Shaft (1971)

Director:

Gordon Parks

Writers:

Ernest Tidyman (screenplay) and
John D.F. Black (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 July 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The mob wanted Harlem back. They got shaft...up to here.

Plot:

Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Mafia | Kidnapping | Smashing A Window | Racial Slur

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Richard Roundtree	...	John Shaft
Moses Gunn	...	Bumpy Jonas
Charles Cioffi	...	Vic Androzzi
Christopher St. John	...	Ben Buford
Gwenn Mitchell	...	Ellie Moore
Lawrence Pressman	...	Tom Hannon
Victor Arnold	...	Charlie
Sherri Brewer	...	Marcy
Rex Robbins	...	Rollie
Camille Yarbrough	...	Dina Greene
Margaret Warncke	...	Linda
Joseph Leon	...	Byron Leibowitz
Arnold Johnson	...	Cul
Dominic Barto	...	Patsy
George Strus	...	Carmen
Edmund Hashim	...	Lee
Drew Bundini Brown	...	Willy
Tommy Lane	...	Leroy
Al Kirk	...	Sims
Shimen Ruskin	...	Dr. Sam
Antonio Fargas	...	Bunky
Gertrude Jeannette	...	Old Lady
Lee Steele	...	Blind Vendor
Damu King	...	Mal
Donny Burks	...	Remmy
Tony King	...	Davies
Benjamin R. Rixson	...	Bey Newfield
Ricardo Brown	...	Tully
Alan Weeks	...	Gus
Glenn Johnson	...	Char
Dennis Tate	...	Dotts
Adam Wade	...	Brother #1
James Hainesworth	...	Brother #2
Clee Burtonya	...	Sonny
Ed Bernard	...	Peerce
Eddie Barth	...	Tony (as Ed Barth)
Joe Pronto	...	Dom
Robin Nolan	...	Waitress
Ron Tannas	...	Billy
Betty Bresler	...	Mrs. Androzzi
Gonzalo Madurga	...	Counterman
Paul Nevens	...	Elevator Man
Jon Richards	...	Elevator Starter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gordon Parks	...	Apartment Landlord (uncredited)

Directed by
Gordon Parks

Writing credits
Ernest Tidyman		(screenplay) and
John D.F. Black		(screenplay)
Ernest Tidyman		(novel)

Produced by
Joel Freeman	....	producer
David Golden	....	associate producer
Roger Lewis	....	producer (uncredited)
Stirling Silliphant	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Ernest Tidyman	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Isaac Hayes
J.J. Johnson

Cinematography by
Urs Furrer		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Hugh A. Robertson

Casting by
Judith Lamb

Art Direction by
Emanuel Gerard

Set Decoration by
Robert Drumheller

Costume Design by
Joseph G. Aulisi		(as Joe Aulisi)

Makeup Department
Martin Bell	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Steven P. Skloot	....	unit production manager (as Steven Skloot)
David Golden	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ted Zachary	....	assistant director
Kurt Baker	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Alan R. Green	....	dga trainee (uncredited)
Allan Wertheim	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Hal Bock	....	chief carpenter (uncredited)
Robert Hart	....	chief construction grip (uncredited)
Jack Wright Jr.	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Lee Bost	....	sound
Hal Watkins	....	sound
Charles Geller	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Robert Rogow	....	boom man (uncredited)

Stunts
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tommy Lane	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Pronto	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Gerolomi	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Ronald M. Lautore	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Randy Munkacsi	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Larry Orlick	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ed Quinn	....	second grip (uncredited)
Robert Royal	....	key grip (uncredited)
Jack Volpe	....	dolly grip (uncredited)
Ron Zarilla	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sylvia Fay	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Celia Bryant	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Paul L. Evans	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Tom McIntosh	....	technical assistant to composer
Mayuto Correa	....	musician (uncredited)
Charles 'Skip' Pitts	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
James Fanning	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Bud Brown	....	auditor (uncredited)
Ozzie Brown	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Cle Kent	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Tom Miller	....	unit publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Shaft Productions Ltd.

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Inex Film (1971) (Yugoslavia) (theatrical)
• MGM-EMI (1971) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1971) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1975) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2001) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting

Also Known As:

"Les nuits rouges de Harlem" - Canada (French title) (dubbed version), France
"Shaft" - Argentina, Peru
"Korkusuz" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Las noches rojas de Harlem" - Spain
"Les nuits de Harlem" - France (video title)
"Mitt namn är Shaft" - Sweden
"Saft" - Serbia (imdb display title)
"Shaft" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Shaft - kivikova dekkari" - Finland
"Shaft il detective" - Italy
"Shaft, Mafia em Nova Iorque" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Shaft, les nuits rouges de Harlem" - France
"Shaft, o mavros panthir" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | Peru:14 | Italy:T | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:16 (video rating) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

55 Jane Street, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Isaac Hayes originally auditioned to play the title role. Producers cast Richard Roundtree, but were so impressed with Hayes that they asked him to write the now legendary score to the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning when Shaft is walking across a street, an overhead shot shows him walking past a taxi and nearly getting hit by a brown car. However, a street-level shot shows Shaft standing in front of and giving the finger to the taxi.

Quotes:

[first lines]
John Shaft:[holding up his middle finger to a cab driver who is honking his horn at him] Up yours! Get out the way!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Beerfest (2006)

Soundtrack:

Shaft Strikes Again

Classic bit of black-ploitation

John Shaft is a private detective in Harlem. He is hired by pimp and drug dealer Bumpy Jonas to find Bumpy's daughter who has been kidnapped by an unknown party. Shaft investigates the local Panther organisation but ultimately finds that an Italian mob is trying to move in on Bumpy's territory. With all parties at conflict Shaft must keep his cool to get the girl back.

Ay the start of a decade filled with cheap movies aimed at getting the black audience a product aimed at them in particular. Many of these were poor but Shaft stood out because it could have been a film in it's own right. The story is a normal detective movie with a black twist and that helps – because it's not forced at all. The story is gritty and tough as befits the setting and the hero.

Shaft is tough but hadn't yet turned into 007 (as he did in Shaft's Big Score), this makes him tough but also keeps him down to earth. Roundtree handles himself sexily and looks great – the film very much revolves around his performance and he holds the attention easily.

The film eventually gets into gun fights and an exciting conclusion but really this is all about mood and funk. And it delivers both.