Shaft

Name: Shaft
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Released: July 2, 1971
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 66
Cast: Camille Yarbrough, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John, Gwenn Mitchell, Lawrence Pressman

1971

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Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: July 2, 1971 | R

Starring: Camille Yarbrough, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John, Gwenn Mitchell, Lawrence Pressman, Moses Gunn, Rex Robbins, Richard Roundtree, Sherri Brewer, Victor Arnold

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

Director: Gordon Parks

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 100 min

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Critic Reviews

Josh Larsen

Nearly every frame of Shaft is intent on doing one thing: establishing its hero – private detective John Shaft – as a powerful, independent, innately good yet still devilish man in complete control of his own destiny. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

If you are tired of watching the flatfoots who play by the rules and go home to the faithful wife, just kick back and watch my man Shaft in action. He'll remind you what an alpha male detective was all about, I ain't jivin' you, Bumpy. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

A hard-hitting action thriller. Read full review

Vincent Canby

Shaft is not a great film, but it's very entertaining. Read full review

A.D. Murphy

Directed by Gordon Parks with a subtle feel for both the grit and the humanity of the script. Excellent cast, headed by newcomer Richard Roundtree, may shock some audiences with heavy dose of candid dialog and situation. Read full review

J.R. Jones

Adapted by Ernest Tidyman from his novel, this suffers from some sluggish dialogue scenes, but the movie comes to vibrant life whenever director Gordon Parks hits the streets of New York. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

If Shaft were indeed a hard-hitting, fast-paced, action-packed detective thriller, as it was meant to be, then it would be an acceptable entertainment. But it isn't. Read full review

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User Reviews

Voodoo123

Jun 26, 2022

The iconic style and dialogue aren't quite enough to take you through the awful pacing and low budget action which has aged poorly. Still, it's clearly made with love and if you're a fan of this genre then it'll be sure to entertain.

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