Black Samson Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Black Samson Blu-ray Movie Review

Speak loudly and carry a big stick.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 9, 2025

The directorial debut of stuntman Chuck Bail, Black Samson stars the late Rockne Tarkington as our robe-wearing, staff-wielding, lion-owning title character, a beloved community leader and total badass who won't let "The Man" take over his territory, no matter how much they offer... or threaten. His strange dichotomy of keeping the streets clean and drug-free while running a topless bar aren't the only contradictions you'll find here, but that's part of the fun: like most blaxploitation films, Black Samson serves up colorfully cheesy escapist entertainment bolstered by time-capsule appeal and, while it doesn't venture far outside genre boundaries, it's still a pretty fun way to spend 88 minutes.

The story doesn't go too far past that, but it's worth a a few more details. As the owner of his self-named nightclub, Samson (Tarkington) enjoys hanging out with his customers and girlfriend Leslie (Carol Speed, Disco Godfather) while his mostly docile lion (!) named Hoodoo stands guard near the bar. One evening, Samson is approached by Giovanni "Johnny" Nappa (William Smith, Any Which Way You Can), nephew of mobster Giuseppe (Titos Vandis, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask), who drops hints that he's trying to move in on Samson's turf. Soon enough, the hints turn into threats and even attacks on the street -- where there's always a few mattresses and other props nearby -- while Johnny's girlfriend Tina (Connie Strickland) goes inside by dancing at Samson's club. Soon enough, Johnny makes it personal and snatches up poor Leslie, which means shit just got real.

The late, great Rockne Tarkington didn't have many leading credits to his name and, if IMDb is to believed, he's best known for playing "Patch" in Stewart Raffill's 1984 camp classic The Ice Pirates. His performance here is solid enough for what it is, but one wonders how Tarkington's career trajectory might've changed if, only one year earlier, he stayed on as "Williams" in Enter the Dragon rather than exiting the production three days before shooting over a pay dispute, only to be replaced by Jim Kelly. He certainly doesn't have the same quick feet and smirking charisma, but Tarkington acquits himself nicely here as a tall and physically intimidating force who feels like a natural-born leader.

The rest of the cast, save for William Smith and perhaps Ken Bell (as henchman "C.T", who whoops ass in a pretty great little fight scene set inside a funeral parlor), trails pretty far behind... but then again, most people don't watch blaxploitation films for top-tier acting. They watch it because it's socially conscious, colorfully exaggerated, and loaded with action and nudity... and then of course there's the time capsule appeal, which Black Samson delivers in spades when our hero isn't sticking it to The Man, running the nightclub, or making time with his girl.

Black Samson's story makes little sense and clichés run rampant, yet any bitter aftertastes are sweetened by sporadic fight scenes and well-done car chases, not to mention an over-the-top final showdown where half a building's worth of junk literally rains down from above. It's all in good fun and zips by quickly enough, which is more or less what you'd expect from a film directed by a stuntman-turned-stunt coordinator and filmed by one of the cameramen from Death Race 2000. As usual, the sights and sounds of 1970s Los Angeles are done justice by Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray edition, which features a reliably top-tier A/V presentation that brings Black Samson back to life.

Black Samson Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive once gain tosses their competition off the roof with yet another perfect five-star restoration, which as usual is sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative that has been carefully cleaned of age-related damage. The end result is a very crisp and film-like image that absolutely looks like a product of its time in all the right ways, highlighted by era-specific colors and a satisfying layer of film grain. Fine detail is excellent in favorable lighting conditions, while black levels and colors do more of the driving at night but, aside from a few brief (and unavoidable) moments where heavy grain and noise threaten to overtake the image, it's a remarkably consistent presentation from start to finish. Disc encoding is excellent as well, as Black Samson basically has an entire dual-layered disc to itself and shows no flagrant signs of compression artifacts. In all respects, it's a purist-friendly presentation that easily exceeds any and all earlier presentations, from Warner Bros.' fifteen-year-old DVD to original theatrical showings.

Black Samson Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix follows suit with a surprisingly robust presentation that features noticeable low end and a strong dynamic range during several music cues, including Allen Toussaint's original score and the obligatory title song that spells out our hero's backstory. Dialogue splits the difference and largely comes through especially well, only showing signs of slight gauziness during a few exchanges that probably weren't re-recoded due to budget limitations. All things considered, it's an impressive presentation and gets the job done perfectly without calling too much attention to itself and, as usual, offers an authentic 1970s-era mono experience in a split two-channel container.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

Black Samson Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with great poster-themed cover artwork and minimal extras.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:47) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

Black Samson Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Chuck Bail's Black Samson isn't a top-tier blaxploitation classic, but it's got particular strengths in its two leads, the sporadic action scenes, a bit of unintentional comedy, and comfortably smooth pacing that builds to an over-the-top climax. (Nobody gets eaten by the lion, sadly.) The end result is a little patchy but still plenty of fun in the right mood; the kind of film you can pop in on a random weekend afternoon and enjoy. Warner Archive's Blu-ray goes above and beyond with a top-tier A/V restoration that brings 1970s L.A. back to life. Recommended to the right crowd.