Series Link #15: Shaft

Posted by Arnold Furious on 04.22.2009

Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?

Series Link #15: Shaft

Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?

SERIES LINK

Frequently when reviewing movies I notice I'm missing sequels here and there from classic series. In line with one of my key film watching beliefs I'll be making a point of tidying up some of my sequel history. The belief in question being that as long as I enjoyed the original I'll watch any sequel made of it. I don't know where this belief came from but it's one that seems to work out for me quite frequently and there are many film series where I have enjoyed multiple sequels based on my love and respect for the initial instalment (Alien, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Rocky etc).

Series Link #1 – The Pink Panther
Series Link #2 – The Road To…
Series Link #3 – Planet of the Apes
Series Link #4 – St. Trinian's
Series Link #5 – Jaws
Series Link #6 – A Nightmare on Elm Street
Series Link #7 – Norman Wisdom
Series Link #8 – The Exorcist
Series Link #9 – Critters
Series Link #10 – Superman
Series Link #11 - Ghoulies
Series Link #12 – Dirty Harry
Series Link #13 – Friday 13th
Series Link #13 – Friday 13th Continued
Series Link #14 – Early Carry On films

Plus don't forget to check out my blog here where I throw quickfire reviews up whenever possible. Like Furious on Film. Only much quicker and less frequently.

For this fifteenth edition of Series Link I thought I'd take a look at the wacky world of blaxploitation. Not many of the blaxploitation movies had sequels so it was tough finding something that ran to enough parts to qualify. But one of the most famous, Shaft, has two sequels AND a re-make, which is enough to run to the required four parts for Series Link.

Series Link #15:

Shaft: the godfather of blaxploitation.

How many films?

Four. Including the re-make.

Starring?

Richard Rowntree (3 times), Moses Gunn (2 times), Vonetta McGhee, Samuel L. Jackson, Christian Bale, Jeffrey Wright.

Directed by?

Gordon Parks (2 times), John Guillermin, John Singleton.

Series Span:

1971-1973. Just 3 years separated all three original films. The re-make landed in 2000.

Shaft (1971)



Blaxploitation isn't one of the best genres for creating entertaining and memorable films. Some of the most famous blaxploitation movies are barely worth the time of sitting down to watch them. I'd include Sweet Sweetback's Badassss Song in that as well as the slightly better and hipper Superfly. Among the best of blaxploitation however was Shaft. It dropped in 1971 putting it in the same year of release as Sweet Sweetback and a year ahead of Superfly and Blacula. Without the success of Shaft there's no doubt in mind that the genre wouldn't have lasted half as long as it did. Eventually African-Americans got sick of the genre and protested it to death by the late 70's, which did allow such classics as Blackenstein, Dolomite and Boss Nigger. The genre tends to get overlooked nowadays with 2000's Shaft re-make the only real attempt to rejuvenate it.

Shaft has the honour of being an Academy Award winner too! Isaac Hayes originally auditioned to be Shaft himself but the producers liked him so much they asked him to write the iconic theme instead. Hayes went on to win an Oscar and was nominated for best score too.



The principle players behind Shaft were Gordon Parks and Richard Rowntree. Parks was directing his second movie after 1969's The Learning Tree. He found it hard to shake the blaxploitation tag after shooting Shaft and its first sequel and went into his many other talents, which included writing novels, painting and campaigning for civil rights. His son Gordon Park Jr followed him into blaxploitation and shot Superfly. Rowntree played the iconic John Shaft character and was a blaxploitation star during the 70's but continued to work right up to the present day and most recently appeared in Speed Racer. In Shaft he was not only cool but he was a powerful black man in a white society. He knew the law and he knew his rights, which set him apart from many other black characters (although he owed a lot to Sidney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night).

Parks was having to fight to make his movies but his inexperience as a director is clear to see. He can't frame a shot properly or light it right. Well inside shots are horrible but outside ones show how alive the city is and how Shaft fits into the metropolis. But what he lacks in technical professionalism he makes up for with passion and good old fashioned street grit. The plot sees private detective John Shaft (Rowntree) hired by local black mob boss Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn) to find his kidnapped daughter. Shaft survives on his street savvy and sharp wits. He's the template for all the blaxploitation movies that followed. Rowntree had classic roots he channelled for the performance. At times its like watching a black Humphrey Bogart in an urban film noir. True, Bogart didn't pepper sentences with words like "motherfucker" but the model is the same.

Shaft has aged far better than its contemporaries in the blaxploitation field and that has a lot to do with Parks and Rowntree bringing such timeless ideas to the screen. Rebellion, the mob, the damsel in distress and the anti-hero. And for such uncomplicated ideas Shaft sure does weave a lot of different strands together to form its relatively simple plot. Is it the best of its genre? Sure! Did it merit two sequels? We'll find out.

Shaft's Big Score (1972)



As per usual when a hit movie arrives on the scene there's inevitably a clamouring from the studio for a follow up. Shaft was popular and scored $12M at the box office plus an Academy Award for Isaac Hayes theme. And believe it when I say that Shaft's Big Score did well for itself at the box office raking in a further $10M. Both director Gordon Parks and star Richard Rowntree return for this sequel. Sadly there's no return for the funky music of Isaac Hayes (he only contributed one track) but Parks composed much of the score himself to retain a funky backbone to his blaxploitation follow up. You can tell Parks learned from making Shaft and the second film is perhaps better technically. However this loses it the same gritty vibe the first film had going in its favour.

The second film puts Shaft (Rowntree, reprising his role) in the middle of a Harlem mob war when his friend hides $200,000 and then gets bumped off by a rival hood. Shaft is left to investigate the murder while pressure mounts from both the black mob and the Italians over control of Harlem's illegal numbers game. Plus there's the $200,000 that everyone would quite like! Moses Gunn returns on the black side of things as Bumpy Jonas. Shaft's personality has become somewhat more volatile since the first film. He seems to fly off the handle a little more instead of being permanently cool. There's something about this change of character that makes the film a little less engaging. I'm not totally convinced by Wally Taylor's turn as the deceased's crime colleague Johnny Kelly either. At least the movie has some nudity to compensate for its continued cast issues stemming from the first film's lack of budget. And the lack of experienced black actors at the time. Kathy Imrie doesn't really measure up to Pam Grier. Rowntree himself doesn't have the same range as modern black actors. Nowadays he probably wouldn't get to carry a movie let alone a series of them.

Rowntree still has a degree of charm though and that goes a long way. His bi-polar personality aside he does pretty well with the material. He's also a "bad dude" according to Kelly. Assuming with regular ghetto vernacular that bad is good, that means he's nice. Right? No? I've never been good with street slang. Compared to the punchy Shaft the sequel seems to drag after a slow start. Placing emphasis on Shaft hitting on Kelly's woman Rita (Kathy Imrie), which seems to exist simply to get the leading lady more screen time, for example causes a simplistic plot to drag in all the wrong places. There seem to be countless scenes of needless exposition also. Especially from Kelly. Although one ends with him hassling an old lady for taking too long with the elevator. "Where are your fucking manners anyway?" replies the old lady. Haha.

With the increased budget there is more joy in the action stakes when they do get going though. In particular the blood splattered shoot-outs complete with big blood packs and squibs. Also the finale, but we'll get to that later. When Shaft, and not Kelly, is the centre of attention the film is much better. Mainly because Shaft plays a true private eye move and plays one side off against the other. Harlem against Queens against the cops and round in full circle again. No one particularly likes him but it seems accepted that because of his connections he's essential to the process. Although keeping him on top the whole time wouldn't be much fun. Even the finest of private eye's need to take a beating every once in a while and Shaft cops a serious beatdown from the Queens mob while Isaac Hayes belts out his only contribution to the sequel.

The film's chase heavy conclusion reveals where much of the budget went and also confirms what is suspected during the course of the film; Shaft is an action hero now! Driving cars at high speeds, nailing various floozies and battling villains in running firefights. The concluding speedboat vs. helicopter showdown is the perfect way to confirm that Shaft has crossed over from wiseass investigator to superhero. It's far closer thematically to Dirty Harry than it is to Superfly or other blaxploitation movies. Taking the anti-hero and making him into a gun-toting slayer of criminals. It's the American dream in action! This dumbing down occasionally leaves a bad taste in the mouth but c'mon; speedboat vs. helicopter!

Shaft in Africa (1973)



If there was ever a defining moment in blaxploitation it'd be this film. The pinnacle of blaxploitation; taking the "slave" back to Africa. Only now as a conquering hero. John Shaft has changed somewhat since the first film and the transformation of Shaft from local grafter to action hero is complete. Although I'm fairly certain that took place during the last film. Here Shaft is played like a black James Bond. Suave, cool and smart. For his third adventure Shaft is kidnapped and taken to Africa to bust up a slavery operation. Presumably his reputation had grown considerably after the events of the second film.

Richard Rowntree returns for his third and final turn as Shaft. None of the rest of the cast return from the first two as new director John Guillermin (director of The Towering Inferno and King Kong (1976)). He's certainly a better director than Gordon Parks and has a wider range of skills behind the camera. Unfortunately what Parks had that English director Guillerman lacks is the gritty street feel. The vibe on Shaft in Africa is more like Live and Let Die. Blaxploitation done by the white folks.

The first hole in the logic of the third film is that Shaft is happy, nay thrilled, to work for $25k although he netted half a million at the end of the second film. What did he do? Drink that half a mill up already? I know he likes scotch but that's a lot of booze! Maybe he did it for all the fine African ladies including the Emir's daughter Aleme (Vonetta McGee). Shaft generously volunteers to test drive her groin before her "clitoradectomy". Yet another Bond-esque area of Shaft, John Shaft's approach to this movie. The scene where he's presented with gadgets at the start of his mission allows him to slip a in quip where he says he's "not James Bond".

Once the mission gets underway it all starts getting a bit far-fetched and characters, even if they're animals, get killed off with little rhyme or reason attached. I expect better really from Stirling Silliphant, the writer, who memorably penned In the Heat of the Night, one of the best movies of the 1960's that wasn't made by the upcoming auteur generation of American filmmakers. What Guillermin does understand is that blaxploitation tends to appeal to some of the more base ideals. There's a lot of nudity in Shaft in Africa and considerably more bloodshed than usual. In one scene a slave recruiter kills a small dog with a big stick. It's not unlike Rorschach in Watchmen as he splits the head open with a vicious blow.

It's been criticised for being too similar to a Bond film (even the music cues are similar) but that's part of the reason why it works. Although it seems strange to go from the urban feel of the first two films to this bizarre spy/action/adventure third instalment. It finally has a bash at a bigger ending than the second film as Shaft storms a chateau single handed. I personally think you can't better the helicopter/speedboat deal but this is a nice try.

Shaft (2000)



Normally re-makes are a terrible idea but the low production values on blaxploitation movies make them ripe for potential re-treads. And I'm surprised that 2000's Shaft didn't lead to a string of blaxploitation re-makes. Samuel L. Jackson takes over as the black private dick who's a sex machine to all the chicks. While he doesn't play the role the same way as Richard Rowntree, he's far more confident for starters, he doesn't exactly do his usual half-assed approach of just being Jules Winnfield. Where Shaft succeeds where earlier Shaft films don't is by having a strong bad guy. In this case Christian Bale…who'd just come off playing Patrick Bateman and can't shake the character for shit! So it's Shaft Vs American Psycho! A fantastic crossover if ever there was one. Behind the camera the accomplishment continues as the director is John Singleton; director of Boyz n the Hood. His original pitch was for Jackson to play Shaft Jr alongside the original Shaft. The studio wasn't interested but were happy for Jackson to be the original Shaft's nephew.

The cast also features Jeffrey Wright (in his best role, for me anyway, as Peoples Hernandez), Vanessa Williams, Toni Collette, Dan Hedaya and Busta Rhymes. Bale's bad guy is a rich socialite and racist scumbag who thinks he's above the law. He gets into an argument with Trey (Mekhi Phifer) and the black man ends up dead. Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) recognises his guilt immediately but Bale's Walter Wade Jr is a slippery fish and the only way to bust him is by finding waitress Toni Collette who saw the whole thing. The plot isn't terribly complex and ends up as a revenge motif set off against gang violence (Jeffrey Wright is brilliant in support; playing a local gangster who Wade meets in jail). Bateman also revels in his role although because he carries over so much Patrick Bateman into it the role doesn't feel like an original creation. Still both Jackson & Bale have enough fun in the roles for the plot to not need much going on.

And yet Shaft tries to make the most of its colourful characters and in many ways is even superior to the original. But where it improves upon characters, stars and acting the actual focal point doesn't feel right. Jackson is a great actor and has a huge presence but he's overwhelming and less personable than the John Shaft of 1971. There's also a very definite divide down the middle of the film where in one half Shaft investigates and that involves Vanessa Williams and Toni Collette. It's not much fun. On the other side you have the burgeoning relationship between drug dealer Peoples and rich kid Walter Wade. This is much more entertaining. I personally dig the re-make of Shaft. I think it works on many levels and although it's inferior to the original it is without doubt a success. And yet despite the $70M haul there was no follow up. Not a Shaft 2 or even another blaxploitation remake. Surely one will come along sooner or later. There's gold in them thar hills!

RATINGS

Shaft ****
Shaft's Big Score ***
Shaft in Africa **1/2
Shaft ***1/2

BOX OFFICE

Shaft $12M
Shaft's Big Score! $10M
Shaft in Africa not available
Shaft $70M

The 411 –

Shaft is the defining film in the blaxploitation movement. It's arguably head and shoulders above everything else in terms of lasting impact and quality. The two sequels are surprisingly enjoyable if somewhat slow to get going. And even the re-make doesn't suck! My personal recommendation is that everyone should see at least Shaft so they can understand what blaxploitation cinema was all about. For me it taps into the mainstream and is of a superior quality to the likes of Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song or Superfly.