According to writer/director Hill, the project began when American International Pictures' head of production, Larry Gordon, lost the rights to the film Cleopatra Jones after making a handshake deal with the producers. Gordon subsequently approached Hill to quickly make a movie about an African American woman's revenge and beat Cleopatra Jones to market.

Coffy is notable in its depiction of a strong female lead (a capable nurse), rare in the genre at the time, and also in its then-unfashionable anti-drug message. It was remade (with an all-white cast) in 1981's Lovely But Deadly.

Plot summary

In the movie, Grier plays the titular character Coffy, a nurse by day and vigilante by night who conducts a one-woman war on organized crime in Los Angeles after her sister is harmed by drug abuse. Along the way, her police officer friend, Carter, is beaten into a coma, and her politician boyfriend, Howard, betrays her to the mob. Using every tool in her arsenal, from seduction to brute force, she eventually dispenses with every mafioso and crooked cop in the film.

Soundtrack

1. "Coffy Is The Color" - 3:03
2. "Pricilla's Theme" - 3:58
3. "King George" - 3:00
4. "Aragon" - 2:55
5. "Coffy Sauna" - 2:16
6. "King's Last Ride" - 1:10
7. "Coffy Baby" - 2:26
8. "Brawling Broads" - 2:46
9. "Escape" - 2:18
10. "Shining Symbol" - 3:53
11. "Exotic Dance" - 3:18
12. "Making Love" - 2:49
13. "Vittroni's Theme - King Is Dead" - 2:03
14. "End Of Sugarman" - 1:05

Personnel

• Roy Ayers - composer, conductor, producer, arranger, vocals (1,3)
• Denise Bridgewater - vocals (1,7)
• Wayne Garfield - vocals (1,10)
• Billy Nichols , Bob Rose - guitar
• Richard Davis - acoustic & electric bass
• Harry Whitaker - electric piano, organ, harpsichord, piano, secondary arranger
• Garnett Brown , Wayne Andre - trombone
• Jon Faddis - trumpet
• Cecil Bridgewater - flugelhorn
• Dennis Davis - drums
• William King - percussion
• Emanuel Vardi , Harry Lookofsky , Irving Spice , Peter Dimitriades - strings

Originally released in 1973 on Polydor as #PD-5048. Re-issued on CD in 2001 on Motown.

See also

• List of women warriors in folklore, literature, and popular culture

External links