411's Top 100 Guy Movies: #100 - #91

Posted by Chad Webb on 07.14.2010

From Saving Private Ryan and Mad Max to Evil Dead 2 and Top Gun, the 411 Movie Zone begins its look at the Top 100 Guy Movies of All-Time with #100 down to #91! Check out the full article to see which guy flicks made the first part of the list!







For the next several weeks, the 411mania movie-zone will be bringing you, the readers, our Top 100 Guy Movies in all their glory. This is a project that has been in the works for quite awhile now, but it is now seeing the light of day, and the staff is confident that we are displaying a list of manly movies that will make you hold your head high.

This is not a list that women will enjoy. These are testosterone-fueled flicks from start to finish. As the individual lists kept pouring in, the similarities in each emerged. Our films feature cool cars, hot women, male camaraderie, violent fight sequences, epic battles in war, plenty of profanity, blunt humor, clichéd plots, gratuitous nudity, cheesy one-liners, and well...I could go on for days. These are the motion pictures that get us guys going best. Many of these titles do not require much brainpower, but when we want to kick back, relax, grab a beer, perhaps some nachos, and just watch a good movie, we'll select something with plenty of action, something that makes us feel great to be men with hair on our chests.

Whether or not these films are considered classics or masterpieces was not the top priority. Many of them received critical praise, but in compiling this list, we focused on what films spring to mind when someone mentions "guy movie." All chick flick lovers should exit this area now. You might also notice some award-winners, but we didn't care about that either damnit! Explosions and gunfire trump Oscars and Golden Globes. You will also see a trend with certain actors appearing in multiple guy movies, like Paul Newman, Charles Bronson, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and...you get the idea. The occasional burst of emotion is fine, but if you've clicked here to feel all warm and fuzzy inside or to cry, you've come to the wrong place.

Here is how each number will appear to you. You will see the basic information on each film (stars, director, and release date), a short summary for those who might not be familiar with the title, a super awesome memorable quote from the film, some short thoughts from one of our staffers, and finally a manliest moment.

Okay, so you don't care about me blabbing on and on. Let's get to the movies. Feel free to comment below and tell us how stupid we were for not including your favorite guy movies.

#100
Mad Max

Starring: Mel Gibson

Directed By: George Miller

Release Date: June 13, 1980

Summary: "A few years from now" Main Force Patrolman Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is involved in a high-speed chase that results in the death of a young gang couple. After becoming disillusioned with the police force Max resigns. In the meantime his wife is on holiday at the coast and runs into the gang to which the deceased male of that chase belonged. Max's wife and son are run down and run over by the gang, their bodies left crushed in the middle of the road. Max arrives too late to stop it, and soon dons his police leathers and steals a supercharged black Special Pursuit vehicle to exact revenge justice.

Memorable Quote: "I'm scared, Fif. It's that rat circus out there, I'm beginning to enjoy it. Look, any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, a terminal psychotic, except that I've got this bronze badge that says that I'm one of the good guys." – Max talking to his superior officer.

Blurb Written By: Rick Tym

While there is symbolism to consider in this tale of the Australian Outback succumbing to the breakdown of law and order—especially the big pointy arrow of the narrative that directly correlates what people will do to keep gas in the tank and their vehicles on the road—George Miller's Mad Max is also a pretty straightforward guy flick. One event leads to another and leads to another and there's a reason for some good old-fashioned vigilante justice. The coolest and manliest of moments consist of cars driving fast, explosions (usually of said cars), shoot outs and that awesome manliest moment above that managed to predate the Saw films by a couple of decades. Mel Gibson kicked some major ass behind the wheel of his Interceptor and went from unknown to valued Hollywood commodity in the role, which he still is today, anti-Semitic stance notwithstanding. Or perhaps at the behest of. God knows it kept him in the limelight way past Passion of the Christ. Seriously though, Mad Max is all grit, cars and violent low budget revenge at its best.

Manliest Moment: Max handcuffs a gang member to a wrecked vehicle and sets a time-delayed fuse to the gas tank. He then tosses the gang member a hacksaw and tells him that while it will take ten minutes to saw through the cuffs, he can save himself in five if he chooses to saw through his own ankle instead.

#99
Stripes

Starring: Bill Murray and Harold Ramis

Directed By: Ivan Reitman

Release Date: June 26, 1981

Summary: It's Bill Murray in the Army and fighting Commie Pinko Russians in a heavily armed recreational vehicle with Harold Ramis as his sidekick.

Memorable Quote: "Recruiter: Are either of you homosexuals?
Winger: Do you mean like flaming?
Recruiter: It's a standard question we have to ask.
Ziskey: No, we're not homosexuals but we are willing to learn.
Winger: Yes, would they send us someplace special?"

Blurb Written By: Bryan Kristopowitz

Ah, yes, the army. The military. Joining the army is supposed to help make a man into a man. A man's man. A tough, fit, smart and skilled warrior that can take on any challenge and succeed. In short, the military is supposed to give a man direction, a purpose. And that's what Bill Murray's smart ass slacker character John Winger is looking for when he signs up, along with his best buddy Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis), for a hitch in the army.

As you'd expect, Murray's Winger doesn't really fit in with the army. He doesn't have the necessary personal discipline or positive attitude that his Drill Sergeant, Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates) expects, which means they're adversaries from the get go. Hulka even tells Winger point blank that he doesn't have what it takes to be a soldier (discipline, duty, honor, and courage are incredibly important here). But Hulka isn't going to give up on Winger. Hulka is positive that, at some point, Winger will "see the light" and come around to the right way of thinking, the army way of thinking.

Now, as far as I can tell, that never really explicitly happens. By the end of the movie Winger is still a slacker and a smart ass. Sure, he's been in combat, he rescues his fellow soldiers in his platoon from the evil commie Russians in Czechoslovakia, and he gets some kind of medal for it, plus a bunch of heroic media attention, but he doesn't really change. Instead, it's almost like he activates a dormant part of his personality that he was previously unaware that he had. John Winger finally starts openly acting like a leader.

And what is it that leaders do? They buck trends. They think "outside the box." Think about the scene where Winger openly defies Sgt. Hulka after Hulka berates a soldier for being too weak to climb a rope. Instead of joining in on the berating, Winger throws the rope over to Hulka and says "He said he couldn't make it. Why don't you do it?" Hulka, pissed off to the max, easily climbs the rope to the top, stands on a raised platform, and announces to everyone, "All right, any of you suckholes want to come try and knock me off?" Hulka then falls out of the tree after an errant shell from the nearby mortar range hits the ground by the tree. As a result, Hulka is out of commission. What happens next? Winger leads some of his fellow platoon mates to the local strip club for a little, well, rowdy stuff. Why would they go with Winger since he's not exactly the best soldier? Because he's a natural leader. Isn't that what all guys wish they could be? The one everyone listens to?

Of course, I could be overanalyzing this whole movie. Perhaps all the viewer is supposed to take out of the movie is that it's funny. It's a comedy. It's freaking Bill Murray in the army. It's also John Candy mud wrestling a bunch of hot babes, Judge Reinhold, stoned out of his mind and wearing a sweatshirt that says "Death Before Disco," it's Warren Oates, who was in "The Wild Bunch," being a hard ass (naturally), it's P.J. Soles and Sean Young being hot babe MP's, and it's John Laroquette acting like a douchebag. But mostly it's Bill Murray in the army. It ends up being one of the greatest ideas for a movie comedy of all time. I'm pretty sure that's why people, especially guys, keep watching this Ivan Reitman directed flick. It's Bill Murray in the army.

Manliest Moment: Bill Murray's John Winger, while attempting to prevent his car from being repossessed, drops a large pizza on the ground. The pizza box opens up, the pizza slides out and hits the dirty street. After failing to stop his car from being taken, Winger stands over the downed pizza, crouches down, picks it up, and puts it back in the box. Now, we never see him actually eat the pizza, but he does tell his girlfriend that he bought a pizza, so we have to assume that Winger didn't go and get another pizza and the "dirty" pizza is the one he wants her to eat. John Winger clearly doesn't believe in the "five second rule."

#98
Saving Private Ryan

Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Tom Sizemore

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Release Date: July 24, 1998

Summary: Following the Normandy Landings, a group of US soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.

Memorable Quote: Captain Miller: I'm a schoolteacher. I teach English composition... in this little town called Adley, Pennsylvania. The last eleven years, I've been at Thomas Alva Edison High School. I was a coach of the baseball team in the springtime. Back home, I tell people what I do for a living and they think well, now that figures. But over here, it's a big, a big mystery. So, I guess I've changed some. Sometimes I wonder if I've changed so much my wife is even going to recognize me, whenever it is that I get back to her. And how I'll ever be able to tell her about days like today. Ah, Ryan. I don't know anything about Ryan. I don't care. The man means nothing to me. It's just a name. But if... You know if going to Rumelle and finding him so that he can go home. If that earns me the right to get back to my wife, then that's my mission.

Blurb Written By: Rick Tym

I actually called in sick the day Saving Private Ryan opened so I could go see it early, on a hot July afternoon. I was surrounded by a lot – and I mean a lot — of elderly gentlemen who looked a lot like the narrator in the scenes that bookend all the action in the middle of this spectacular WWII offering from director Stephen Spielberg. I remember sitting in awe as the first battle scene depicting the Normandy Landings unfolded in front of my eyes. I remember breathing a gasp of relief at a soldier's relief that his helmet had saved him from a fatal bullet wound only to see him fall from another gun blast two seconds later. That's when I really began to hold my breath, and I don't think I let it out until the credits began to roll. And when the lights came back up, my cheeks were wet with tears, just like those of all the gray-haired veterans who sat around me. That's the power of this movie.

Great performances by the cast augment a perfect war movie. Some like Tom Sizemore and Ed Burns are akin to what would unfairly be called grunts, serving their country and the mission in front of them, hoping to make it out in one piece. Others like Barry Pepper's sniper believe in God and the power of the Almighty as He guides his finger to the trigger of his rifle. And a few are just boys, like Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, and even Matt Damon, who knew not what they were getting into, only that they had been called to serve. Of course, the most resonant character is that of Tom Hanks's Captain John H. Miller, made a leader by default when he's really just a schoolteacher. All these men see the harrows and slight victories of war, and we see it through all of their eyes as if we were on the battlefield itself. More importantly, it seems like a real environment rather than just another set, and for that all the actors and the director should be commended. Anyone who dreams of the glory of war should be required to watch Saving Private Ryan to get an idea of just how futile such efforts sometimes are, even with the smaller victories that sometimes keep the proceedings from being rendered completely meaningless. I praise the networks that allow this film to air uncut, completely unedited, because I truly think that even though it's a great guy flick, there's a reason everyone should see it, at least once, the way it was intended to be seen.

Manliest Moment: The entire opening sequence. It doesn't get manlier than storming the beach at Normandy.

#97
Death Wish

Starring: Charles Bronson

Directed By: Michael Winner

Release Date: July 24, 1974

Summary: Charles Bronson walks around New York City blowing away muggers and other assorted scumbags because it's the right thing to do.

Memorable Quote: Jack Toby: We gotta let the cops handle this, Dad!
Paul Kersey: Yeah? Well, what if the cops can't handle this, Jack?

Blurb Written By: Bryan Kristopowitz

"Death Wish," directed by Michael Winner and based on the novel of the same name by Brian Garfield, is obviously, first and foremost, a revenge movie. After Chuck Bronson's Paul Kersey's family is destroyed by a group of random thugs (the thugs, one of who is a young Jeff Goldblum, kill Kersey's wife and rape his daughter, severely traumatizing her), Kersey gets a gun and starts stalking the streets of NYC at night, looking for the criminals. Kersey never finds the criminals responsible for the attack on his family, but he sure does find a bunch of other random criminals. And he destroys them. Kersey eventually becomes a public icon, a beacon for hope in a city overrun by rampant, ultra violent criminality. He's the vigilante.

But what about those bad guys that killed his wife and raped his daughter? Why aren't they ever caught, tracked down and dealt with? Why can't Kersey ever find them? Because he's not meant to.

First off, think about the man's name. "Kersey." Sure does sound like "curse" doesn't it? And what is he cursed to do? He's cursed to walk the streets and look for something he'll never find. Personal satisfaction. Justice. Redemption. He certainly does give hope to the public, though. He gives them a reason to fight back. He gives them the right kind of inspiration to say "I have had enough."

Kersey is also cursed to never be the man he was before the event that changed his life forever. He was "mugged by reality." Before everything changed, Kersey was a "bleeding heart liberal." He believed in helping the downtrodden. He didn't believe in violence. He read "Harpers Magazine," for God's sake. Now, the only thing he believes in, the only thing he really believes in, the only thing that allows him to function, is his work. I'm not talking about his job as an architect, either. I'm talking about his need to take out that cold blue steel and waste some guy with a switchblade knife looking for a "weakling" to rob. Kersey lost his manhood. He's got to get it back.

Now, think about what happens at the end of the movie. The authorities force Kersey to leave the city and never return. They don't arrest him because it would have torn the city apart and, for the politicians involved, it would have been political suicide. So they gave the vigilante a deal. Leave the city and never come back. So that's what Kersey does. He leaves. He goes to Chicago. He's not there five minutes and he's already making it apparent that he's not going to stop by making a gun with his fingers. He's going to keep walking the streets at night. He's going to keep shooting the bad guys. He's going to keep doing the "right" thing. The necessary thing.

Revenge is messy.

Manliest Moment: The first time Chuck blows a guy away and doesn't throw up afterwards. Because that's what Chuck does after his first time. It's kind of shocking that Chuck Bronson did that, isn't it?

#96
Old Boy

Starring: Choi Min-sik, Yu Ji-tae, and Kyang Hye-Jeong

Directed By: Park Chan-wook

Release Date: March 25, 2005

Summary: After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.

Memorable Quote: Oh Dae-Su: [Dae-su is about to use a clawhammer to yank out someone's teeth] "Each one I yank out will make you age for one year. Ready to talk?"

Blurb Written By: Chad Webb

Watching Oldboy is unlike any other film experience. It shocks and rocks the viewer to the core because it is the type of film that could never and would never be made in the U.S. It has more guts than most action thrillers do, yet every twist and turn possesses a deeper meaning. Oldboy is something one never forgets. The images and messages it conveys and instills are lasting, disturbing, and surreal in their viciousness.

Oldboy was directed by Chan-wook Park, and marks the second installment of his revenge trilogy, following Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and preceding Lady Vengeance. What he did with Oldboy was extraordinary. The story focuses on Oh Dae-Su, an alcoholic who is suddenly imprisoned for 15 years. When he is freed, he sets out on a quest to find the person responsible and figure out why they did it. The tale is based on a graphic novel, and it sounds simple enough, but is absolutely the contrary. The conclusion is jaw-dropping, going what any viewer would have expected, predicted, or even wanted. But it is without question a masterpiece.

Oh Dae-Su is portrayed by Choi min-Sik, in one of the bravest and most ferocious performances of all-time. He is a filthy excuse for a human being, so why do guys connect with him? The answer is obvious. It is because he eats a live octopus, and systematically disposes of an entire hallway full of thugs in what will go down as one of the greatest fight scenes ever. The octopus and the violence both are included for a deliberate purpose. Unlike standard horror, these scenes are not meant solely for shock value or scares. There is a method behind the madness, and Chan wook-Park is the genius orchestrator.

Even if you are a person who watches numerous films every year, and ends up enjoying a fair portion of them, you might only revisit one or two of them. Oldboy is a rarity in that it clocks in at over 2 hours, is endlessly entertaining, and demands repeated viewings so the profound layers can stir new appreciations each time. Though nothing can compare to the initial astonishment and awe of Oldboy, it continues to be just as mind-blowing as it was upon release, and it is no wonder that it was voted for this list.

Manliest Moment: Hmmm, this is a toughie. I could select the hallway fight sequence, but that would be too easy. How about when Oh Dae-Su eats a live squid? Now that would put hair on your chest.

#95
Top Gun

Starring: Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis

Directed By: Tony Scott

Release Date: May 16, 1986

Summary: United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, also known as "Top Gun," is the most elite fighter pilot school in the US of A, training the top 1% of the Navy's pilots. When the top pilot from his squadron quits, LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his radio intercept operator LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw get the nod to attend Top Gun and train with the best.

Memorable Quote: "I feel the need…the need for speed!" – Maverick and Goose amp themselves up before taking to the (un)friendly skies.

Blurb Written By: Rick Tym

Tony Scott may have committed some cinematic atrocities, but Top Gun is not considered one of them. Sure, it uses recycled fighter plane footage like 57 times and even features the old "Your dad was a hero, kid" cliché but who doesn't love guys flying $25 million (or whatever the taxpayers spent on them) planes and shooting it up, either for play or for real? This is the film that launched Tom Cruise's career, and for good reason; in the Eighties, there was no place cooler to be than the danger zone. Whether it's the coolness of fighter jock Maverick playing by his own rules (and pissing off his instructors and his main competition in the process) or learning to be a proper wingman, Top Gun rode the wave of its manliness to box office gold in the tune of $350 million worldwide. It also broke home video sales records, and I should know—being a young whippersnapper at the time, I didn't see it until it his VHS. All kidding aside, this one is just a fun (if dated) guy flick.

Manliest Moment: The beach volleyball game between the teams of Maverick/Goose and Iceman/Slider. Just kidding. Tie between giving a Russian MiG-28 the finger (inverted) and having the cajones to sing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" to Kelly McGillis in a crowded bar--after following her into the ladies room.

#94
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

Starring: Bruce Campbell

Directed By: Sam Raimi

Release Date: March 13, 1987

Summary: Ash is still stuck in the cabin, fighting of the Deadites. This time he meets up with Professor Knowby's daughter, who may have a solution.

Memorable Quote: "Groovy."

Blurb Written By: Joseph Lee

Why would a movie such as this be a manly movie? It's got everything a man would want. A bad-ass hero, lots of blood and guts, and some great slapstick comedy. Evil Dead 2 is about one man who just wants to stop the evil that took the love of his live. He does this with a chainsaw, sawed-off shotgun and plenty of other weapons. If a demon possesses one of his new friends, well then he can just cut them up with some good, old-fashioned body dismemberment.

Ash is a hero any man can aspire to be. He's just a regular guy placed in an extraordinary circumstance. All he wanted to do was go into someone's cabin, give his girlfriend a gift and get laid. Now he's fighting off demons and legions of the undead. He loses his own hand and fights off possession. He even loses his mind at one point. But he does all this with a one-liner at the ready, his shotgun in one hand and chainsaw attached to the other. Ash is more than willing to "man up" when it comes to fighting evil. Even though Annie at one point calls him a "coward", we know better.

Gore is something any man can appreciate, and Evil Dead 2 has a lot of it. While not as much of the red stuff as its predecessor, the blood and goo take different colors but it's no less gory. Rooms fill with red, foamy blood that goes everywhere. Ash is more than ready to cut the monsters up with his axe and let the blood fly everywhere. There's even a moment where a girl is forced to eat a Deadite's eyeball! How messed up is that?
Basically, Evil Dead 2 has monsters, blood, a everyman hero, even boobies (although they are undead ones). It doesn't have a lot of brains, but we've been accused of that very fact. Why worry about thinking when you can see a man get into a fight with his own hand?

Manliest Moment: Ash cuts off his own possessed hand.

#93
Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Starring: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Judge Reinhold

Directed By: Amy Heckerling

Release Date: August 13, 1982

Summary: A story of a group of California teenagers who enjoy malls, sex and rock n' roll.

Memorable Quote: "This is U.S. History, I see the globe right there.
-Jeff Spicoli

Blurb Written By: Steve Gustafson

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a true American coming-of-age teen-comedy. The movie follows a school year in the lives of freshman Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh), her brother Brad (Judge Reinhold), Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) and their respective friends Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates) and Mike Damone (Robert Romanus), who believe themselves wise in the ways of life and sex.

When you think about Fast Times two things stand out. One, Sean Penn's portrayal of surfer/stoner Jeff Spicoli. Spicoli's interaction with Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), his American History teacher, is hilarious each and every time. From Spicoli arranging for a pizza delivery in the middle of class only to have Mr. Hand take the double-cheese and sausage pizza and distribute its slices to his privileged students to Mr. Hand taking some revenge by making a stop at Spicoli's house on the night of the senior prom and having an impromptu History lesson. Mr. Hand relents on the question of whether or not he will flunk Spicoli, telling the surfer that he'll probably "squeak by". Two, Phoebe Cates and her incredible red bikini. That unforgettable red bikini was every teen boy's fantasy in 1982 after her super sexy pool scene and reminded every guy out there the importance of locking the bathroom door. Nuff Said.

Manliest Moment:The bikini scene encompasses everything that is great, and humbling, about being a man. The pure joy of Phoebe Cates coming out of the water in her red bikini will live on for-ev-er...for-ev-er...for-ev-er. We are right there with Judge Reinhold as he is feeling the highest of highs while thinking what we all would have been thinking. But that all comes crashing down into a pool of awkwardness and shame when reality walks into the bathroom, unannounced. Cates catching Reinhold in the act of self loves is a pain that anyone who has ever been caught in the act of self maintenance themselves can feel. It's a true fall from grace for Judge and just another knock to the dignity of the once proud high school senior.

#92
Bachelor Party

Starring: Tom Hanks

Directed By: Neal Israel

Release Date: June 29, 1984

Summary: A soon-to-be-married man's friends throw him the ultimate bachelor party.

Memorable Quote:BRAD: Hi! Come on in! Drugs to the right, hookers to the left!

Blurb Written By: George Sirois

When audiences were given National Lampoon's Animal House back in 1978, we were given something else along with it. We got the imitators. Flocks of college or high
school-based movies that were plentiful in nudity and nowhere near as much with the jokes took to the drive-ins, made their money on the Lampoon's back and then left to make room for the next rip-off. Of course there would be one major success in all of this in Bob Clark's Porky's, but the good in this batch of movies was very few and
far between. Fortunately, writers Neil Israel and Pat Proft (who would later give us Police Academy) knew better than to tackle that tired subject. Instead, they gave us what comes after college, when we are ready to settle down with that one special girl, and our friends are ready to send us off in style!

Bachelor Party is the perfect second film in a quadrilogy of comedies, with Porky's going first, Animal House going second and Old School going fourth. It's a very simple setup that guarantees plenty of comedic moments. Rick (Tom Hanks) promises his fiancée Debbie (Tawny Kitaen) that he won't have sex with anyone during his bachelor party. Debbie's father sends her ex Cole to screw up the party anyway possible to the point where Debbie will hopefully dump Rick before the wedding. Meanwhile Debbie's bitter sister and her friends are eager to catch Rick in the act of cheating. And as all of this unfolds, the bachelor party grows bigger and bigger and
more insane to the point where Max the Amazing Sexual Mule makes a memorable appearance.

There's a very healthy amount of nudity in this, with the MVP award going to actress Monique Gabrielle as Tracy, a former classmate of Rick's who came in specifically to offer herself to him before the wedding. If you want dated 80s music, look no further than this. I haven't seen this movie in years, yet I still have the terrible "Why Do Good Girls Like Bad Boys" song stuck in my head. Expect to see plenty of pranks at Cole's expense, and an unforgettable ambush by Rick and the guys at Chippendales. So much more to enjoy here, so go ahead and see it for yourself "or Milt cuts your balls off."

Manliest Moment: It's a toss up between the fact that Rick drives a bus like it's a great car (which is not really a moment per say), or Rick's future father-in-law sitting him down and calling him an asshole. He also says his grandchildren will be "little assholes." It takes a man to say that to someone's face.

#91
Shaft

Starring: Richard Roundtree

Directed By: Gordon Parks

Release Date: July 2, 1971

Summary: A tough private eye is hired to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the neighborhood big crime boss before a mob war erupts. And that tough private eye is a black guy. Shaft. John Shaft.

Memorable Quote: "Shaft: Don't let your mouth get your ass in trouble."

Blurb Written By: Bryan Kristopowitz

"Shaft," directed by Gordon Parks and based on a series of novels by Ernest Tidyman, continues to endure in the pop culture zeitgeist for a variety of reasons. The awesome soundtrack, created by Isaac Hayes, is probably the first thing people think of when they hear the name "Shaft." The title song, "Theme from Shaft," won Hayes an Oscar and still gets radio play today. The flick is also considered one of the first in what was eventually called the "black exploitation" genre, a genre of movies that basically features black heroes and white villains. But the most important aspect of the movie and, to me, the real reason the flick still matters is its star, Richard Roundtree.

The walk. The way he talks. The general smoothness with which he carries himself. The fact that he's able to wear a brown leather coat and not look ridiculous. The intensity he gives the character. Watch him walk through and into oncoming traffic. Who the hell does that and expects not to be hit by a cab or a garbage truck? What kind of man? The baddest man in the city, maybe even the world. John Shaft, the man that won't cop out when there's danger all about.

Now, could some other actor have made "Shaft" successful? Maybe. Samuel L. Jackson tried very hard to be the "new" "Shaft" in a remake by John Singleton in 2000. It really didn't work. I like the movie, Jackson does a fine job, but it's not the same. Roundtree shows up as the original Shaft (he's the uncle of Jackson's Shaft), and he's instantly more interesting than Jackson could ever try to be. Because Roundtree is Shaft, much in the same way that William Shatner is and always will be Captain James T. Kirk, regardless of whomever plays the character in the future. You just can't duplicate what worked so expertly the first time.

And, really, if you had a chance to be Shaft, wouldn't you take it? Wouldn't you want to be the man?

Of course you would.

Manliest Moment: Shaft walks across the street without looking. He just walks out into the street and expects the moving cars to stop for him. He expects this not because he's a pedestrian and has the right of way. He expects the cars to stop because he's the baddest man in the city. He's John goddamn Shaft.

Thanks for reading and make sure to check back next week!