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Forget the blaxpop label, SUPER FLY is a minor classic that made a fortune for Warner Bros. Studios in 1972-73. This slick urban romp appealed to all audiences, the evidence was lofty VHS sales (why this hasn't hit DVD I don't know) and a soundtrack that was instant hall of fame material.

Ron O'Neal as Priest, is only different from some 80's Wall Street green mailers, by the cut of his clothes and the curb feelers on his Eldorado Custom (the car used in the film actually belonged to one of NYC's bigger pimps). Like the yuppie trash in WALL STREET, Priest is also looking for one big score so he can quit the business: in this case, pushing cocaine.

"I know it's a rotten game, " opines Eddie, Priest's friend and business partner. "But it's the only one the man left us to play." Social ills commentary aside, SUPER FLY never gets heavy handed, preachy or cheap. It moves and plays out nicely. The acting is credible, both lead and support. The late Carl Lee is a powerhouse as Eddie and when he tells Priest, "{i}f it wasn't for you I'd be OD or in prison," you feel for his certain impending condemnation. O'Neal, a classics trained actor no less, never camps it up despite the (now laughable) wardrobe. He makes Priest likeable, even though self identification with the dope man is limited.

The legacy of the film is the Curtis Mayfield soundtrack. There are not enough adjectives to describe it's brilliance. Mayfield was a genius, his work after SUPER FLY was never equaled simply because it couldn't be. To date, every track plays as powerfully as it did its first time. The true test of time honor.

One of the best film soundtracks of the last 10 or 50 years, I wore out a cassette in my Infiniti M-30 in 1991. I also wore out a VHS copy of the film. I now have a CD of the soundtrack, but this 1985 masterpiece needs to get to DVD as of last hour.

"Jimmy Hart, was more than my partner, he was my best friend for 7 years," Richie Chance tells naive G-man John Vukovich. "He was the most righteous guy I ever knew...He had 2 days left, that was it." Chance knows who killed his partner and swears vendetta. It's a plot that's been done countless times, but when the words are venomously spewed by Chance (I'm gonna get Masters and I don't give a sh*t how I do it,"), it's not just talk. It's a prophecy. And suddenly you're on fresh ground.

William Friedkin knows cop dramas, he knows formula and he seldom screws up. Working William L. Petersen, Wilem DaFoe and Dean Stockwell, like the plate of a fake $20 bill, TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA is an incredible drama showing a City of Angels that is anything but angelic. This is the seamy side of LA, skeletonly explored in a handful of films, but here the grit sticks like downtown smog.

Great line: (From Stockwell's character): "I make no apologies for being a lawyer. If I hadn't taken the case, someone else would have without a doubt."

And you have to give DaFoe's Rick Masters his due: cop killer, thief, pyromaniac, voyeur... He drives a Ferrari too.

This is a modern classic.

Why isn't the classic Rolling Stones song this shows opening theme? Just as every cop is a criminal/And all the sinners saints. Afterall, CSI has "Who Are You" and it rocks week after week. Just like this show.

This is a first rate morality play that never gets heavy handed. It's a simple question: Who is worse? The corrupt police Strike Team, or the street trash they put away? If the cops control the drug trade, can they in turn control crime by taking out the not conforming crooks who refuse to play with a rigged deck?

These are bad guy cops that you can't help but like and you pull for even their most foul deeds, as murdering a fellow cop turned informant. Like the Mafia, they kill and then cry the loudest at their victim's funeral. It's a fascinating cop drama that dares to take on the underbelly of society. Solid acting and some hilarous dialogue (Episode 11, CARNIVORES, is a laugh fest with the cops exchanging quips with the Nation of Islam, no less!).

Shawn Ryan has the vision few seldom get to explore. Cheers to FX for their gutsy programing decision.

This ESPN series is one of the best produced documentary series of all time. The focus is on the much cliched human side of the pro jock, but ESPN's production talent avoids every cliche and breathes fresh life into what had become a tired genre. The emotion filled Brian Piccolo segment is better than BRIAN'S SONG. Secretariat is humanized to where you'd like to hang out with the horse. Jailed former stars are neither glorified or martyred. This is exceptional work. It can only get better.

This was one of 1968's best films. It was one of the first films to show cops had trouble at home, worked without appreciation and took what pleasures they could when available. Donald Siegel took a whirlwind tour of NYC with stunning photography and location shooting that was unique and not the standard 6 locales seen on countless TV cop shows. An ensamble cast that had all star talent. Steve Ihnat, in a few scenes, set the precursor for other Siegel movie psychos as Andy Robinson (DIRTY HARRY) and Don Stroud (COOGANS BLUFF). Sure, its dated now, but for its time, MADIGAN held up as an American movie classic.

Sure, Dean and Jimmy starred in better westerns in their careers, RIO BRAVO and THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, to name a few, but this one doesn't have John Wayne. The Duke didn't need to be here. This is a good ride that holds the formula western of better days to its heart and you're none the worse off for having given 90+ minutes of your time. And yes, Raquel Welch is gorgeous, baking in the hot Mexico sun. Dino doesn't sing, but the soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith is haunting.

Connery, Hoffman, Broderick, oh my! OK, it should have been an Oscar contender, but it wasn't. Vince Patrick's work will never rival Tolstoy, but it isn't intended to. This is classic Connery chewing scenery with acid tongue dialogue and more than a few memorable moments. Hardly a talent waster, lets call it an under achiever, just like the main characters here.

This small pic was a preview of great things to come from Jonathan Demme, who went onto MELVIN & HOWARD, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, STOP MAKING SENSE, to name a few other notable works. This was a decent 100 minute time waster that you either got or you didn't, liked or hated. Roy Scheider turned in his always good performance and I didn't mind looking at Janet Margolin in the bathtub.

Released in 1978 with the "bigger" Vietnam films (THE DEER HUNTER, COMING HOME), this is an under appreciated gem. Nick Nolte showed signs of becoming a solid leading man with his work here as action junkie Ray Hicks. The supporting cast in smaller, important roles bolsters a tight, moving film. Richard Mazur and Ray Sharkey are ultimate psychos and Charles Haid, as the weasel dope dealer are great. Like Karl Reiz's previous gem (THE GAMBLER), this film deserved to be bigger.

The show about "nothing" was without question one of the greatest comedy series in television history. This is what the network couldn't produce and as a result, it is something! CYE is a gem, be it on network or cable. This is an exercise in genuine wit (the scripts are improv) and Larry David is nothing short of a genius. The characters play off each other to perfection, with Jeff Garlin as the perfect parasite of a manager and Cheryl Hines as David's PMS plagued spouse, who isn't happy unless she's miserable, or making his life cramped. CYE is true adult comedy and you can hear the unspoken dialogue that was going on at Monk's Coffee Shop in the other show.

Michael Mann has brought his TV classic CRIME STORY full circle with this epic. There is recognizable dialogue ("You do not get to watch my television set") taken from the TV show, which is fine: It was Mann's original work to begin with. Mann gets superstar talent in DeNiro and Pacino in 2 men who are both without any quality of (personal) life. While both are an emotional train wreck, Pacino's Vincent Hanna, has a badge and a weekly paycheck, giving him a micro spec of stability. These are characters that could die in cliches, but Mann is too smart a director and screenwriter to get sucked into that obvious trap and he dodges the sacarine factor at every opportunity just as the cops and civilians duck hot flying lead in the now infamous Wilshire Blvd. gun battle sequence. At 3 plus hours, you wonder where the time went. With the usual cast of "Mann Players" in tow, although I miss Dennis Farina being in this one, the performances carry the film. Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd and Tom Sizemore stand out in supporting roles that polish the work of 2 film icons. One of 1995's best!

Chicago filmed in a New Jersey-gray tinge accented with neon, James Caan in black Armani leather, looking better than he did in THE GODFATHER, this is high style. And it is a Michael Mann trademark. This is an intense thriller that doesn't let up and like an adrenaline rush, takes you hours to come down after the closing credits. Dialogue that you don't forget, performances that are incredible. This is a minor classic and it gave Mann his artistic license to produce CRIME STORY (1986) and HEAT (1995), as well as the great first season of MIAMI VICE, in 1984-85.

This gem of a picture is not only one of the best sports oriented films of all time, it is a bone jaring indictment of corporate America, that was glamorized years later in Oliver Stone's WALL STREET, and the films that followed. This was the pre-cursor to the 80's era of "greed is good" and (corporate) win at all costs. The North Dallas Bulls are the ultimate "corporate whores", aptly observed by Seth Maxwell, who justifies their fate by stating: "We may as well be the best." One of the nicest surprises of 1979 was Mac Davis' performance as Seth Maxwell, who along with Nick Nolte's stellar performance in the lead, give an already gritty film that much more depth. Ted Kotcheff's tight direction of Frank Yablans and Peter Gent's screenplay intensely marches the film. All that was missing was NFL Films Voice Of The Gods, John Facenda, with the play by play.

I also saw this NBC mini series in its original uncut network run in the fall of 1973 and then saw it repeated in 1975, but that's it. Yes, it needs to be released on DVD or VHS in its original state because this is classic landmark adult TV. This was the re-birth of William Holden's career and he was beyond memorable as Bumper Morgan. The characters ran better here than in print and that was hard to top because Wambaugh wrote a great first person character analysis with his novel of the final works days of a dinosaured LAPD street cop. Overlooked was the supporting mastery of Joe Santos, Vic Tayback and Sam Elliot. Along with KOJAK, this was TV's best of 1973.

This is an enjoyable time waster. And to paraphrase Bronson himself (from the film), "(it) has its' gaudy moments." There is some memorable dialogue and where else can you see Papa Walton (Ralph Waite) playing a racist detective in a series of outdated cheap suits? The mob characters are cliches and the plot is somewhat farfetched. But there are worse things to waste 90 minutes on. The bottom line: THE STONE KILLER isn't one of Hollywood's greatest films, it certainly isn't the worst. It's Bronson.

This is an unforgetable series. Broderick Crawford set the standard for toughness with a badge. Sgt. Joe Friday couldn't carry Dan Matthews socks...Broderick was tough, scary and that rapid fire dialogue is burned into the memory of anyone who even thought for a nano-second of being a cop and interrogating a suspect. This is an American legand. Long Live ZIV!

Telly Savalas was a grizzled film and TV veteran when he got the spotlight in 1973, with KOJAK. It was a most deserved turn in the sun. Telly took this character and made it his own...the ethnicitity, the old world charm, the brains behind the tough NYPD detective lieutenant that had a genuine compassion for the crime victims he encountered. Telly was the man! The scripts were outstanding, especially in the first season, when penned by Jack Laird, Robert Foster and Halston Wells. The direction was cineamatic quality by the likes of Leo Penn, Jeannot Szwarc and Joel Oliansky. Memorable episodes as SIEGE OF TERROR, DEAD ON HIS FEET, LAST RITES FOR A DEAD PRIEST, THERAPY IN DYNAMITE...I could go on and on. It's also the breeding ground where James Woods, Steven Keats, Harvey Keitel and David Proval cut their small screen dramatic teeth. It's time for this TV legand to be released uncut and unedited on video.

Joseph Wambaugh brought stark police realism to his novels both fiction and non-fiction. This 1973 NBC pilot was a gripping fast paced crime drama that showed the human side of cops in Los Angeles. This launched the series which won an Emmy for Best Drama in 1976. The show featured not just uniformed cops and detectives, but special police units as SWAT, SSD (Special Surveillance Detail) and Internal Affairs. The show had "Wambaugh Players" who made multiple appearances in recurring and multiple roles, the most prominent being Don Meredith, Tony LoBianco, James Farentino and Jan-Michael Vincent. The scripts were first rate, especially when written by TV legands, E. Arthur Kean, Sean Baine and E. Jack Neuman and the directing was superbly handled by crafty action veterans as Barry Shear, Leo Penn and Don Medford. And yes, that music by Jerry Goldsmith. Nearly 30 years later, POLICE STORY still plays as first rate drama.