Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)

Director:

Melvin Van Peebles

Writer:

Melvin Van Peebles (written by)

Release Date:

23 October 1993 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The Film that THE MAN doesn't want you to see!

Plot:

After saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.

Plot Keywords:

Black Man | Run | On The Run | Hell's Angels | Police

Cast

Simon Chuckster	...	Beetle
Melvin Van Peebles	...	Sweetback
Hubert Scales	...	Mu-Mu
John Dullaghan	...	Commissioner
West Gale
Niva Rochelle
Rhetta Hughes	...	Old Girl Friend
Nick Ferrari
Ed Rue
John Amos	...	Biker (as Johnny Amos)
Lavelle Roby
Ted Hayden
Mario Van Peebles	...	Young Sweetback / Kid (as Mario Peebles)
Sonja Dunson
Michael Augustus

Also Known As:

Sweet Sweetback (USA) (promotional abbreviation)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R (1974) | USA:X (1971) | Canada:(Banned) (Nova Scotia) | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18 | Canada:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Yeah

Trivia:

Mario Van Peebles's film debut.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

A ground breaker unlike any other

Before Spike Lee brought racial tensions out on film with DO THE RIGHT THING, there was Melvin van Peebles. While van Peebles might not be as well-known as Spike Lee, he was a groundbreaking director in African-American film. Not only was he one of the first African-American filmmakers, he was actually a revolutionary. And SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG is a testament to that.

This is the story of Sweetback (van Peebles), a male prostitute on the run from "the man," (Caucasian police officers) for saving a Black Panther from a group of racist groups. While he's being tracked down, he gets some help from the ghetto community and a group of Hell's Angels.

SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG might be just yet another cheap exploitation film, but it was something revolutionary in the fact that director van Peebles was using messages never before seen in film. He is the first to portray African-American protagonists as real badasses, setting of a chain of blaxploitation films in the 70s. And the content-there is one scene with interracial sex, a black man with a white woman. Before SWEET SWEETBACK, that was a big no-no in cinema.

What I really like about this film is the funky soundtrack by Earth, Wind, and Fire. Even if you don't like blaxploitation films, you have to admit, they usually have cool soundtracks, Isaac Hayes in SHAFT and Curtis Mayfield in SUPERFLY are other examples. This film establishes Melvin van Peebles as a truly baadasssss director