Shaft (franchise) explained

Shaft
Creator:Ernest Tidyman
Origin:Shaft (1970)
Years:1970–present
Novels:Shaft (1970)
Films:
Tv Series:Shaft (1973–74)

The Shaft franchise consists of five action-crime feature films and seven television films, centered on a family of African-American police detectives who all share the name John Shaft. The first three features may be described as blaxploitation films, the television film series is a mystery, and the fourth feature installment is a crime thriller. By contrast the fifth film installment, released to Netflix, is a satirical buddy-cop comedy.[1]

Film

Film U.S. release dateDirector(s)Story byScreenwriter(s)Producer(s)
ShaftJuly 2, 1971Gordon ParksErnest Tidyman
and John D. F. Black
Joel Freeman
Shaft's Big Score!June 8, 1972Ernest TidymanErnest Tidyman and Roger Lewis
Shaft in AfricaJune 14, 1973John GuillerminStirling SilliphantRoger Lewis
ShaftJune 16, 2000John SingletonJohn Singleton & Shane SalernoJohn Singleton & Shane Salerno
and Richard Price
John Singleton and Scott Rudin
ShaftJune 14, 2019Tim StoryKenya Barris & Alex BarnowKenya Barris and John Davis

Shaft (1971)

John Shaft is a classy and suave African-American detective. He successfully fights local crime, including the leader of the black crime mob named Bumpy, his gang, and black nationals. The conflicting characters have to put aside their differences when they must defeat the white mafia, who kidnapped Bumpy's daughter in attempts to blackmail him.

Shaft's Big Score! (1972)

See main article: Shaft's Big Score!. When John Shaft finds out that a dead friend ran an illegal money laundering scheme out of the former's legitimate business and left $200,000 unaccounted for, he discovers the reason why he had suddenly found himself in the middle of a war between rival gangs. The thugs begin a war of taking over the territory that belonged to the deceased, as well as to get their hands on the missing two hundred grand. Shaft has all he can handle trying to track down the money and, at the same time, keep his friend's sister from the clutches of these dangerous groups.

Shaft in Africa (1973)

See main article: Shaft in Africa. John Shaft is persuaded to take on the faux identity of a native-speaking worker in Africa by threats of violence, the enticings of money, and the lure of a potential love interest in his tutor. While undercover he must help in completing a coup on a business that is smuggling immigrants into Europe, and then exploiting them. The villains, unfortunately for him, know he is coming.

Shaft (2000)

See main article: Shaft (2000 film). New York City Police Detective John Shaft II, son of the 1970s cop, is the lead detective on a sensitive case when a young African-American is viciously beaten to death. After learning there was an eye-witness and upon further investigation, the man's friends lead Shaft on the trail of a man who was known to have racial prejudice, prior to the attack. The titular character confronts him and learns that he's Walter Wade Jr., the son of a wealthy real estate tycoon. He finds evidence that the perpetrator was at the location of the crime. The suspect is released on bail because of 'excessive force' from Shaft during his arrest, and flees the country. Two years later, Wade returns to the U.S. where Shaft arrests him for evading law enforcement. After the judge grants him bail, Shaft questions the magistrate's motives and intentions. He resigns from the police force and sets out to lock Wade away permanently. At the same time Wade fears that Shaft may find the witness before he does and hires a drug lord to find and kill her.

Shaft (2019)

See main article: Shaft (2019 film). John Shaft III, also known as JJ, is a cyber security expert for the FBI who seeks out a different kind of expertise from his absentee father John Shaft II (and ultimately, grandfather John Shaft I) after his best friend's untimely death.

In discussing the film, director Tim Story stated, "...We’re going to definitely make sure the stakes in the world are real, and then you’ve got these characters who are dealing with kind of a father/son situation, we’re going to see them put a family back together."[2]

Television

See main article: Shaft (TV series).

Following the box office failure of Shaft in Africa, the studio moved the franchise to the small screen in 1973, with a television series ordered and released to CBS network. While attempting to build crossovers with another crime-drama, Hawkins, the series never garnered much success. Each episode features a different case and a different crime for the titular character to solve. The series was cancelled after one season, due to poor ratings. Richard Roundtree, who reprised his role from the theatrical feature films, has since expressed his distaste for the show and its contrasting message of "pro-police" compared to the feature films.[3] Some episodes were later re-edited and released as television movies, including: Shaft and the Enforcers, Shaft and the Killing, Shaft and the Hit-Run, Shaft and the Kidnapping, Shaft and the Cop Killer, Shaft and the Capricorn Murders, and Shaft and the Murder Machine. The first four debuted in 1973, while the latter three released in 1974.

Main cast and characters

The film series contains four main stars, with various key characters appearing in each individual movie. The following chart organizes the films' stars, arranged by film.

CharacterFilmsTelevision
Shaft
Shaft's Big Score!Shaft in AfricaShaft
Shaft
Shaft
John ShaftRichard Roundtree
John Shaft IISamuel L. Jackson
John "JJ" Shaft IIIJessie T. Usher
Bumpy JonasMoses Gunn
Lt. Al RossiAngelo GnazzoEd Barth
The DetectiveRudy Doucette
The HoodArnold Roberts
Laura ParksJudie Stein
The Pit BossNick Borgani
The SportsmanRobert Strong
Lt. Vic AndrozziCharles Cioffi
Ben BufordChristopher St. John
Marcy JonasSherri Brewer
Cal AsbyRobert Kya-Hill
Gus MascolaJoseph Mascolo
Rita Kathy Imrie
Johnny KellyWally Taylor
Cpt. BollinJulius Harris
Arna AsbyRosalind Miles
Emir RamilaCy Grant
A.V. RamilaAvelio Falana
Col. GondorMarne Maitland
Son of the RamilasA.V. Falana
Peoples HernandezJeffrey Wright
Det. Carmen VasquezVanessa Williams
RasaanTrevor "Busta Rhymes"
Smith, Jr.
Diane PalmieriToni Collette
Walter Wade, Jr.Christian Bale
Det. Jack RoselliDan Hedaya
Det. Jimmy GrovesRuben Santiago-Hudson
Carla HowardLynne Thigpen
Walter Wade, Sr.Philip Bosco
Det. LugerLee Tergesen
Lt. KearneyDaniel von Bargen
Lucifer HernandezFrancisco "Coqui" Taveras
Sasha AriasAlexandra Shipp
Maya BabanikosRegina Hall
Maj. Gary CutworthMatt Lauria
S.A. ViettiTitus Welliver
Freddie P.Cliff "Method Man" Smith
Pierro "Gordito" CarreraIsaach de Bankolé
Karim HassanAvan Jogia
Bennie RodriguezLuna Lauren Vélez
Dominguez RodriguezAaron Dominguez

Additional crew and production details

TitleComposer(s)Cinematographer(s)Editor(s)Production
companies
Distributing
company
Running
time
Shaft
Isaac Hayes & Johnny AllenUrs FurrerHugh A. RobertsonShaft Productions,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer100 minutes
Shaft's Big ScoreGordon ParksHarry Howard104 minutes
Shaft in AfricaJohnny PateMarcel GrignonMax BenedictMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Shaft Productions, Ltd.
112 minutes
Shaft
Michael Hugo & Keith C. SmithPeter Kirby & George Folsey, Jr.MGM TelevisionCBS Networkapprox. 73 minutes each
Shaft
David ArnoldDonald E. ThorinJohn Bloom & Antonia Van DrimmelenShaft Productions,
Paramount Pictures,
New Deal Productions,
Scott Rudin Productions,
Munich Film Partners & Company
Paramount Pictures99 minutes
Shaft
Christopher LennertzLarry BlanfordConrad Buff IVNew Line Cinema,
Khalab Ink Society,
Davis Entertainment,
Netflix Original Films,
Warner Bros. Pictures,
Warner Bros. Digital Networks
Warner Bros. Pictures111 minutes

Reception

Box office performance

FilmRelease dateBox office grossBox office rankingBudget
North AmericaOther territoriesWorldwideAll time
North America
All time
worldwide
Shaft July 2, 1971$12,121,618$12,121,618
  1. 4,476
  1. 5,704
$500,000[4]
Shaft's Big ScoreJune 8, 1972$10,000,000$10,000,000
  1. 4,875
  1. 6,204
$1,978,000[5]
Shaft in AfricaJune 14, 1973$1,455,635$1,079,615$2,440,240$2,142,000[6] [7]
Shaft June 16, 2000$70,327,868$36,862,240$107,190,108
  1. 1,086
  1. 1,377
$53,012,938[8]
Shaft June 14, 2019$21,360,215$21,360,215$30,000,000[9]

Critical and public response

FilmRotten TomatoesMetacriticCinemaScore[10]
Shaft 88% (40 reviews)[11] 66 (10 reviews)[12]
Shaft's Big Score68% (11 reviews)[13]
Shaft in Africa56% (9 reviews)[14]
Shaft 67% (115 reviews)[15] 50 (33 reviews)[16] A-
Shaft 31% (99 reviews)[17] 40 (30 reviews)[18] A

See also

A future descendant of John Shaft appears in the Cowboy Bebop episode "Mushroom Samba", voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka in the 1999 Japanese version and by Beau Billingslea in the 2001 English dub. According to writer/director Quentin Tarantino, the characters Broomhilda "Hildi" von Schaft and her husband Django Freeman in his 2012 film Django Unchained were written as the progenitors to the Shaft family line and direct ancestors of John Shaft. Tarantino stated that while the film isn't an official prequel to the series, his intention was that the characters have familial ties.[19]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jessie T. Usher is the 'Son of Shaft,' Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Roundtree Also Returning . Hall . Jacob . . August 18, 2017 . May 15, 2018.
  2. Web site: Shaft actors past and present assemble in photo from set of reboot . Romano . Nick . . . February 2, 2018 . May 15, 2018.
  3. Web site: Scowling `Shaft' In His Past, Roundtree's Even Taking On Comedy . Mooney . Joshua . August 15, 1997 . Philly.com . . May 15, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150922094624/http://articles.philly.com/1997-08-15/entertainment/25567361_1_john-shaft-richard-roundtree-comedy . September 22, 2015.
  4. Web site: Shaft (1971) - Financial Information . . May 15, 2018 .
  5. Web site: Shaft's Big Score (1972) - Financial Information . . May 15, 2018 .
  6. "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, January 9, 1974, p. 60.
  7. Web site: Shaft in Africa (1973) . Steve Aldous official website . Steve . Aldous .
  8. Web site: Shaft (2000) - Financial Information . . May 15, 2018 .
  9. Web site: Shaft (2019) - Financial Information . . Production Budget: $30,000,000 .
  10. Web site: CinemaScore . . April 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220413083139/https://www.cinemascore.com/ . April 13, 2022 . live .
  11. Web site: Shaft (1971) . . . April 2, 2019.
  12. Web site: Shaft (1971) Reviews . . . April 2, 2019.
  13. Web site: Shaft's Big Score! (1972) . . . May 15, 2018.
  14. Web site: Shaft in Africa (1973) . . . May 15, 2018.
  15. Web site: Shaft (2000) . . . April 2, 2019.
  16. Web site: Shaft Reviews . . . May 15, 2018.
  17. Web site: Shaft (2019) . .
  18. Web site: Shaft (2019) . .
  19. Web site: 'Django Unchained' A 'Shaft' Prequel? So Says Quentin Tarantino: Comic-Con . The Deadline Team. July 14, 2012 . . . May 15, 2018 .