Disclaimer:

The movie I’ll be reviewing this week is rated: R

Included will be sexual images, harsh violence, coarse language, and other not-for-kid things.

Month 2 of 2025, let’s hope it’s a good one. I was originally tempted to make this month all about romance films, but I had a change of heart. Get it? While I don’t think that was a bad idea, it’s just an obvious one. Instead, I thought I’d mix it up. February is also known as “Black History Month,” so I decided to celebrate it. Every movie I cover this month will be a prominent Black story. What better way to start than with the original 70’s blaxploitation film?

Back in the day, movies that were categorized as “blaxploitation” were typically over-the-top B-Movies. Only after the success of this ambitious film did Hollywood see a market for the genre. In the process, over 200 low budget movies were pumped out by film studios within the decade. Although, it all started with the original, Shaft.

The title refers to protagonist John Shaft, a detective in New York City during a time of great racial divide. So, basically New York City at any point in history. Unlike other blaxploitation films, this one’s purpose was not just to appeal to Black Americans of the 70’s. It’s goal was to set out and show the power of the Black man. The character of John Shaft is a suave, elegant, and cunning detective who doesn’t take crap from nobody.

Even today he still stands out as a timeless Black icon. His franchise spans five theatrical releases, seven made for TV films, and a TV series. People still see him as the badass hero who’s cool, desirable, and even sexual. Needless to say, this cat Shaft is a bad mother-

I’m sure you’re thinking, “What’re my thoughts on this film?” I’ll admit, I’ve only ever seen this film once before, but I had a great time with it. While it was slow in the opening, it amounted to the awesome climax of action in the end. In fact, this film is another Criterion Collection inductee, and after watching it, I can see why. Not only does it mark the beginning of the blaxploitation subgenre, but it’s surprisingly experimental with its cinematography.

Given our country’s current climate, we certainly need a no-nonsense detective to whip us back into shape. With that said, let’s dive out the second story window and find Bumpy Jonas’ daughter in Shaft.

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Before I go too far, yes, I know. I’m White. In fact, I’m about as White as a polar bear in a snowstorm. Considering that fact, there’ll be things that go over my head. Not only is there a racial divide, but there’s a culture and time period divide. Any criticisms I have will not be based on racial, cultural, or historical attributes. This film, despite its grooviness, has a lot of artistry in it as well. I’d like to appreciate it for both the lessons it teaches and the fun it contains.

Without further delay, I love the intro song.

Unfortunately, I can’t convey how fun it is in this format, but I promise it’s worth it. Not only is it catchy as hell, it perfectly sets the tone for the film you’re about to see. That accompanied with the various shots of John Shaft (played by the late great Richard Roundtree) going about his New York routine gets you in the mood.

I’m joking when I say that, although it does point to an important part of Shaft’s character: sex appeal. The director of the film, Gordon Parks, made it clear that he wanted Shaft to be desirable to all women. We see Shaft share a bed with both a Black and a White woman in the movie.

It shows how desirable he is and it says a lot about his character. Sex makes up a not insignificant portion of Shaft’s personality. In fact, he’s all about the ladies.

What’s nice about this is that they don’t show John as a peace-loving saint. He’s a person, just like anyone else. I know, I too was shocked to learn that Black people are people. The 70’s might need some time to process this. They show all sides of his personality, his virtues and his vices. Sure he’s pretty cool, but he’s not always the best role-model. For example, he’s dating the Black woman he slept with. So he cheated on her with a White woman.

While he’s great at what he does, he’s also very brash.

The film makes up for this by showing how it ties into race. John isn’t willing to cooperate because he doesn’t want White folks to take advantage of him. He adopts that no-nonsense attitude for self-preservation and survival in 1970’s New York.

Because of this, Shaft often does things his way. Although, he proves time and again that his way is often the better way.

He’s typically on the front lines. Unlike most cops, he infiltrates communities, meets people where they are, and has connections an officer wouldn’t. This allows him to get results that the police can’t.

I know I’m talking about John a lot, but I’d be concerned if I didn’t. In a movie that’s named after one of the characters, I’d expect that character to have the biggest personality. To be fair, that’s exactly what John Shaft is. He’s strong, likable, and imperfect, yet charming in his flaws. And, of course, he’s the main reason to watch this movie.

Although, supposedly there’s a story here. How’s that? Well, it’s pretty simplistic: a crime lord named Bumpy Jonas (played by Moses Gunn) wants Shaft to find his daughter. Easy enough.

With such a straightforward story, it can sometimes be difficult for the film to keep your interest. To their credit, they break up the slower pacing with sudden and surprising action sequences occasionally.

This doesn’t happen all the time. Mostly the movie focuses on the mystery of who took Bumpy’s daughter and the people Shaft meets along the way. We already saw John’s close relationship with Police Lieutenant Vic Androzzi (played by Charles Cioffi). His and John’s relationship isn’t perfect, but there are moments that confirm why they stick together. This one’s probably my favorite.

I also mentioned John’s girlfriend previously. Her name is Ellie Moore (played by Gwenn Mitchell), and she isn’t much of a driving force in the film.

Ellie has a few scenes here and there, but she doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time. I’m not sure if this was intentional to keep the movie more focused, but it is a little confusing. Not only her, but there’s another woman Shaft meets up with later named Dina Greene (played by Camille Yarbrough). It’s unclear how they know each other or what their relationship is, but she’s perfectly comfortable letting him crash at her place.

This is also her only scene in the movie. She never shows up again. While I feel inclined to critique this, I wonder if it’s because Shaft was originally a novel. In fact, it was a series of novels written by Ernest Tidyman. So, I’m not sure if these details were further explained in the books since I haven’t read them. What happened is that the movie was likely forced to cut things down, like The NeverEnding Story, to keep things focused.

With that said, the movie doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s only an hour and a half long, so it’s perfectly serviceable. Also, if there are moments that are difficult to follow, it’s always the amazing star power of John Shaft that gets us through.

I’m probably just gonna keep gushing over this guy, so let’s wrap this up before I feel the need to redefine my sexuality.

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When all is said and done, it’s clear why this movie, and indeed this character, are iconic. At a time in American history when racial tension seemed at its highest, along came a hip guy to shake things up. Shaft is that guy. If only something similar could happen nowadays. I think we need Shaft more than ever right now. Although, even taking that out of the picture, this movie is still really fun to watch.

As I said before, it doesn’t take long to watch, and it manages to keep you watching ’til the end. Even in the moments where the film slows down, I kept watching wondering what would happen. Given that action springs up out of nowhere, it’s almost like anything can happen in this movie. So when things go quiet, you’re still on the edge of your seat. That, and the mystery itself is interesting to watch.

While I didn’t go into much detail on it in the actual review, it ties back to the mafia. That and it raises even more prudent racial questions in the process. There’s even a conversation that John and Vic have which confirms that.

With that said, this is a movie I’m glad I saw and would be happy to see time and again. It only gets better every time I watch it, and I hope you can dig it too.

I’d give this movie a 4.5/5 cats (you’d get it if you’ve seen the movie). Much like The NeverEnding Story, I want to give this movie a perfect score, but it doesn’t quite feel right. There are still a few moments that don’t quite make sense, some awkward 70s stuff,

and, of course, slower moments that some viewers might find boring. It’s pretty close to outstanding in my view, but not perfect. If you can look past those things, I’m sure this is a film you’d be happy to return to again and again.

(I make no claim of ownership for any of the images used in this post)

(Each of them are owned entirely by their respective copyright holders, which are not me)

(I’m just a humble blogger who talks about movies, I do not make them)

(Yet)