Detroit 9000
Detroit 9000 is a 1973 film from the USA, directed by Arthur Marks, running 106 minutes. reelscum files it under blaxploitation.
- Year
- 1973 · 1970s films
- Country
- USA
- Runtime
- 106 min
- Director
- Arthur Marks
- Updated
- 10 Aug 2026
- Obscurity
- obscure (59/100)
- Also known as
- Police Call 9000 · Detroit Heat · Call Detroit 9000
Defined in the glossary: Blaxploitation
A biracial cop pairing hunts jewel thieves in Detroit. Tarantino re-released it for a reason.
A hard-edged crime film set in a crumbling Detroit, in which a Black and a white detective reluctantly team up to solve a jewel heist at a fundraiser for a Black congressman, and the case exposes the city's racial and political fault lines. It is grittier and more ambivalent than most blaxploitation, closer to a straight police thriller.
Quentin Tarantino chose it to relaunch his Rolling Thunder distribution label, which revived its reputation. The location shooting in a bankrupt city gives it a documentary weight. A tougher, smarter entry than the cycle's reputation suggests.
Trailer
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Legal options in USA
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The cycle in depth
- Blaxploitation, 1971 to 1975
Melvin Van Peebles caught gonorrhea on his own set, filed a workers' comp claim, and bought more film stock with the settlement. Four years later the studios had mined the audience out and moved on.
Filed alongside
Three the Hard Way
Brown, Williamson and Kelly against a plot to poison the water supply.
The Mack
Half drama, half documentary of 1970s Oakland. The real players are in it.
Sugar Hill
Revenge via Haitian zombies. The best of the blaxploitation horror crossovers.
Willie Dynamite
A flamboyant pimp fights to stay on top as everything closes in. Sharper and sadder than most.
Ganja & Hess
An art film that was sold as a vampire picture. Recut and buried for decades.
J.D.'s Revenge
A dead 1940s gangster possesses a mild law student. Blaxploitation crossed with the supernatural.
Trouble Man
Cool to the point of refrigeration, scored by Marvin Gaye the one time he ever bothered.
Truck Turner
Isaac Hayes in front of the camera for once, and Nichelle Nichols swearing.
Abby
The blaxploitation Exorcist. A minister's wife is possessed by a sex demon. Warner Bros sued.
Scream Blacula Scream
The rare sequel that adds Pam Grier and a shred of dignity.
Dolemite
Technically inept and completely irresistible. Boom mics in every other shot.
Penitentiary
Prison-boxing blaxploitation that out-grossed every indie of its year and got forgotten anyway.