This known film deals with Shaft (Richard Roundtree , though Ron O'Neal auditioned for the role , he was turned down because the producers felt his complexion was too light) , an extremely tough and independent detective contracted by Harlem's drug king called Bumpy (Moses Gunn , character is based on Bumpy Johnson , an African-American mobster in the 1930s) for freeing his abducted daughter . Shaft running afoul into Harlem and confronts a sinister monsters bands in order to rescue her . The private-eye eliminates anyone who stands in this way on his objective and breaks all the rules in going after baddies , battling a variety of bullies , besides avoiding the confronting between black gangs and white gangs . He's helped by a Lt. chief Inspector called Vic (Charles Cioffi) and by group of Black Power followers (Christopher John) .
This fist and guns opera features some passable acting , noisy action sequences , though no too much , and results to be quite entertaining . It's an intriguing film , plenty of thriller , suspense , kinky sex and much of the action centers around 125th Street in Harlem . Nice interpretation from Richard Roundtree , though Isaac Hayes auditioned for the title role , producers cast Roundtree , but were so impressed with Hayes that they asked him to write the now legendary score to the film . Violent , raw script in which the action keeps things moving along by Ernest Tidyman (French connection). The Ernest Tidyman novel which was the basis for the film is about a black detective and not a white one . It was rumored to be written as just another detective movie , with a white detective in the lead , but , after the success of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) , the film was rewritten and recast as a blaxploitation movie . Special mention for soul musical score that still resonates by Isaac Hayes who won an Academy Award . The picture was professionally directed by Gordon Parks , but it has a lot of violence , profanity and adult subject matter . The result is a strong entry for action buffs , plus creating the blaxploitation sub-genre . It's followed by two inferior sequels with similar players : ¨Big score¨ (Gordon Parks) with Moses Gunn and ¨Shaft in Africa¨ (John Guillermin) with Vonetta McGee and a recent version (2000 , by John Singleton) with Samuel L. Jackson and cameo by Richard Roundtree as Shaft's uncle .
This fist and guns opera features some passable acting , noisy action sequences , though no too much , and results to be quite entertaining . It's an intriguing film , plenty of thriller , suspense , kinky sex and much of the action centers around 125th Street in Harlem . Nice interpretation from Richard Roundtree , though Isaac Hayes auditioned for the title role , producers cast Roundtree , but were so impressed with Hayes that they asked him to write the now legendary score to the film . Violent , raw script in which the action keeps things moving along by Ernest Tidyman (French connection). The Ernest Tidyman novel which was the basis for the film is about a black detective and not a white one . It was rumored to be written as just another detective movie , with a white detective in the lead , but , after the success of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) , the film was rewritten and recast as a blaxploitation movie . Special mention for soul musical score that still resonates by Isaac Hayes who won an Academy Award . The picture was professionally directed by Gordon Parks , but it has a lot of violence , profanity and adult subject matter . The result is a strong entry for action buffs , plus creating the blaxploitation sub-genre . It's followed by two inferior sequels with similar players : ¨Big score¨ (Gordon Parks) with Moses Gunn and ¨Shaft in Africa¨ (John Guillermin) with Vonetta McGee and a recent version (2000 , by John Singleton) with Samuel L. Jackson and cameo by Richard Roundtree as Shaft's uncle .