70's Week: Shaft
Richard Roundtree stars as private detective John Shaft. A local crime boss hires Shaft to find his kidnapped daughter, who has been taken by the Mafia. Can you dig it?
It took me long enough to watch this one and I was glad that I did. While I found Foxy Brown to be disappointed, I knew just what to expect from this film. You have Richard Roundtree being generally badass and giving The Man attitude. Then there is the excellent soundtrack provided by Isaac Hayes. The main theme is probably more famous than the actual film. Come on, everybody must know it.
I did find the ending rather anti-climactic. Shaft joined forces with some militant buddies and stormed the hotel where the Mafia goons were holding the girl hostage. There was a shootout that was mildly exciting and the bad guys were all killed and the girl was saved. That was it. I was expecting a massive assault on the Mafia headquarters, but no such luck.
Like most films of this type, the white folk are mostly villains or total jerks. The only white person that was remotely likable was Lt Androzzi, but Shaft still gave him a load of crap. Then again, Shaft gave everybody a load of crap. It didn't matter if they were black or white.
There was also a remake in 2000 starring Samuel L. Jackson in the title role. Richard Roundtree had a cameo as the character's uncle. It's on my to-do list, so I will be reviewing it at a later date.
Three and a half pointy hats.
Next time: Star Wars
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