Shaft – Budget of $500,000 – 1 hour and 40 minutes

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P.I. John Shaft has enemies on both sides of the law.  ‘Shaft’ has absolutely no trust in the police.  And the local drug dealers disgust him.  One day, ‘Shaft’ and the cops hear two guys are looking for him.  The cops tell ‘Shaft’ to leave it up to them, but ‘Shaft’ laughs in their face and heads back to his office.  In his office, he finds the two men and a fight ensues.  One of the men tries to tackle ‘Shaft’ but goes out the window and dies.  ‘Shaft’ recognizes the other man as a member of Bumpy’s crew.  Bumpy is the biggest drug dealer in Harlem.  ‘Shaft’ tells the man of 2 things.

1. If he comes back, he’ll go out the window too
2. If Bumpy wants to talk to him, he better come to the office himself

Next, the cops confront ‘Shaft’ about the death outside his office.  They believe ‘Shaft’ killed him not that the man killed himself.  ‘Shaft’ asks Lt. Vick to give him 48 hours to investigate why the men were in his office and close the case.  ‘Shaft’ goes back to his office and sees Bumpy sitting at his desk.  Bumpy has a favor to ask of ‘Shaft’.  Someone kidnapped his daughter.  ‘Shaft doesn’t want too because of the damage Bumpy has done to the neighborhood.  Bumpy explains that while he is a drug kingpin, his daughter is an innocent kid on her way to college.  He will pay ‘Shaft’ anything he wants.  ‘Shaft’ will have to solve this crime while keeping an eye on the police, Bumpy, and Bumpy’s enemies.

One of the most famous films in the blaxploitation genre, ‘Shaft’ stands out from the rest.  While ‘Shaft’ is ‘the private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks’, he isn’t a pimp or a drug dealer.  In keeping with the times, he wasn’t a police officer either.  He was a man of the street that wanted to make it safe, on his own terms.  The soundtrack is arguably the best music score ever composed (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer).  It will have you dancing and singing along.  And ‘Shaft’s’ demand for respect from young guys is truly memorable.  Now, the downside is the fight scenes.  The punches and kicks are thrown so wide, it’s hard to believe they made the final cut.  With that aside, this is still a classic.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

Well, they’re soul brothers. They came down so I could teach them the handshake – Shaft

That boy’s man enough to back it up too – Vick

You find my baby. That’s all I want – Bumpy

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