I haven't explored these films much outside the well-known movies- Shaft (and its sequels), Superfly,Coffy, Foxy Brown, Blacula, Cotton Comes to Harlem etc. Many I've only heard about or seen parts of, such as Cleopatra Jones.

So recommend me some blaxploitation & other '70s urban films- dramas, comedies, horror, whatever. If there are any certain movies to avoid, mention them, too.

Not to be too obvious, c., but since I didn't see it on your list, have you seen Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. I'd heard about it for years, but only watched for the first time about six years ago. It wasn't at all what I expected, but well worth the time.

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I agree with LT on that one, plus it makes for a deeper experience if you watch it with his son's Baadasssss!, which is about the making of it.

I've always liked Hit! with Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor, but I don't think it's on DVD. I also enjoy the western Take a Hard Ride. It's not up to Leone, but much better than you might expect.

I believe that Detroit 9000 and Hot Potato are weak examples, but hey, they're probably as good as Monster on the Campus!!

I'll check back when I have more time.

There is also "The Mack". A flick about a pimp. Starring Max Julien as Goldie, a pimp who just got out the pen after 5 years & becomes the "King of the Pimping Game". It also has Richard Pryor as Slim. I never really got into it, but my brother flippin' loved it ! He even used lines from the movie on his rap album.

I caught the last few minutes of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song one night when it was on cable. I haven't seen any of the other films mentioned (only previews of The Mack ) but will definitely check into them, probably the two Baadasssss features first.

Detroit 9000 is weak? This is one I haven't heard much about other than being liked by Tarantino. Tongue-in-cheek weak or watered down weak? Monster on the Campus was watered down weak but wasn't lacking in tongue-in-cheek.

I've seen most of the films originally mentioned, and, honestly, I don't really see the appeal. I understand that they matter from a socio-cultural perspective. But I found most of them to be puerile, with atrocious acting and production values. So, other than the camp and nostalgia angles, which I sorta get, does anybody really like these things as independent artistic creations? And I don't buy the argument that they were authentic representations of an urban reality by urban artists for an urban audience, since many of the original film-makers were white, trying to make a buck from black audiences, hence the "-sploitation" part of the equation.

quote:

Originally posted by kendocubano:
So, other than the camp and nostalgia angles, which I sorta get, does anybody really like these things as independent artistic creations?

I, personally, enjoy 'em because of how bad @ss they made the "black superhero". Who can deny how cool John Shaft looked as he walked down the street during the credits? Just how cool was this character when he quickly turned & flipped off a driver that had honked at him for walking in the street? The man oozed cool . In a time when the black guy was a sidekick or a villain, these guys (& gals) came out to show us they can be the hero. Even if they were a private detective, a pimp, a prostitute, or someone seeking justice. Yes, the majority were made by white folk who had never even seen the ghetto, but black filmmakers didn't get the respect then that they do now, thanks to the Black Filmmakers Foundation established in '78.

Yeah, Shaft, Super Fly and the Baadasssss! movies, among others, were made by Black filmmakers. The main point was that the People were trying to get their share of the pie, and the earliest examples of "blaxploitation" flicks are made for Blacks and definitely aimed at them. True, those films I mentioned are NOT camp at all, but they do have a sense of humor.