Shaft in Afrika

As an urban white kid in the 1970s, I just sort of ignored the Shaft movies. Too ethnic, too threatening – the usual crap. Afterwards, they were just sort of forgotten. But the fictional character John Shaft, who was once a scary black icon for many white Americans, now seems to enjoy almost universal affection as an indelible part of American pop culture.

After all these years, I finally got around to watching all three Shaft movies for the first time, all in one weekend, from the new and excellent DVD editions. On buying these DVDs I noticed the video store clerk smiling at them, which prompted me to suggest that John Shaft is a bad mother… He immediately answered with the expected response: `Shut yo mouth.' We had a laugh over that, and it occurred to me that you could probably say that line on the Great Wall of China and still get the expected response.

These transfers look fresher and sharper than they probably ever looked on the big screen, even in the 1970s. A real treat! No extras aside from the trailers for all three films, which are certainly fun to watch, but the films themselves are so much fun, why complain? A lot has been said about the significance of the Shaft films, and their effect on the black and white communities and their perceptions of each other. I don't feel particularly qualified to address all that, but I will say that these are damn good thrillers by any standard. `Shaft' and `Shaft's Big Score' are gritty urban thrillers showcasing New York City circa 1970s, untamed and unapologetic. They involved dueling gangsters both black and white, hardass NYPD detectives, and of course super-cool, super-bad brother man Shaft caught in the middle, looking out for himself and his buddies. Watch them both back-to-back as I did, and you'll find yourself involuntarily speaking in 1970's slang by the time you're through. Yeah, it's a little cheesy, but so what? It's great fun too. `Shaft in Africa' is a radical departure, wherein Shaft becomes involved in cracking an international slave trading operation. This takes him from New York, to Africa, to Paris for a final confrontation with a James Bondian foreign villain played nicely by British actor Frank Finlay. The colorful locales (Ethiopia, Paris) and badass action make it a great finish to the Shaft trilogy, and needless to say, Richard Rountree brings it off to perfection. Anyone who enjoys the older James Bond films should enjoy Shaft in Africa, as they have a lot in common stylistically.

One more point: these films were made in the early 70's, which means that when Shaft `gets it on' with a lady, as he inevitably does, we do not see ten minutes of graphic sex. The camera moves away tactfully and we move on to the next scene, much in the style of the old James Bond films of that era, but with a bit more skin visible. The sex scenes are tame by today's standards, but the films were R-rated in their time, and the old trailers for them warn the moviegoer that if you are underage and want to see the film, `you gotta ask yo mamma.'

Shaft assumes more of the Bond mantle in this film by going undercover to find out who is running the slave trade out of Africa into Europe. However, it really is too much of a stereotype to Shaft and takes away some of what makes him special.

Shaft, Richard Roundtree again, of course, belongs uptown across 110th street. That's his turf, and putting him in a robe with a stick is just too much.

This film just went too far, past where the imagination can stretch, in letting Shaft win. Yes, it was letting Shaft win, as he couldn't possibly have dodged all the attempts made on his life and still have energy to magically bed Vonetta McGee, and Yugoslavian Neda Arneric.

Having said that, there were some very good moments in the film, and it is still worth the time to see Roundtree in action.

This violent Shaft (Richard Roundtree) entry begins when he's obligated by threats to pull off a dangerous mission . He must go undercover to Ethiopia . In Addis Abeba , Shaft assumes the identity a native , as he's accompanied by a beautiful African young (Voneta McGee) . His work is to break up a slave trade ring whose origin encounters in Paris and ruled by a tyrannical mobster (Frank Finlay) and his hoodlums (Aldo Sambrell) who are exploiting the immigrants in chain-gang employments and minimum wage . The private-eye eliminates anyone who stands in his aim , battling a variety of nasties and keeping things moving along until the final confrontation into the Château of Montfort .

This thrilling picture packs noisy action , violent fights , brutal killings , nudism and results to be quite amusing . The movie is plenty of suspense , thriller , intrigue , adventures and kinky sex , as usual . Strong , raw screenplay by Stirling Shilliphant (habitual of Irwin Allen's catastrophe movies : Towering inferno , Poseidon , Swarm) and based on the characters created by Ernest Tdyman (French Connection) . Richard Roundtree is good as Shaft , his females are Voneta Mcgee with a wide career in blaxploitation genre and being a distinguished secondary ; besides , Neda Armeric , a Serbian actress ,she was recently elected for Serbian Parliament but she withdrew politics after scandal when her vote were registered in Parliament while she was on summer holidays . Colorful as well as evocative cinematography ; most of the scenes in Africa were shot in Ethiopia . The motion picture was professionally directed by John Guillermin , a known author of disaster movies (Towering inferno , Skyjacked , King Kong). The result is an entertaining entry for action enthusiasts and blaxploitation fans with lots of violence , adult issues and profanities . This third outing (the first titled ¨Shaft¨ and the second ¨Big score¨ by Gordon Parks) is followed by seven TV episodes (1973,1974) and 2000 version by John Singleton with Samuel L. Jackson .

Shaft's previous adventure, Shaft's Big Score, ended with a James Bond style high speed chase scene involving cars, a speedboat and a helicopter, with lots of shooting and explosions; this, the third and final outing for Richard Roundtree's private investigator, sees our super-cool hero recruited to go undercover in Africa to break up a slavery ring, and is even more like a Bond movie, featuring an international mission, an evil villain (played with relish by Frank Finlay), high-tech gadgetry, sexy women, and a finale that sees an assault on the baddies' French château fortress.

Although undeniably more comic book in nature than the previous two Shaft movies, Shaft in Africa remains very adult in nature, with a high level of nudity, sex and violence as Shaft beats, kills and shags his way across the dark continent towards Europe. Some of the more explicit content includes a rather frank conversation about female circumcision, the senseless death of an innocent pooch, and villain Amafi's nymphomaniac girlfriend Jazar (Neda Arneric) becoming sexually aroused while watching black workmen digging up a road (she also questions Shaft about the size of his phallus, who eventually satisfies her curiosity by shagging her).

Directed with zest by John Guillerman, a film-maker well versed in African adventures (he previously helmed two Tarzan movies and war movie Guns at Batasi, and would go on to make Sheena Queen of the Jungle), Shaft in Africa is a fun film that moves along at a more than reasonable pace with plenty of action. It is, however, a far cry from the seedy world of pimps, pushers and prostitutes that one usually associates with the blaxploitation genre. As such, it failed to satisfy existing fans of the character, was a failure at the box office, and signalled the end of the franchise.

Let's face it, none of the Shaft movies are exactly masterpieces but the character Shaft surely is a classic, who delivers some classic one-liners.

In this Shaft 'adventure' the creators obviously wanted to manifest Shaft as the African-American answer to the successful James Bond franchise. For most parts they actually succeeded in this. Shaft is even more sexist than James Bond and he surely is more violent. The violence is not always tasteful at times however.

The story is told messy at times. The action sequences seem to come out of nowhere and are simply just pointless at times. Also the weak editing doesn't help much.

I however wouldn't had mind it having seen more Shaft movies being made. Unfortunately this was the last (unless you also count the 2000 "Shaft" version). The Shaft movies have a certain hip 70's atmosphere, which I like and the main character is reason enough to watch a Shaft movie.

Great character, weak storytelling.

6/10

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