Saturday 10 August 2024

Shaft (1971 Gordon Parks)

From the sublime to the incompetent. 

Dig it - some cats from Uptown come looking for our Shaft, John Shaft, who's got one foot in with whitey cats, and some jive ensues.

Seen now, Shaft seems a routinely written NYC private eye story with its roots in Dashiell Hammett, and flaccidly directed. Yet it was the first mainstream film with a black lead and was a box office smash. Isaac Hayes' music is about the best thing about it.

Richard Roundtree is the charismatic lead. With Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi - and Christopher St John probably stealing the acting honours.

Stay loose, baby.

'You ain't so black'


Notes. The clown painting in Shaft's pad? No idea.

Lemon peel with espresso? No idea where that comes from. Would guess it's not Italian.

First saw it on 20 December 1976 on TV - thought it might have been edited but I don't think it was. Aged 13, I finally realised women have orgasms too!

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