Shaft (1971)

Shaft in 4K?!  With a new digital restoration, too? Can you dig it?

Funked up by Isaac Hayes’ incredible score and theme, Richard Roundtree is back in action as Harlem P.I. John Shaft in this signature blaxploitation offering from director Gordon Parks (Shaft, Shaft’s Big Score).  The character's influence upon America’s culture - whether it comes to fashion or music - cannot be overstated, thanks to the two films included here.  Shaft defied explanation.  It simply was a cinematic flagship which earmarked 1971 as the time when America was ready for some serious changes; no longer would all of cinema’s heroes be white.

"Funked up by Isaac Hayes’ incredible score and theme, Richard Roundtree is back in action"


Black is beautiful, man, and, as a result, so is a bulk of blaxploitation flicks.  This sub-genre of exploitation cinema was ready to take their anthems to the street.  Like Ossie DavisCotton Comes to Harlem before it, both ParksShaft and Melvin Van PeeblesSweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song had their sights set on the streets and portraying its African American subjects in a manner that was both engaged and without a victim mindset.  Criterion has put Peebles back in the limelight with their set and The Criterion Collection tackles Gordon Parks with the Hollywood-financed TKO of his Shaft films.  

Shaft, now presented in 4K thanks to Criterion Collection, was released when the Black Power movement was beginning to rattle America and the film’s director, Parks, wanted to break some ground, too.  Thus, John Shaft (Roundtree in a career-defining role), was born to be Badder than bad with the criminals and the ladies alike.Shaft (1971)

After Shaft is recruited to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Harlem mob boss (Moses Gunn) from Italian gangsters, he finds himself in the middle of a rapidly escalating uptown vs. downtown turf war. When Harlem P.I. John Shaft first appeared on the movie scene, he was a "shut your mouth" detective to reckon with, a fact underscored by Isaac Hayes' Oscar-winning Best Original Song (1971). Richard Roundtree plays the hard-hitting, street-smart title role in these signature "blaxploitation" films, hunting for a kidnap victim in the original film. 

Shaft's the name. Excitement's the game! The mob isn’t ready for John Shaft, but we are - especially in 4K.  Ya damn right.

5/5 beers

 

Shaft (1971)

4k details divider

Plus Shaft's Big Score! on Blu-ray / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Home Video Distributor: Criterion
Available on Blu-ray
- June 21, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
English: LPCM Mono; English: LPCM 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Three-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

While the Black Power movement was reshaping America, trailblazing director Gordon Parks made this groundbreaking blockbuster, which helped launch the blaxploitation era and gave the screen a new kind of badder-than-bad action hero in John Shaft (Richard Roundtree, in a career-defining role), a streetwise New York City private eye who is as tough with criminals as he is tender with his lovers. After Shaft is recruited to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Harlem mob boss (Moses Gunn) from Italian gangsters, he finds himself in the middle of a rapidly escalating uptown vs. downtown turf war. A vivid time capsule of seventies Manhattan in all its gritty glory that has inspired sequels and multimedia reboots galore, the original Shaft is studded with indelible elements—from Roundtree’s sleek leather fashions to the iconic funk and soul score by Isaac Hayes. 

Video:

Featuring a new 4K scan from the original 35mm negative, Criterion Collection’s handling of this flick is a real badass treat.  The brand new 1.85:1 HD master is detailed and looks better than ever. Some shots, due to the era of the day, are fuzzier than others but the image is reasonably well defined with crisp contrasts and solid textures. Colors are solid, with reds being a standout. Blacks are, too.

Audio:

The uncompressed monaural soundtrack is included as is an alternate uncompressed stereo track which is remastered with input from Isaac Hayes III.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • See Supplemental Items below.

Special Features:

How does another movie sound?  Because, among the supplemental items included, fans also get Shaft’s Big Score, Gordon Parks’ follow-up to the original film.  Also included is an alternate stereo score, the 4K edition of the film, a new documentary on the making of the movie, behind the scenes glimpses, archival interviews, and a booklet which contains an essay by film scholar Amy Abugo Ongiri!

  • New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Alternate uncompressed stereo soundtrack remastered with creative input from Isaac Hayes III
  • In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
  • Shaft’s Big Score!, the 1972 follow-up to Shaft by director Gordon Parks
  • New documentary on the making of Shaft featuring curator Rhea L. Combs, film scholar Racquel J. Gates, filmmaker Nelson George, and music scholar Shana L. Redmond
  • Behind-the-scenes program featuring Parks, actor Richard Roundtree, and musician Isaac Hayes
  • Archival interviews with Hayes, Parks, and Roundtree
  • New interview with costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi
  • New program on the Black detective and the legacy of John Shaft, featuring scholar Kinohi Nishikawa and novelist Walter Mosley
  • A Complicated Man: The “Shaft” Legacy (2019)
  • Behind-the-scenes footage from Shaft’s Big Score!
  • Trailers
  • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Amy Abugo Ongiri

4k rating divider

  Movie 5/5 stars
  Video  5/5 stars
  Audio 5/5 stars
  Extras 5/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

5/5 stars


Film Details

Shaft: The Criterion Collection (1971)

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
100 mins
Director
: Gordon Parks
Writer:
Ernest Tidyman; John D.F. Black
Cast:
Richard Roundtree; Moses Gunn; Charles Cioffi
Genre
: Action | Crime
Tagline:
The mob wanted Harlem back. They got Shaft... up to here.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Don't let your mouth get your ass in trouble."
Theatrical Distributor:
MGM
Official Site:
Release Date:
July 2, 1971
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
June 21, 2022.
Synopsis: While the Black Power movement was reshaping America, trailblazing director Gordon Parks made this groundbreaking blockbuster, which helped launch the blaxploitation era and gave the screen a new kind of badder-than-bad action hero in John Shaft (Richard Roundtree, in a career-defining role), a streetwise New York City private eye who is as tough with criminals as he is tender with his lovers. After Shaft is recruited to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Harlem mob boss (Moses Gunn) from Italian gangsters, he finds himself in the middle of a rapidly escalating uptown vs. downtown turf war..

Art

Shaft: The Criterion Collection (1971)