Detroit 9000 MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1 1/2 Content: -3 1/2

This violent cop drama originally appeared on the big screen in 1973. It's about a bitter white cop, Lt. Bassett (Alex Rocco), and Jesse (Hari Rhodes), a black sergeant of the Detroit Police Department. They have been assigned to investigate a politically staged robbery during a charity ball that becomes a fundraiser for a black congressman who wants to become governor of Michigan. Most of the missing loot is jewelry donated by wealthy patrons valued at some $400,000. Their investigation becomes tangled up in false leads, deadly confrontations, and a mysterious prostitute who seems to hold the key to the missing treasure. This re-release offers mediocre entertainment at best. The film is grainy, bloody wounds look like orange paint and the special effects are amateurish. It is supposed to be the first of several primarily black cast films made in the seventies planned to be resurrected.

Surely the original DETROIT 9000 did not include the incessant violence this latest release does. Graphic gunshot killings, police chases, car explosions, kicks and beatings never stop. Masked terrorists terrify hundreds of guests and workers at a charity ball, killing anyone who attempts to resist. Filthy language includes 25 obscenities and 22 profanities. Lt. Bassett's best friends are women in an upscale house of prostitution. He is shown in bed with one of his female friends, with sex implied. And one of the prostitutes is shown with the black Congressman hoping to become governor. He orders her services, but treats her more like a piece of furniture than a person. This sex scene is graphic with prolonged breast nudity. Jesse lives with his girl friend, and they are shown kissing passionately once. But the most offensive and superfluous scene takes place during a stakeout at an apartment house. The police officers spend their time watching two lesbians, nude from the waist up kissing and fondling each other in another apartment. Gratuitous violence, foul language, homosexual activity and nudity make DETROIT 9000 a disgusting attempt at entertainment.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: General Releasing