Shaft

Shaft was my first Blaxploitation movie. I found it interesting hearing about the times and how these movies were some of the moneymakers for the studios, while traditional films were not holding up in the theaters.

In the opening, we see Shaft, played by Richard Roundtree, walking the streets and he seems to be at one with his environment. Unlike Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, Shaft is at home with where he is. Also like Taxi Driver, the city is a character in itself. It is filled with creatures of the night that give the movie color and life.

Shaft is definitely a rebel who plays by his own rules, although he still has a loose connection with the law in Vic Androzzi, played by Charles Cioffi. I really liked the Vic Androzzi character. I like the understanding he has with Shaft and knows that Shaft has to do things by his own rules, but let’s Shaft know there are always still rules.

I feel like this movie has leveled the playing field between blacks and whites. Shaft is able to beat the Italian mob and essentially tell the police where they can stick their rules. In other words, Shaft is able to stick it to the man. But it’s not just Shaft who gives black people power. Bumpy Jonas, played by Moses Gunn, is also a black man to be reckoned with, even though Shaft deals with Bumpy’s men. Bumpy’s character leads us to believe that he has so much money, that he doesn’t care what it takes to get his daughter back from the mob.