Shaft

“Superbly directed by Gordon Parks (who makes a
Hitchcockian onscreen appearance),
Shaft was one of the seminal Black
dramas of the 1970s and is notable for its mesmerizing, Oscar-winning Isaac
Hayes score, seamless action sequences, the uniformly fine acting of the film’s
ensemble, and an absorbing script about the Mafia abduction of a Harlem mob
boss’s daughter. Richard Roundtree surprised the critics with his complex
portrayal of the confident Black private eye Shaft, capable of holding his own
with a white police detective, or going eyeball-to-eyeball with formidable
Harlem underworld king Bumpy Jonas.”

— BAMPFA

Film Details

Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 1971
Running time: 100 min
Format: 35 mm
Director: Gordon Parks
Screenwriters: Ernest Tidyman and John D.F. Black
Producer: Joel Freeman
Cinematographer: Urs Furrer
Editor: Hugh A. Robertson
Source: Swank

Films and schedules may be subject to change.

Modern Cinema’s Founding Supporters are Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein. Generous support is provided by Nion McEvoy and the Susan Wildberg Morgenstein Fund.

Community support for Black Powers: Reframing Hollywood is provided by the Museum of the African Diaspora.