Amazon.com Customer Reviews
 Rated 4 out of 5
The mob wanted Harlem back. They got shaft...up to here.
That title is the films original tagline...and they got the shaft allright!Shaft is a great 70’’s urban classic. The film is beautifully photographed and staged. The atmospheric camera work captures the streets of New York, always keeping the look of the film harsh and cold. The color scheme is typical 70’’s muted with acidic contrasts, but at the same time uses a number of blue tinges, especially in the outdoors, to suggest the cold environment the people are facing. The DVD is presented in the film’’s original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio as well as an open matte (fullscreen) transfer that adds some picture information at the top and the bottom of the screen. The transfers look pretty darned good for a 1971 flick. Audio is presented in the film’’s original monaural track and is fairly weak, though acceptable. The DVD features includes a bonus documentary "Filming Shaft on Location", three trailers and cast biographies. You gotta love Shaft & Richard Rountree. A great flick and a great DVD. - Rated 4 out of 5
THE BEST OF THE BLAXPLOITATION FILMS
PERHAPS THE BEST BLAXPLOITATION FILM OF THEM ALL. JOHN SHAFT [RICHARD ROUNDTREE] IS HIRED TO INVESTIGATE THE KIDNAPPING OF A GANG LORD’’S DAUGHTER. VERY INTERESTING MOVIE WIH LOTS OF GREAT MUSIC. THE FILM ALSO HAS A SHARP SENSE OF HUMOR. FOR A FUN TIME, CHECK OUT THIS CLASSIC 1971 ACTIONER. ISSAC HAYES WON AN OSCAR FOR THE SHAFT THEME SONG. FOLLOWED BY TWO SEQUELS, A TV SERIES, AND WAS REMADE [SORT OF] IN 2000.  Rated 5 out of 5!
i can dig this
Long before Samuel Jackson reprised the role of that bad motherf--shut your mouth-- but I’’m talking about Shaft. Not the remak, but the original. The first. I’’m talking 1971, when Shaft burst onto the scene. I’’m not sure if Shaft falls into the Blaxplotation category, but Richard Roundtree plays a strong and positive (if a rather dark and morally ambiguous character) role. Shaft isn’’t weak, nor his he going to be pushed around by the Man. And at the same time Shaft doesn’’t go militant. And Shaft has a great relationship with the local police. He’’s sarcastic, witty, and intelligent. Roundtree plays Shaft so that everyone wants to be him, black or white. The movie starts with a simple plot, Shaft is hired to get back the local black crime boss’’s daughter, who has been kidnapped. The plot does a few twists and turns from there, and ends with a great gunfight/rescue scene. And there is Isaac Hayes’’ great score, and that memorable theme song. The dvd has both widescreen and full screen format (I advise the wide screen). There aren’’t much in the way of extras. There are the trailors for the three Shaft movies and a brief bio of Richard Roundtree. There’’s also a 10 minute ’’filming of’’ documentary called "Soul in Cinema: Filming Shaft on Location." It doesn’’t really tell you much or add anything to the viewing of the film, but it doesn’’t hurt, and it is somewhat interesting. You can also watch the film dubbed over in French (heh heh), and forget putting in English subtitles, the experience of ’’French Shaft’’ is worth going by itself. To finish, two words for you: John Shaft.
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