Nicole
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Michael_Elliott
Shaft (1971) ** 1/2 (out of 4)This now classic Blaxploitation film has detective John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) being hired by crime lord Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn) to find the men who has kidnapped his daughter. Shaft hits the streets of Harlem to try and locate the girl but soon finds himself running into various mobsters and criminals.SHAFT was a landmark movie that introduced us to a black private eye, something that hadn't really been seen before and especially not by a large group of people. Another thing that this movie introduced was a certain toughness and a certain coolness that would become the template for all future Blaxploitation movies. SHAFT was a hit with both white and black audiences back in the day and it's easy to see why but overall I thought the film had way too many flaws to be a complete success but there's no question that fans of the genre will still need to see this.There are many very good things working for this film including the performance of Roundtree who was certainly born to play this type of role. A lot of characters and actors try to play it cool but more often than not you just roll your eyes and feel as if you're watching some actor who got picked on all his life trying to pretend to be cool. With Roundtree you really do feel as if you're watching someone who controls everything he does and does whatever he wants when he wants. He certainly pushes that cool tough guy image that works perfectly well here. Gunn is also entertaining as the crime boss as is Charles Cioffi, Lawrence Pressman and Christopher St. John.Another positive is, of course, the now legendary music by Isaac Hayes. Another fun thing is just getting to see all the old streets of New York including countless theatres showing now classic movie titles. With that said, the biggest flaw with SHAFT is its actual story, which is just too boring and it's just not all that interesting. There are way too many scenes that just drag on and there's no question that ten minutes could have easily been cut and it would have helped the film. Still, SHAFT is what it is and its reputation and coolness factor alone makes it worth watching.
Jackson Booth-Millard
Many years before this original version I had seen the John Singleton/Samuel L. Jackson remake version, I knew about the name of the leading actor, the iconic theme song, and it was featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, so I was looking forward to it. Basically John Shaft (Golden Globe nominated Richard Roundtree) is an African American private detective, he seeks out the gangsters in the Harlem neighbourhood, the New York City borough of Manhattan, and on assignment he gets into a fight with a couple of them in an office, it ends with him throwing one out of the window, the other reveals that uptown gang leader Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn) wants to meet him. After a meeting at the police station, where he lies to Lieutenant Vic Androzzi (Charles Cioffi) and his superior about the fight, Shaft is allowed to return to the streets for 48 hours, he arranges to meet with Bumpy, the gang leader reveals that his daughter has been kidnapped, he wants to hire the detective to safely return his daughter, but this will not be easy with the escalation of the race war, i.e. blacks against whites, Shaft being a target himself, and of course Bumpy cannot be trusted. Shaft assumed Ben Buford (Christopher St. John) was a target, and not himself, together they find where the daughter Marcy Jonas (Sherri Brewer) is being held and confirm that she is alive, they end up in a gunfight and Shaft takes a bullet in the shoulder, but he recovers and tells Bumpy that his daughter is fine and that backup will be needed to get her out of the hotel she is in safely. The plan becomes like a military operation, Ben's men all dress as hotel staff to avoid arousing suspicion, to create a distraction an explosive is thrown into the room and the disguised men deal with the Mafia members, in the end Marcy is successfully rescued and taken out of the hotel where the arranged transport is waiting, as the others get away Shaft calls Vic in a phone booth, then simply walks away. Also starring Gwenn Mitchell as Ellie Moore, Lawrence Pressman as Sergeant Tom Hannon, Victor Arnold as Charlie, Rex Robbins as Rollie, Camille Yarbrough as Dina Greene, Margaret Warncke as Linda and Joseph Leon as Byron Leibowitz. Newcomer and ex-male model Roundtree as the black stud private eye who works his way through both gang activity and women is well cast, this works well for promoting equality for black people during a turbulent time for them, as a police and gangland story, and an interesting enough kidnap rescue plot, and of course the theme song (number 38 on 100 Years, 100 Songs) and original music by Isaac Hayes, who I know better as Chef from South Park, is fantastically funky, a watchable Blaxploitation crime thriller. It won the Oscar for Best Song for "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes (also nominated the Golden Globe), and it was nominated for Best Music for Isaac Hayes, it was nominated the BAFTA for the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, and it won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score. Good!
SnoopyStyle
John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) is a street smart private detective. Gangsters are looking for him and he throws one out the window. Bumpy (Moses Gunn) is after him. Friendly cop Vic Androzzi gives him 48 hours before bringing him back in. Bumpy's daughter has been kidnapped and he hires Shaft to find her. His first lead is Ben Buford but he doesn't seem to know anything about it and his gang is massacred. Ben and Shaft escape. Vic tells Shaft that outsider muscle have gathered in town. The white Mafia is going to war with Bumpy which could spark a race war.What a great song! As a blaxploitation, the story isn't half bad. It puts race front and center without the noble black man trope. It is violent. It's not exactly realistic. It is a stylized hard-boiled detective story in a black world. It is low budget action. There is quite a bit of filler. The pacing does have the 70s meandering quality. It makes up for it with a lot of attitude. That's what Roundtree brings. The man exudes attitude. It's also cool to see the gritty 70s NYC streets.
Uriah43
The NYPD is hearing rumors about something big about to happen in Harlem and they're worried. Meanwhile, two thugs from Harlem are looking for a private detective named "John Shaft" (Richard Roundtree). A scuffle breaks out in Shaft's office and one of the thugs is thrown out of the high-rise window. Not long afterward a black crime boss named "Bumpy Jonas" (Moses Gunn) and his bodyguard, "Willy" (Drew Bundini Brown) come to see Shaft seeking to hire him to locate Bumpy's daughter who has been kidnapped. This is when the complications start. Anyway, this film features gangsters from Harlem, the mafia, black militants and the NYPD who all want to see John Shaft for one reason or another. It has an excellent soundtrack and there is plenty of action to keep most people entertained throughout. The acting is also pretty good with Richard Roundtree putting in an excellent performance along with that of Drew Bundini Brown to a lesser extent. In short, this film is as exciting today as it was when it first came out 42 years ago and is quite possibly the best "blaxpoitation" film there is. Definitely above average.
