Wolff rating: FAIR
Plot summary: Hailed as the ``First Black Action Star,'' Private Detective John Shaft investigates a kidnapping that might be the key to rival mobsters.
Biased, pithy comments: So, the music ruled. Issac Hayes is a god. Likewise, Richard Roundtree is clearly having a great time groovin' down Manhattan streets, and the times where we're hearing Hayes and watching Roundtree are the best. However, this film is stunningly cheap---watch for visible mikes underneath Roundtree's tight turtlenecks; note that the same brick building is in the background of nearly every non-montage shot. Likewise, the editing is sort of typical early-70s pause-filled dullness; although the lines are often barbed, the timing is slow and flat. And for a movie that's supposed to be action/adventure, we get a lot of talking and very little action. The racial attitudes in the film are surprisingly complex, and Shaft's two-second analyses of various political groups (the police, black militants, Italian mobsters) are deft and apt. Alas, the pacing and the general shoestring budget suckiness (oh, look, another poorly lit shot!) made it a little hard to watch for me. Your mileage may vary, depending on your tolerance for pauses.
Other Notes: Sex in the 70s seems frequently obscured by what appear to be large colored dots. Also, where does Shaft get off (if you pardon the expression) sleeping with random chick in the middle, yet still be loyal to his woman? The 70s never made much sense to me, even when I was in them.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John.
Directed by: Gordon Parks