Baadasssss Cinema

A pretty good overview of black cinema in the early '70's. The first ten minutes are taken up with trying to set the political climate of the time, which I don't think is necessary, this is about movies. Clips from all of the major films are shown: "Superfly", "Sweet Sweetback...", "Shaft", etc... Plus nothing is cut out so the viewer is allowed to see the "shocking" stuff. Of the talking heads, Fred Williamson, Larry Cohen and Pam Grier come off as the most interesting, although film historian, Armond White adds a lot. As with most documentaries, there is some head scratching, Afeni Skakur and Quentin Tarantino add nothing and could have been easily dropped. I also have to disagree with "Jackie Brown" being an homage to these films. But those are minor quibbles. Anyone interested in delving into this genre should watch this documentary.

Baadasssss Cinema (2002)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Quentin Tarantino, Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Melvin Van Peebles, Fred Williamson and critic Elvis Mitchell are among the people interviewed for this entertaining documentary that takes a look at the blaxploitation movies of the 1970's.

At just under a hour there's no question that this doesn't contain the greatest details but it at least has many of the stars that were in the movies as well as people like Tarantino who has kept the genre alive for new fans to discover. The best thing about this movie is that we get some very good discussions about race relations at the time and how these movies were fresh and original and especially in how these movies helped give black crowds a different type of hero.

The documentary covers not only the popularity of these films but also the controversy that haunted them. Both subjects are discussed in great detail and we also get some wonderful clips from various movies. There's also a great interview with Grier who of course was one of the best actresses from this era and certainly one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the screen.

Cold-blooded balance of entertainment and academic perspectives on the so-called blaxploitation urban films of the seventies. This is not only useful as a seminal film rundown, but also for its educative industry participant interviews. Two, of Pam Grier and Quentin Tarrantino, are respectively honest and energetic. Others, of Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry, reek of bitter, unfounded entitlement. BAADASSSS also delves into the debates on the responsibilities, or lack thereof, this genre had to the broader socio-political context. Here, reviewer Elvis Mitchell provides especially introspective guidance. AfroPixFlix throws down 9 sho-nuff greasy cake-cutters for this Isaac Julien reel deel.

A very entertaining doc that gives a good overview of a unique side of 70's cinema. It great to see some of the people who worked in this influential genre get a chance to reflect and talk. The collected critics are interesting too. Where this doc is of sort of a disservice is when it tries to explain the end of the genre.

Nobody here is really able to step back and admit that the majority of black action films from the 70's were extremely bad. Even the great ones are poorly made from a technical standpoint but have become classics due to the energy and talent of the main cast. Many of the lesser films were impossible to watch and not feel ripped off. After a sitting thru a bunch of duds, people would naturally stop supporting them. Also by 1975, the neighborhood independent movie theaters were closing and the start of the major chain cinema was beginning to take hold. This killed all independent exploitation film making eventually. No kung-fu films, women in prison films, spaghetti westerns or monster films like in the sixties and early 70's. This has to be taken into account including whatever "racist" conspiracy that squelched the black cinema of the 70's. That's my historical comment.

There was about 5 minutes too much time spent discussing the "Jackie Brown" controversy. But anything that creates more screen time for Pam Grier makes up for it.

Just watched this doc on YouTube. It's a fascinating look at the Blaxploitation film era, roughly 1971-75, and some of the people involved in it who consented to an interview like Pam Grier, Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry, plus Caucasians like Larry Cohen as well as Quentin Tarantino, the latter having grown up watching those films and then putting Grier in his Jackie Brown as a tribute to them. I've seen many of these films when renting videos during the '90s and have reviewed some of them on this site and since many of them are also online, I may review many more in the near future. Many of the movies are of their time but many also still have their merits as entertainment. I mean, Shaft, Coffy, Foxy Brown, and Super Fly, well, they're bad Mutha (Shut Yo' Mouth)! So watch this space for my reviews of those and more...