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Shaft (1971)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
2 July 1971 (USA)
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Tagline:
The mob wanted Harlem back. They got shaft...up to here. more
Plot:
Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won Oscar.
Another 4 wins
&
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Hayes Welcomes Fourth Child
(From WENN. 18 May 2006)
Pioneer Black Director Gordon Parks Dead at 93
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 8 March 2006)
(From WENN. 18 May 2006)
Pioneer Black Director Gordon Parks Dead at 93
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 8 March 2006)
User Comments:
Classic bit of black-ploitation
more (62 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Richard Roundtree | ... | John Shaft | |
| Moses Gunn | ... | Bumpy Jonas | |
| Charles Cioffi | ... | Vic Androzzi | |
| Christopher St. John | ... | Ben Buford | |
| Gwenn Mitchell | ... | Ellie Moore | |
| Lawrence Pressman | ... | Sergeant Tom Hannon | |
| Victor Arnold | ... | Charlie | |
| Sherri Brewer | ... | Marcy | |
| Rex Robbins | ... | Rollie | |
| Camille Yarbrough | ... | Dina Greene | |
| Margaret Warncke | ... | Linda | |
| Joseph Leon | ... | Byron Leibowitz | |
| Arnold Johnson | ... | Cul | |
| Dominic Barto | ... | Patsy | |
| George Strus | ... | Carmen |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
100 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
UK:X (original rating) |
Iceland:16 |
Argentina:16 |
South Korea:15 |
Canada:13+ (Quebec) |
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) |
Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) |
Finland:K-16 |
Netherlands:16 (video rating) |
Norway:16 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:15 |
USA:R |
West Germany:16
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Was rumored to be written as just another detective movie, with a white detective in the lead, but, after the success of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971), the film was rewritten and recast as a blaxploitation movie. This story has been told several times by director 'Melvin van Peebles'. The Ernest Tidyman novel which was the basis for the film is about a black detective and not a white one.
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Goofs:
Continuity: In the beginning when Shaft is walking across a street, an overhead shot shows him walking past a taxi and nearly getting hit by a brown car. However, a street-level shot shows Shaft standing in front of and giving the finger to the taxi.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
John Shaft: [holding up his middle finger to a cab driver who is honking his horn at him] Up yours! Get out the way!
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John Shaft: [holding up his middle finger to a cab driver who is honking his horn at him] Up yours! Get out the way!
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Two and a Half Men: The Two Finger Rule (#6.19)" (2009)
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Soundtrack:
Theme From Shaft (vocal)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (62 total)
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John Shaft is a private detective in Harlem. He is hired by pimp and drug dealer Bumpy Jonas to find Bumpy's daughter who has been kidnapped by an unknown party. Shaft investigates the local Panther organisation but ultimately finds that an Italian mob is trying to move in on Bumpy's territory. With all parties at conflict Shaft must keep his cool to get the girl back.
Ay the start of a decade filled with cheap movies aimed at getting the black audience a product aimed at them in particular. Many of these were poor but Shaft stood out because it could have been a film in it's own right. The story is a normal detective movie with a black twist and that helps because it's not forced at all. The story is gritty and tough as befits the setting and the hero.
Shaft is tough but hadn't yet turned into 007 (as he did in Shaft's Big Score), this makes him tough but also keeps him down to earth. Roundtree handles himself sexily and looks great the film very much revolves around his performance and he holds the attention easily.
The film eventually gets into gun fights and an exciting conclusion but really this is all about mood and funk. And it delivers both.