Shaft (1971)

Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

Director:

Gordon Parks

Writers:

Ernest Tidyman (screenplay), John D.F. Black (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

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	...	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

Storyline

John Shaft is the ultimate in suave black detectives. He first finds himself up against Bumpy, the leader of the Black crime mob, then against Black nationals, and finally working with both against the White Mafia who are trying to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | mafia | blaxploitation | 1970s | kidnapping | 

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Taglines:

SHAFT's his name. SHAFT's his game.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Motion picture debuts of Gwenn Mitchell, Drew Bundini Brown and the only feature film role of Sherri Brewer.

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Goofs

Shaft wears leather coats, and eventually leather pants throughout the film. However cool and sexy they may look on screen, a detective, nor a criminal for that matter, would ever wear them when stalking their prey; it's impossible to move quietly in leather.

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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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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 28 minutes from this film for its 1975 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in Death Proof (2007)

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Soundtracks

Do Your Thing
(uncredited)
Composed by Isaac Hayes
Performed by Isaac Hayes

User Reviews

A classic black movie

I can understand why modern viewers aren't too impressed with „Shaft". Compared to modern action movies there isn't really much action here and it isn't anything spectacular – no huge shootouts , kung fu fights , big explosions , car chases and so on. There is lot of dialogue and the pacing is rather slow.

You know what ? Those are the reasons why I really like "Shaft" . It feels like a REAL LIFE story . Not every movie has to be an over the top spectacle for simple minded audience. For me less is more . I can hardly care for action hero when he's doing impossible stuff like jumping over the missile with a truck. Here the danger feels real . There is no villain . A simple bad guy with a gun can end your life and you have to be very careful . Shaft uses his muscles only when necessary . He prefers to outsmart his enemy , because violence can lead you as far. When he's fighting for life , you FEEL that he's fighting for life.

The movie captures the gritty atmosphere of 70's New York City . In this world everybody is walking a thin line between law and law of street . I also like that Shaft is a detective and the investigation actually plays important part through whole movie . Not to mention that characters here feel like they could exist in real life.

Richard Roundtree is great as the charming bad ass Shaft who is one foot in the world of black people and the other foot in the world of white people. He easily dominates the whole movie with his tough , confident and wise cracking personality. Women , both black and white are attracted to him (We get to see naked women – something you can't see in action movies anymore). The other actors give him solid support. I liked Charles Cioffi as Vic Androzzi and Moses Gunn as Bumpy.

The movie is worth watching for the delightful dialogue. Believe me – there is more tension in a scene when Shaft talks to Bumpy than in many car chases. The movie is very dialogue heavy , yet it's a true pleasure to listen how characters talk with each other . Most of the dialogue is quite humorous . You should prepare pen and paper to note .

The action scenes are nicely photographed . There is a great title song by Isaac Hayes (it won Oscar) and during the movie you can hear few other nice songs. "Shaft " is mostly entertainment , but it was also an important movie for black people. It's one of those rare movies where the black guy is a hero . The situation now changed , but long time ago it was a breakthrough movie . "Shaft" also captures really good the tension between white and black people back in the 70's.

I give it 7/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 July 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shaft

Filming Locations:

Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,125,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Shaft Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1