Synopsis
The mob wanted Harlem back. They got shaft...up to here.
Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Shaft
1971 Directed by Gordon Parks
Cast
Richard Roundtree Moses Gunn Charles Cioffi Christopher St. John Gwenn Mitchell Lawrence Pressman Victor Arnold Sherri Brewer Rex Robbins Camille Yarbrough Margaret Warncke Joseph Leon Arnold Johnson Dominic Barto George Strus Edmund Hashim Drew Bundini Brown Tommy Lane Al Kirk Shimen Ruskin Antonio Fargas Gertrude Jeannette Lee Steele Damu King Donny Burks Tony King Benjamin R. Rixson Ricardo Brown Alan Weeks Show All…
Director
Producers
Writers
Editor
Cinematography
Art Direction
Composers
Make-Up
Studios
Country
Language
Alternative Title
Shaft - 1971
Popular reviews
More-
Me talking to a plant: “Shaft has a certain air about him. He is very calm, and often funny, in tense or even violent situations.”
-
-
-
Great shots, incredible score, horny, blah blah blah. Brass tacks. Shaft's sweater and skincare game are out of this world. I need a commentary track from the wardrobe and makeup teams. Where's the Vulture article that explains what kinda moisturizer and face wash is gonna make me smooth as Ricky Roundtree
-
-
a funk update on the noir genre with richard rountree walking around and investigating a gorgeously-lit, grimy 70s new york in turtlenecks and leather jackets to a killer, moody soul score by isaac hayes. a movie seemingly more about the vibe than any particular ideas regarding race, authority, community, etc which makes it a breeze to watch but is also sorta the issue? it's so cool it's honestly just a relaxing surface going through the expected plot motions after awhile with almost no tension or complication or even any real character dilemma (morally or psychologically) despite both the genre and subject calling for it. but perhaps there's an argument to be made that that chill quality is exactly how shaft moves through the world so of course his movie reflects that feeling so who knows?
-
Via pop culture osmosis, what I had gathered about this film was that it had a great soundtrack (and it does), but I had never read enough to realize it was a film noir classic. This is apparently nothing new to anyone who has seen it, but it surprised me. What I found interesting is how closely it hewed to the formula of detective noir, right down to the sexist attitude toward women, the dialogue flavored with slang, and the gritty imagery. What I liked best was its measured pace and its montages of New York set to Isaac Hayes' masterpiece.
The grit of New York in 1971 is especially well portrayed, from those long glorious shots of Shaft walking…
-
“Shaft” is a stylish riff on being dealt a hand of nothing, making something of it — and charging interest on top.
While a great deal of the behind the scenes contributors to the film - down to the writer and producers - were white, style wins out over technicalities in history. What people remember from “Shaft” are far removed from a whiff of Caucasian: the funky Issac Hayes soundtrack….” and Richard Roundtree. Particularly - how he looks so darn cool in that leather jacket.
There is little disputing that “Shaft” is a power fantasy. Specifically, it’s a white vision of a black power fantasy. Yes, Roundtree gets to stick it to man in just about every way possible. But…
-
"Don't let your mouth get your ass in trouble."
Was Shaft one of the funniest, funkiest, & finest blaxploitation films I ever did see?
YOU DAMN RIGHT.
---
No one rocks a leather jacket as hard as Shaft.
Shaft is love, Shaft is life.✌ -
Shaft was the first movie of a trilogy from the early seventies starring Richard Roundtree as the titular tough-minded New York private detective, John Shaft.
Based on the novel by Ernest Tidyman, who also adapted the screenplay, it was one of only three movies MGM released in 1971 that proved to be financially profitable, and as a result, helped them to avoid bankruptcy.
The narrative itself is relatively insubstantial, purely serving as a mechanism for exhibiting the character in some remarkable set-pieces. However, the timing was historically perfect for a dynamic black protagonist who treats white authoritarian figures with ridicule.
It was only the second feature film directed by Gordon Parks, following the highly watchable The Learning Tree, and Issac Hayes’s original theme song, outstanding in its own right, cemented the impact of this movie marvellously.
-
-
That intro with John Shaft just casually walking across a busy street and expecting cars to just stop for him, builds his character perfectly. No exposition or flashbacks needed; just a bloke walking across a road. Shaft is indeed a bad mother-fucker and he owns his city.
Great dialogue, terrific NYC locations, full of great fleshed-out characters, THAT score by Chef and The Bar-Kays, the final rescue, Richard "I'm a handsome fucker" Roundtree.
Cool as fuck.
The "Soul in Cinema: Filming 'Shaft' on Location" extra on my DVD was pretty damned fine as well and includes Isaac Hayes and The Bar-Kays recording the score.
