Synopsis

After a robbery at a political fundraiser, two Detroit detectives from different racial backgrounds are assigned to recover the stolen money. Their investigation moves through the city's streets, police department, criminal underworld, and strained communities, exposing corruption, racial tension, and the uneasy realities of urban law enforcement.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was developed under the working titles The Holly Hill Caper and Motown 9000. The title changed after Motown Records sued, arguing that Motown could imply an association with the company.

• "9000" refers to a Detroit police radio code for an officer in trouble. The phrase also became the title of the film's 1975 rerelease, Police Call 9000.

• Detroit 9000 was shot largely on location in Detroit, rather than using another city as a substitute. Downtown streets, railroad yards, cemeteries, police facilities, and several landmarks appear throughout the picture.

• The production received extensive cooperation from the Detroit Police Department. Department equipment was made available, and off-duty officers worked as paid extras.

• Local radio personalities appear as themselves or in cameo roles. The film incorporates the real Detroit call-in program Buzz the Fuzz, hosted by Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg, with Police Commissioner John Nichols also appearing as himself.

• The soundtrack had an unusual connection to Motown. Although the company forced the title change, it later agreed to finance, promote, and distribute the soundtrack album. The arrangement was especially ironic because composers Holland-Dozier-Holland were engaged in a long-running dispute with Motown.

• The movie was marketed as blaxploitation, although its producer later said he originally viewed it primarily as a police and action film. The racial politics and interracial detective partnership give it a more conflicted tone than a straightforward exploitation picture.

• Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder Pictures helped restore the film's reputation with a limited theatrical rerelease in 1998, followed by a home-video release. Tarantino also reused a line of dialogue from the movie in Jackie Brown.

• The film's publicity campaign drew criticism from Detroit mayor Roman Gribbs because it emphasized the city's murder rate and racial tensions. The controversy became part of a broader political dispute involving the mayor and police commissioner.