 "Kind of a hoot with a good soundtrack" | 2009-09-17 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1TEMNM9ZEOLJ6 |
| I loved the look of 1971 New York that director Gordon Parks got in this retro PI tale. Gritty, dark, dirty, trash-strewn streets, cheesy interiors: they're all here. Of course, Isaac Hayes' soundtrack is fab, though the plot is a cliche and the acting, overall, is meh...This was hot stuff because it showed blacks in a different light at the time. Today, it's a time capsule of an era long gone. |
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 "The Original, & still the best" | 2009-04-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: A17PE679IR01UO |
What can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said & in a far better way than I could. I'll just say this: It's SHAFT, man, the Original, so BUY IT!
(& the ending's hilarious!) |
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 "The Black Bogie! Too Bad About the DVD!" | 2008-09-13 |
| - Reviewed By fredster5 |
Now this movie is one baad muther-shut-your mouth! I thought this was an excellent movie that tried to portray the life of a private detective in the Harlem of the early 70's in a gritty and hence more realistic manner. As a result, this movie is certainly dated and unmistakenably of that time and place as witnessed by the lingo and slang used liberally throughout and yet I found it still very enjoyable to watch even today.
This cat Shaft reminded me a lot of Humphrey Bogart's character in the "Maltese Falcon" which I also thoroughly enjoyed but one thing that this movie has which is lacking in that great film noir classic is an excellent score. Rarely has a film been identified or even been associated so much with a score that one can't think of one without the other. Sure there have been great scores that heightened the enjoyment of the films around that time like those for "The Graduate" and "Easy Rider" but those were made almost exclusively from pop songs that were already written but here we have a great score that was written just for the movie that became a pop hit and a classic even today that still gets airtime on classic rock radio stations throughout the world. How this didn't win the Oscar for best score that year escapes me and only Curtis Mayfield's work on "Super Fly" comes close in terms of overall quality of scoring.
Although there are just a couple of special feature documentaries on this dvd they are quite enjoyable as we get to see the director doing his thing and for me the better one was where we get to see the late great Isaac Hayes working with his band on the score.
The sad thing about this dvd is the shocking picture and sound quality. Both are extremely poor and do not do this film any justice whatsoever. Here's hoping that a Blu-ray version surfaces soon with a significantly restored picture quality and a similarly restored sound quality with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or better options just as they did with "Dirty Harry". This movie is also a prime candidate for a new Director's Cut version if Gordon Parks is still around but tragically with his death two years ago a great opportunity was missed.
Great movie but terrible dvd version and perhaps you should wait for the Blu-Ray version that comes with significantly remastered and restored picture and especially sound quality with surround sound options which is the only way to truly do justice to an excellent score and is a fitting way to remember the late, great Isaac Hayes and Gordon Parks. |
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| "Cats and caterwauling kittens" | 2008-04-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2NZ0V9TOFLPUS |
| There's a kidnapping of a crime lord's daughter, that P.I. John Shaft is hired to return safely to... The plot is beside the point, it's secondary, for with Shaft, he makes the most mundane thing like trying to hail a cab, entertaining to watch. Richard Roundtree inhabits the part of the Harry Callahanesque, candid, nimble rejoinders-toting wife-cheating black not-so-private dick, who's is own man, and does things his own way, and who's got an underground hideaway den where he brings all his female pickups to. With Charles Cioffi ('Klute,' 1971; 'Missing,' 1982), as the Lieutenant, Vic, Shaft's long-suffering superior. Be on the lookout for 'Putney Swope' himself, Arnold Johnson, as a shoeshine man (this time, we get to hear what the actor's voice 'really' sounds like), and the blaxploitation staple, Antonio Fargas, as a dude on the street that Shaft pumps for a tip-off. With Moses Gunn ('Ragtime,' 1981) as Bumpy, the black crime boss, and Drew Bundini Brown as Bumpy's ambassador, Willy, who steals every scene he's in. The basso profundo, Isaac Hayes, provides the film's score, and Oscar-winning theme song. Directed by Gordon Parks ('Shaft's Big Score,' 1972). As a movie buff that watches every film he views twice, to see whether the film 'holds up' amid the second viewing, so as to get a more honest and clearer perspective, it must be noted that 'Shaft' is not as flawlessly awesome as it first appears to be. Don't let John Shaft's deep-chested, hearty guffaw fool you - it's bigger than the film's bite ... which would rather choose to have the plot become first and foremost and 'the' point of it all. |
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| "SHAFT" | 2008-02-15 |
| - Reviewed By hapkidoman67 |
| They say this cat Shaft is a BAD MOTHER........I can dig it, and you will to.... |
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| "Cool Music" | 2008-02-06 |
| - Reviewed By johnjordin |
Shaft DVD
As far as I know Shaft broke new ground as a movie starring a black man in 1971. Gordon Parks created a sensation in Shaft with an ultracool performance by Richard Roundtree who went onto to do several films in this series. However none holds up as well as does the first film, which plays just as well today as it did in the 70's. Shaft was the quintessential rogue cop, taking orders from no one and tracking down the crooks no matter where they hid in the city. But what really makes this movie work is the feel Parks has for New York, capturing the quality of the inner city like few others have been able to do. One is carried along on the very fine hip soundtrack by Isaac Hayes, taking in the mean streets of Harlem as Shaft fights both the corrupt police force and the underworld.
Recommended for fans of Richard Roundtree and quality jazz.
Gunner February, 2008
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Expedited Available
