The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2018: Shaft (1971), directed by Gordon Parks

The Trailer
and
The Appropriate Tune: "Theme from Shaft", by Isaac Hayes

     In the late 60s through to the 70s, the struggle for civil rights and an increased political consciousness lead to the widespread adoption, fostering and popularization of a unique Black culture, distinct from the Anglo-centric, exclusionary American culture of the time. Not only did you have breakout Black political parties and figures, but you had Black fashion, Black art, Black slang, Black music, Black television, and of course Black filmed starring Black actors. While these things certainly existed prior the 60s and 70s, and they are more than worthy of attention, this was the time when things finally fell into place and it was finally able to land in the mainstream. Issues like racism still existed, and in fact they never went away, but as a step towards equity and equality it was an extremely important and necessary step.‘We’re here, we won’t be ignored, so you better get used to it’ as a vast generational statement.

  Of all the films that make up the so-called ‘blaxploitation’ genre (a name which I don’t much for, unsurprisingly), The Mack, Superfly, Dolemite to name a few, the biggest and most influential of them all is quite probably Gordon Parks’ Shaft, released in 1971 by MGM. Based on the novel by Ernest Tidyman, who also co-wrote the screenplay, Richard Roundtree stars as the titular John Shaft, a private investigator living on the streets of Harlem. A friend and lover like none other (just ask the ladies), Shaft is also a man who doesn’t take any shit. Not from the cops, and not from crime lords like Bumpy Jonas either, especially when he does things like sending armed, window-adverse thugs to his office. Ol’ Bumpy has a method to his madness though, as it seems that someone has kidnapped his daughter Marcy and in a roundabout way he’s looking to hire Shaft to find her. Shaft accepts, because helping an innocent woman in distress and getting a fat paycheck are a nice combination, but of course things are never as simple as all that. Very quickly it is revealed that this isn’t a simple case of kidnapping, but something which has far bigger, and far deadlier, implications for the people of Harlem. Radicals, gangsters, lovely ladies, and in the middle of it all is everyone’s favorite Sex Machine, John Shaft.

     Generally speaking, modern pop culture has tended to treat blaxploitation in something of a negative light. Undercover Brother, Pootie-tang, Black Dynamite, the general impression seems to be that this era of filmmaking is something of an embarrassing relic of the time, suited mainly to be the fuel for jokes than anything else, much like the slasher films that eventually fueled the post-Scream ironic horror craze. While I’m not going to say that ‘blaxploitation’ is above satire, as it’s pretty much impossible to take Dolemite seriously, I feel like the idea of ‘blaxploitation’ has overshadowed the actual films, which is a disservice to the actors and filmmakers who made it happen. Which of course ties into our film here because Shaft, despite it’s notoriety, is nothing like that at all. No karate, no cardboard villains, no gaudily dressed pimps, why you’d scarcely believe it’s exploitative at all. If anything Shaft has more in common with the works of Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane, taken from sunny San Francisco and placed in bitter New York. ‘Streetwise, roguish P.I. with a contentious relationship with the police takes case which turns out to be more complicated than expected’ sounds as much like Philip Marlowe as it does John Shaft.

     Which isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have flaws, because obviously when you’re making a movie on 500,000 dollars things aren’t going to be as polished as one with 5 million. Some of that is reflected in the acting, the major culprit being Shaft’s monotone girlfriend, but I think the biggest mark against the movie is the sound. Just outright bad audio restoration at times, whether characters sound louder then they should or the lip sync doesn’t match,that’s prominent in the early parts of the film but never really go away. It’s not so bad that it affected my enjoyment of the movie, as it’s still easy to understand and follow, but you are just constantly made aware of it.

     Of course a review of any ‘blaxploitation’ movie wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the music, and Shaft’s soundtrack, composed by the late great Isaac Hayes and The Bar-Kays is a pinnacle of the genre. The “Theme From Shaft” is the obvious highlight, capturing the essence of who Shaft is as a character by just straight up telling us, but the entire film is filled with the majestic strings and smooth soul that Hayes is known for (“Soulsville” is also great). Often times I don’t really comment on music in films in these reviews, not because I don’t care about music but because I feel I don’t have an opinion strong enough to vocalize, but every once in a while you stumble across a film where the soundtrack is truly integral to the viewing experience, even more so than the plot and the characters in some cases. While I might personally prefer the more dynamic sound of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly, it is simply a fact that you do not have Shaft without Isaac Hayes and The Bar-Kays. You might have a movie, but you don’t have Shaft.

     If you’re a fan of Chinatown, The Long Goodbye or any of the neo-noir mystery movies, then Shaft should already be in your watch queue. For anyone else Shaft gets the recommendation for being a exciting, damn good popcorn movie. John Shaft is the kind of person we all wish we could be at least once in our lives, so until then you’ll have to settle for watching his movie. Dig on that and help make your Halloween that much more special.