Notre agent de Harlem

This is one of the undiscovered treasures of cinema people, if you haven't seen it you need to. They never paid for one permit and they did this movie for about $90,000USD, but they don't skip a beat. Same editor as Schindler's List; if you watch the movie you can tell why Spielberg uses this guy, he is a master.

Even if you don't agree with the films message you have to agree that this is one of thee finest made independent films in existence, and considering the subject matter it is a surprise this film was ever shot, because the book had a pretty hard time getting published too.

I think this film is everything Melvin Van Peebles wanted SweetBack to be.

A big surprise! I wasn't expecting anything as intelligent or exciting as this. More craft than one would expect of a low budget outing from largely first timers and it barely puts a foot wrong. None of the glam of the more obvious candidates for best black film, this just gets on and does it's job. This being the film's theme in many ways - just do it! There are many, like the writer on the DVD interview, who wonder why so little has been achieved in the US by this community and this marvellous movie is certainly food for thought for many around the world whether they be the oppressed or the oppressor who cannot figure out how the balance of power never seems to change. A really must see film.

Very intelligent and sublimely scripted film that stars Larry Cook in a truly powerful role. Cook plays Dan Freeman, the first CIA-recruit since the start of the agency. After an intense training and a mind-strong career of 5 years, Freeman returns to the ghetto where he grew up and mobilizes the future-less black youth to stand up for themselves and begin a violent revolution against the white authorities. The message and criticism in the screenplay is so well-elaborated because Sam Greenlee adapted it from his own novel. True, the film contains a little too much talking and some of the sentimental speeches are hard to swallow (like Freeman's supposedly heart-breaking tale of how he taught his grandmother to read), but most of the criticism against America are quite thought-provoking, daring and way ahead of their time. Around the hour, more action kicks in and we're treated to several convincing riot-sequences and atmospheric images of the ghetto under siege. But, perhaps the most fascinating aspect about "The Spook who sat by the Door" is the psychological battle inside the protagonist's head, resulting in a dazzling end-scene. Knowing the controversy a film like "New Jack City" caused, I'm sure that this movie would provoke far worse situations when re-released properly.

It is claimed that this movie was "lost" for over 30 years so it got honored by an immense cult-status. I can only recommend for you to see it yourself.

I can't remember how this ended up on my Netflix (I must have read about it in a book or magazine), but I was incredibly surprised. In my mind this rivals "Do the Right Thing"--without the polish. I've seen numerous "blaxploitation" films (not my favorite term), but this 1) doesn't pull any punches and 2) doesn't degenerate into demeaning sex and violence. Unlike films like "Shaft" that just made a white hero black, "The Spook Who Sat by the Door" probably gave the establishment a severe case of heartburn--I mean, can you consider this with white characters?! No. It's a black film through and through. The establishment can tolerate a "Superfly" or a "Shaft," but a film like this (more akin to "The Battle of Algiers") is borderline dangerous. I used to teach a film class, and if I still did, I may very well have considered showing this. An important film.

I viewed this film in a Pan African Studies class at California State University, Northridge in 1993. Professor James Dennis who was a Civil Rights activist who made the Mississippi Freedom Rides told us this was the best film about and by African-Americans, and I agree with him wholeheartedly! I would like to get this video and show it in the classes I teach in history. This film was ahead of its time. Sam Greenelee is a very good writer and captures the essence of the struggle for African-Americans.