Film:
DVD:

Directed by: Isaac Julien

Features:

• Director Biography
• Extended interviews with Pam Grier, Quentin Tarantino, Gloria Hendry, and Fred Williamson

Released by: Docurama
Region: 1
Rating: NR, safe for about 13+
Anamorphic: Nope

My Advice: Try and catch it on IFC

Hollywood is always in search of a bandwagon to jump onto. Currently, comic books are being ridden for all they’re worth. Back in the early to mid 70s, it was 'blaxploitation'. The history of this genre is the subject of the documentary BaadAsssss Cinema. With the rise of the Black Power movement, the time was right for strong black characters who kicked ass, fought The Man, and made sweet love. When Sweet Sweetback's BaadAsssss Song, a movie with all the above elements and the black lead getting away from the cops, became a huge hit, Hollywood came running. Soon movies like Shaft, Coffy, Superfly, and Black Caesar were hitting the movie houses. Many black actors and film crews were getting work, but at what cost? Many black intellectuals, such as Jesse Jackson (yes, he was causing trouble back then), decried the glorification of pimps and criminals and promotion of the thug lifestyle. After a few years, the genre developed into self-parody with films like Blacula and with blacks seeing mainstream movies in greater numbers, Hollywood pulled the plug on blaxploitation. But the genre is getting a second life through the efforts of Quentin Tarantino and others. It looks like you can’t keep a good brother down.

[[ Pam Grier says to read the rest of the review ]]