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TOP OF THE HEAP
1972
Director
Christopher St. John
Starring
Christopher St. John
Paula Kelly
Florence St. Peter
John Alderson
Runtime
94 minutes
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Written and directed by Black filmmaker Christopher St. John, TOP OF THE HEAP is a majestic melding of genre thrills, sociological rage, and psychedelic experimentation.
George (St. John) is a cop in Washington, DC, and he’s proud to be one of the few Black officers on the force. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same. When George is overlooked for a promotion, he loses his handhold on reality and launches a personal vendetta against street crime. That is, when he’s not visiting alternate galaxies as an astronaut in his tripped-out dreams.
A radical collision of avant-garde cinema, Blaxploitation, and Afrofuturism far ahead of its time, TOP OF THE HEAP shows a Black cop's psyche in open revolt as he realizes he's become a willing tool of the system and swallowed whole a bullshit dream that was never intended for him. A messy, complicated, angry, singular auteur piece.
George (St. John) is a cop in Washington, DC, and he’s proud to be one of the few Black officers on the force. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same. When George is overlooked for a promotion, he loses his handhold on reality and launches a personal vendetta against street crime. That is, when he’s not visiting alternate galaxies as an astronaut in his tripped-out dreams.
A radical collision of avant-garde cinema, Blaxploitation, and Afrofuturism far ahead of its time, TOP OF THE HEAP shows a Black cop's psyche in open revolt as he realizes he's become a willing tool of the system and swallowed whole a bullshit dream that was never intended for him. A messy, complicated, angry, singular auteur piece.