Super Fly (1972)

I always enjoyed the 1970's era of crime/action films such as Shaft, Slaughter, Enter the Dragon, and Serpico. Action star Ron O'Neal plays an up and coming drug pusher named Priest who decides he wants to make one more big score before retiring from the drug pushing business by purchasing then selling 30 pounds of pure heroin with his partner in crime, a guy called Eddie, payed by Carl Lee. Not impressive: I can appreciate the dress style in New York city in the 1970's was flashy and that the cars needed to be expensive, big and long. But seeing both drug pushers, Priest and Eddie in their combo suede and leather multi colored knee length coats, fedoras, and sunglasses , and driving their big flashy cadillacs with custom headlights did nothing to quell the general public's opinion of what black men aspired to be in the 1970's. This is what blaxpoitation desired to accomplish.Impressive: The musical score by Curtis Mayfield and his on screen presence singing one of the films songs was superb. The two women in the film who played Priest's lovers, namely actress Sheila Frazier who played Priest's every day girlfriend named Georgia, and Priest's girl Friday named Cynthia, were both easy on the eyes. Last but not least how Priest outsmarts the big drug lord was a decent approach which made this crime/action film worthy of watching more than once.I give Super Fly a decent 6 out of 10 rating.

Realistic filming on the streets of Harlem, plus a groovy soundtrack courtesy of Curtis Mayfield, almost makes blaxploitation crime-drama worth sitting through. Ron O'Neal plays Priest, a cocaine dealer with a criminal record who loves the ladies, drives around New York City in a pimped-out Cadillac Eldorado, and snorts blow using the crucifix around his neck. Priest wants to retire from the life after scoring one last deal: selling 30 kilos of coke. He tells his girlfriend, "I wanna buy myself some time, baby. Time that isn't all f****d up with things we gotta do!" The ugly dialogue is a chore to listen to, but O'Neal cuts a suave, assured presence and there are some tense action scenes in the midst of the wayward drama and race issues (the abusive cops being all white). Made for $58,000, the film turned a $4,000,000 profit and was popular enough in urban markets to warrant a sequel the following year ("Super Fly T.N.T."), directed by the returning O'Neal. *1/2 from ****

To anyone out there who wants to see a seminal blaxploitation film: skip this one! This is one of the absolute DULLEST movies you will ever see. All the high ratings that people give this one, I gotta wonder what the heck they were smoking/snorting (some of Priest's blow, no doubt).Just check under the 'Trivia' section where it's revealed that the script was only 45 pages long - thus all the footage of people driving, walking, etc. This recalls comments by notorious schlockmeister Herschell Gordon Lewis in an interview with John Waters in which Lewis recalls how he purchased an unfinished film called 'Monster A Go-Go' and filled out the continuity by shooting random, unrelated footage of 'feet walking...hands passing telegrams, etc.' This movie may as well have been directed by Lewis, for all the 'excitement' that it evokes. Gordon Parks Jr. could not hold a candle to his old man (R.I.P.).So pass this one over and check out any number of GOOD blaxploitation pictures, like just about anything with Pam Grier ('Coffy', 'Foxy Brown'), or 'Black Shampoo', or 'Detroit 2000', or a Doris Day movie...

I was a young kid when this movie came out but, I remember how "cool" everyone thought he was.I too wanted to be a pimp and a player.Then I watched it a few years ago and realized how "cheesy" the movie looked.I mean don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it but,...Anyway, it's worth adding to your collection if your a true movie fan.I would really recommend you get the sequel to this one too. Super Fly TNT.That one I can't really remember much about but, hey, if you're going to get one...why not both.This movie fits right in there with "The Mack","Shaft" (the original),"Come Back Charlston Blue", and my other "Black Movies of the 70's"So get out there and find them. And if you can find any of them, there great to just kick back with your friends and have a few good laughs while you compare the film style of the 70's to that of today's.