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Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Gwen Mitchell, Christopher St. John, Charles Cioffi ... see more see more... , Camille Yarbrough , Lawrence Pressman , Victor Arnold , Eddie Barth , Dominic Barto , Ed Bernard , Sherri Brewer , Drew Bundi Brown , Donny Burks , Antonio Fargas , Edmund Hashim , Arnold Johnson , Damu King , Tony King , Al Kirk , Tommy Lane , Joseph Leon , Rex Robbins , Shimen Ruskin , Adam Wade , Margaret Warncke , Alan Weeks , Dennis Tate , Robin Nolan , Lee Steele , Jon Richards , Gwenn Mitchell

Richard Roundtree cuts a startlingly new and powerful heroic figure as John Shaft, "the cat who won't cop out, when there's danger all about" in Gordon Parks' seminal action film, Shaft. John Shaft is... read more read more... a black private eye with a small office near Times Square. On his way there one day, he gets pumped for information by Lt. Victor Androzzi (Charles Cioffi), a friend of his on the police force, about something big going down in Harlem involving black crime kingpin Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn). Shaft can't help him and leaves, only to just miss being waylaid by two of Bumpy's strong-arm men at his office, one of whom ends up dead on the pavement eight floors or so below. Squeezed by the cops, who are holding a potential manslaughter arrest over his head, Shaft contacts Bumpy, who reveals that his teenage daughter, whom he's always kept away from his business, has been kidnapped. There's been no ransom demand and no clue as to who did it, and he wants Shaft to find the culprits, insisting that he start with a group of Harlem-based black militants led by Shaft's onetime friend Ben Buford (Christopher St. John). No sooner does he find Buford, holed up in a decaying part of Harlem, however, than his friend's comrades are mowed down by submachine gun fire, and Shaft and Buford barely escape. With Shaft angry and out for blood, everyone is forced to come clean -- Bumpy knows that it's the Mafia that kidnapped his daughter, as they want in on the Harlem drug trade that he controls; they're holding her somewhere else outside of Harlem, where his men are no good to him, which is why he wanted Shaft to hook up with Buford. Androzzi tells Shaft that a dozen Mob trigger men from out of town have been spotted in Greenwich Village. He doesn't know why they're there, but he does know that if fighting breaks out between Bumpy's men and the Mafia, it's going to look like a race war, and the whole city could erupt. Shaft doesn't like the way he's been manipulated, but he sees Androzzi's point -- he links the trigger men to the kidnapping and finds the girl, but loses her again, getting shot in the process. Even though he's wounded, Shaft heads for a final confrontation with the kidnappers, supported by Ben's friends in an armed assault on the building where they're holed up. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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66% liked it

11,372 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

33 critics

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Gordon Parks

Release Date: January 1, 1971

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DVD Release Date: June 6, 2000

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Stats: 535 reviews

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richard roundtree as john shaft in 1971 "shaft" Shaft
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Flixster Reviews (535)

  • axadntpron
    February 22, 2012
    axadntpron
    This was my first foray into the world of blaxploitation and boy was it an interesting experience. I can see why it was well received in it's day by both black and white viewers. Not only does it fulfill every preconceived notion that potential white viewers may have had about Af... read morerican-Americans, but it also is a movie very focused on blackness. Hell, in one scene Shaft's coffee isn't even black enough for him. It is infuriatingly stereotypical and empowering all at the same time.
    While this film does feature some rather interesting direction and a fairly engaging story, you cannot help but be mostly entertained by it's charming anachronisms. I mean where else are you going to find classic lines such as: "You got problems, baby?" "Hehe. Yeah, I got a couple of 'em. I was born black... and I was born poor."
  • garyX
    December 22, 2010
    garyX
    Private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime boss to find his kidnapped daughter and gets caught up in a war between Harlem gangsters and the mafia. Shaft is the original "Blaxploitation" film, but as is always the case with progenitors of an entire genre it is actually rather tame... read morer than you'd expect. It's certainly an exploitation film, but the violence never crosses the line into excess and Shaft is shown to be a tolerant and fair-minded man (no signs of the appalling sexism and homophobia that went on the taint this type of film). It's no surprise that Richard Roundtree was an icon to young black men in these post civil rights movement years; he is tough, stylish and never without the attention of women or money but more importantly, he is totally self-assured, fearless and not only doesn't take any shit from "the man", he is accepted and respected by all concerned. Taken out of context, it's a fairly standard 70s detective story, the real reason it stood out from the crowd being the fact that all of the heroes are black and Isaac Hayes' classic soundtrack. The humour is a little weak and lowbrow and there are a couple of hilariously pointless love scenes but as a whole it's a stylish and efficient thriller that is no world changer, but never disappoints either.
  • ajv2688
    December 21, 2010
    ajv2688
    This is the first blaxploitation movie I saw, and it's my favourite. This movie is action packed and has a great story. Shaft really is cool.
  • cosmo313
    November 28, 2010
    cosmo313
    This movie is awesome. It's far less action packed than I thought it would be, and also contained a lot more tropes and elements of later blaxploitation ilms (cliches, stereotypes, etc) than I expected, but that's okay.

    This is a detective story that basically feels like a gr... read moreitty 1970s take on a hardboiled film noir detective story, with a black guy as the lead instead of a white guy. It's got some modern touches (well, modern for the 1970s), but basically feels timeless with the general story at hand.

    Gordon Parks, Sr. gives some top notch direction filled with grit, style, and flair. Richard Roundtree is great in the role that made his career, and of course, the music is nothing but badass. If you haven't seen this one yet, you really need to. It's a classic of it's genre, and just a classic film from its time.
  • bottcorecords1
    August 23, 2010
    bottcorecords1
    Gosh, what a great soundtrack. Isaac Hayes manages to produce some pretty wicked funk that still incorporates elements of the traditional orchestral soundtrack AND gives us what is possibly the most iconic song of the seventies: the "Theme From Shaft". He's a complicated man, b... read moreut no one understands him but his woman.... I hear that Shaft is a bad mother- shut your mouth! I'm just talkin' bout Shaft... Theme song aside, Shaft just isn't a very good movie. The story involves a black mob boss who's daughter has been kidnapped by a white mob boss, and he hires Shaft to get her back. The main things about Shaft is, he doesn't take no guff from whitey. When a white criminal spits in his face, he bashes him over the head with a whiskey bottle. He somewhat deals somewhat less severely with the white guy who calls him "boy", and likewise sticks up for himself when the police start to get patronizing and/or bullying. All this isn't nearly as shocking in 2010 as it probably was in 1971, and minus the shock factor, we're left with a pretty bland crime story. The quality of the story and film and the level of acting all suggest a less interesting episode of the A-Team than anything (although I really enjoyed looking at the early 70s New York City locations). I realize this is B- movie "blaxploitation", and maybe you have to be in a certain mood to appreciate it, but, outside of a few comedically dramatic scenes, I found the whole movie to be extraordinarily dull and low on entertainment factor. It may have been revolutionary and the first-of-it's-kind, but what it's originating isn't terribly interesting to me.
  • rayman0071
    August 18, 2010
    rayman0071
    The original. Nothing like it.

    Richard Roundtree rules. Not to even mention the Oscar winning theme from Issac Hayes.
  • matertenebraum
    October 17, 2009
    matertenebraum
    John Shaft is a private detective in Harlem. He is hired by pimp and drug dealer Bumpy Jonas to find Bumpy's daughter who has been kidnapped by an unknown party. Shaft investigates the local Panther organisation but ultimately finds that an Italian mob is trying to move in on Bum... read morepy's territory. With all parties at conflict Shaft must keep his cool to get the girl back.

    Ay the start of a decade filled with cheap movies aimed at getting the black audience a product aimed at them in particular. Many of these were poor but Shaft stood out because it could have been a film in it's own right. The story is a normal detective movie with a black twist and that helps ? because it's not forced at all. The story is gritty and tough as befits the setting and the hero.

    Shaft is tough but hadn't yet turned into 007 (as he did in Shaft's Big Score), this makes him tough but also keeps him down to earth. Roundtree handles himself sexily and looks great ? the film very much revolves around his performance and he holds the attention easily.

    The film eventually gets into gun fights and an exciting conclusion but really this is all about mood and funk. And it delivers both.
  • Chiefilms
    March 1, 2008
    Chiefilms
    Along with Superfly, top Blaxpoitation films, memorable lines for days.
  • dhetteix
    June 24, 2007
    dhetteix
    What makes Shaft impressive isn't the mere stylization of the blaxploitation era it depicts. Rather, the movie is actually a bona-fide private-eye flick, with serious attempts at portrayals of race-relations in New York. The lack of thoughtless stereotyping manages to elevate thi... read mores movie past it's blaxploitation roots.
  • mjgildea
    November 12, 2006
    mjgildea
    One of the best movies from the 70s.

View All Shaft Reviews

Critic Reviews

A.D. Murphy
March 26, 2009
A.D. Murphy, Variety

Excellent cast, headed by newcomer Richard Roundtree, may shock some audiences with heavy dose of candid dialog and situation. Full Review

J. R. Jones
March 1, 2007
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Forty years of gumshoe noir collided with black power in this 1971 action classic, the most popular of the blaxploitation pictures. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Parks isn't especially good at action direction, but the heart of a private-eye movie is in the mood scenes, anyway, and he supplies a scene in a bar and another one with the Harlem rackets boss that ... Full Review

April 3, 2012
Film4

An efficient cop thriller, with a charismatic performance from Roundtree as "the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all about...Shaft!" Can you dig it? Full Review

Kim Newman
April 3, 2012
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine

A blaxploitation pic that's never quite as cool as its theme song. Full Review

Cole Smithey
April 26, 2009
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

With an ultra hip musical score by Isaac Hayes, "Shaft" is a muscular black action movie where Richard Roundtree is "hotter than Bond and cooler than Bullitt" Full Review

Steve Crum
January 10, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

It's the music that's great here, but the iconic hero is a kick to watch.

March 1, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

This was the second feature of the longtime still photographer Parks, in which he brought together talent for capturing an image and personal knowledge of life on the streets to create a hard-hitting ... Full Review

Geoff Andrew
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

A hip, cool, entertaining thriller. Full Review

Alex Sandell
April 14, 2003
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

What's not to like? Shaft rocked!

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Shaft Trivia

  • Who was originally going to play Shaft but ended up being replaced by Richard Roundtree?  Answer »
  • Who played Shaft in the remake?  Answer »
  • In Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope, the rebels found a weakness in the deathstar, an exhaust shaft that was...  Answer »
  • What Oscar did the original "Shaft" (1971) win?  Answer »
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