Shaft (film)

Who's the black private dick
 That's a sex machine to all the chicks?
 SHAFT!
 Ya damn right!
 Who is the man that would risk his neck
 For his brother man?
 SHAFT!
 Can you dig it?
 Who's the cat that won't cop out
 When there's danger all about?
 SHAFT!
 Right On!
 They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother-
SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
But I'm talkin' 'bout Shaft.
THEN WE CAN DIG IT!
He's a complicated man
But no one understands him but his woman
JOHN SHAFT!

You's know de dojigger. You's know de movie. You's might even know de remake. But do ya' know Shaft?

Shaft is a 1971 Blaxploitation film, based on Ernest Tidyman's novel of the same name. It tells the story of an African-American private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and infiltrates The Mafia in order to find the missing daughter of a black mobster. It stars Richard Roundtree as Shaft, Moses Gunn as Bumpy Jonas, Charles Cioffi as Lt. Vic Androzzi, and Christopher St. John as Ben Buford, along with Gwenn Mitchell and Lawrence Pressman. Isaac Hayes did the theme song quoted above, which has reached Memetic Mutation to the point where it may actually be better known than the movie..

The film was followed by another movie, along with a series of TV movies, following the further adventures of Shaft during the 1973-74 season on The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies. As the series was being aired on network television, the character of Shaft was toned down a fair amount; for example, he frequently worked with the police, instead of being against them as in the original movie. Due to this Executive Meddling, the series was unpopular, and it was quickly cancelled.

In the year 2000, a sequel/remake starring Samuel L. Jackson as the nephew of the original Shaft (Roundtree, in a cameo), also named John Shaft, who works for the NYPD. Christian Bale makes an early appearance as the villain.

Also in the year 2000, the original film was added to the National Film Registry.

And in 2019, a new film in the saga was announced, reuniting Roundtree and Jackson as Shafts 1 and 2, and adding a new generation of John Shaft, played by Jessie Usher.

And we can dig it.

For the anime studio, look no further than Studio Shaft.

Films in this series:
  • Shaft (1971)
  • Shaft's Big Score (1972)
  • Shaft in Africa (1973)
  • Shaft (2000)
  • Shaft (2019)
Tropes used in Shaft (film) include:
  • Angry Black Man
  • Bad Mother F -- Shut your mouth!
  • Blaxploitation
  • Bully Hunter: In the 2000 movie, Shaft II was looking for Diane. In an effort to get a lead, he visits an old girlfriend of his named Terry. She offers to cooperate and even implies to offer sex with Shaft, in exchange for one favor. She has a son Tony, who is a good kid. However he is bullied by another kid, A drug dealer named Malik; into smuggling drugs for him. Shaft, is more than happy to oblige. By pistol whipping Malik into submission and keeping his friends at bay through gunpoint. Making Malik say his name and intimidating him into leaving Tony alone. It seems this is a recurring thing for Shaft II, as a fellow police officer starts driving by giving Shaft nothing but a nod as he passes through.
  • The Chief's Daughter: Shaft woos an African princess in the first sequel.
  • The Chosen Zero: One of the taglines was something along the lines of "The mob wanted Harlem back. They got Shaft".
  • Cold Cash
  • Compensating for Something: Played up in the ads. According to a book on blaxploitation films, several theaters had a contest going during the run of In Africa where customers could win a prize if they correctly guessed the length of Shaft's... walking stick.
  • Cowboy Cop: Jackson's Shaft, who when requested to turn in his badge does so by throwing it like a shuriken, causing it to embed itself in the wall next to a judge's head. Awesome? Very much so.
  • Curse Cut Short: The title theme:

Isaac Hayes: They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother-
Female Chorus: Shut your mouth!
Isaac Hayes: But I'm talkin' 'bout Shaft!
Female Chorus: And we can dig it.

"Any questions?"

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