Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree passed away a couple days ago. 1971's Shaft is good for several reasons but Roundtree's cool performance is the most significant. Taking the hard-boiled detective archetype and importing it to the blaxploitation film proved the perfect job for Roundtree who brought a quiet power to the world-weary, heroic figure.
Those opening credits still work pretty damned good as a short film. Isaac Hayes' music, Gordon Parks' direction, and Rountree's attitude all function in concert.
You can read my review of Shaft here.
Click to viewThose opening credits still work pretty damned good as a short film. Isaac Hayes' music, Gordon Parks' direction, and Rountree's attitude all function in concert.
You can read my review of Shaft here.