Shaft (1971)

Directed by Gordon Parks. Starring Richard Roundtree, Charles Cioffi, Moses Gunn, Christopher St. John, Victor Arnold, Lawrence Pressman, Gwenn Mitchell, Margaret Warncke, Tony King. [R]

First outing for the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks is an early blaxploitation gem, arguably the best known (if not outright best) the sub-genre had to offer. Brought to sizzling life by Roundtree’s stylish performance—short on nuance, long on mod masculinity—and Parks’ shallow but muscular glamour. Harlem criminal Gunn recruits Shaft to track down his daughter, kidnapped by rival mafiosos. Light on plot (and by all evidence, disinterested in it), it’s all just an excuse for a lot of tough guy attitude, routine detective work and violence, bedroom beauties, sticking it to the man, and showing off the gritty glory of New York City in the 70s. It’s telling that the film never tops its opening scene of Roundtree’s cool-cat stroll through the urban jungle, set to Isaac Hayes’ funky legend of a theme song (it landed an Oscar for Best Song, the first time an African-American had been rewarded in that category). Not quite as good as its reputation suggests, but rarely a dull moment. Script by John D. F. Black and Ernest Tidyman, adapted from the latter’s novel. Followed by a short-lived TV series and four sequels, starting with Shaft’s Big Score.

73/100