix. Some lively scuffles and other sounds within the locale add some texture to this narrative. This audio presentation is in top form from beginning to end thanks to the Warner Archive. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided on this disc.

Special Features

Original Theatrical Trailer (2:47)

Final Thoughts

Black Samson is a super cool and confident genre effort that embraces some absurd conventions while delivering the cathartic blow against evil that you crave. I mean, when you have a protagonist who keeps a pet lion in his bar, you know you are in for a fun time. The plot is not overly complex or original, yet it does everything it sets out to do very well. If you don’t mind your crime dramas a bit over the top, you will have a blast here. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a 5-star A/V presentation but not much in the way of special features. If you are looking to get into the blaxploitation genre, this is a good gateway. Recommended

Black Samson can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.