CAMP VALUE ASIDE, VINTAGE `DETROIT 9000' FALLS SHORT.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Film Critic

First it was chop-socky. Now it's blaxploitation. What's next for pop-culture advocate Quentin Tarantino? Beach Blanket Bingo?

Forget I said that.

When Tarantino gave the thumbs-up to Grade B, '70s urban action in ``Jackie Brown,'' you knew it was only a matter of time before his production company, Rolling Thunder, started rolling out ``classics'' from that era. The first, and perhaps the last, to hit theaters is ``Detroit 9000,'' a little-known cop movie about racial tensions in Motor City. Or, as the city is known in the film, the Murder Capital of the World.

``Detroit 9000'' might have been somewhat groundbreaking when it was released in 1973. Lead roles for African-American actors were few and far between (come to think of it, they still are) and it certainly wasn't common for a cop drama to feature a black detective and a white detective working side by side to catch the bad guys. If a film did feature such a partnership, the man of color inevitably would be killed. (See ``Magnum Force.'')

That said, today ``Detroit 9000'' (it's the code for ``officer needs assistance'') plays like an entertaining episode of ``Mannix'' with a funky Motown soundtrack. It's not a very good movie, but it certainly has its share of camp value with its mushrooming Afros, cheesy chase scenes and outdated lingo. I've seen much worse movies in theaters this year; but then again, I've also seen better cop shows on late-night television.

The movie is a heist film with masked hoods hitting a black congressman's fund-raiser and making off with $400,000 in cash and valuables. Was it an inside job? Or, to quote one character's learned opinion, was it a ``honky caper to keep blacks from power''?

A cantankerous white detective with no respect for authority (Alex Rocco, who memorably played Moe Green in ``The Godfather'') is paired with a rising black super-cop (Hari Rhodes) to find the crooks. Their styles clash, of course, but they wind up getting along, acting as sort of a model for racial harmony.

Director Arthur Marks (``Bucktown,'' ``Friday Foster'' and, yes, a ``Mannix'' veteran) filmed ``Detroit 9000'' on a shoestring, but managed to capture the city in all of its grimy splendor. The action is pretty outdated - when someone is hit by a bullet (a comical rarity given the number that are fired), the blood explodes like in a torrid game of paintball. And the color is fire-engine red to boot.

What's ironic is that this is a movie that, 25 years ago, couldn't find its way out of urban areas, and the situation hasn't changed. ``Detroit 9000'' is opening exclusively in the Magic Johnson Theatres in Baldwin Hills. I guess even Tarantino's stamp of approval has its limits.

It's up to you to decide whether that's good or bad.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Detroit 9000'' (R; violence, language, sexual situations, nudity).

The stars: Alex Rocco, Hari Rhodes.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Arthur Marks. Screenplay by Orville Hampton. Originally released in 1973; re-released by Miramax Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 43 minutes.

Playing: Magic Johnson Theatres, Baldwin Hills.

Our rating: Two stars.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: In ``Detroit 9000,'' detective Hari Rhodes, second from right, on the trail of armed robbers who hit a congressman's fund-raiser, has his hands full with Herbert Jefferson Jr.