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Shaft

Shaft

Crime · Thriller · Drama · 1971

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

Movie details

Shaft

“The mob wanted Harlem back. They got Shaft...up to here.”

1971 Crime · Thriller · Drama 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

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

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Shaft?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Colors

Colors

Action · 1988

A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of Los Angeles, where the gang culture is enforced by the colors the members wear.

Across 110th Street

Across 110th Street

Action · 1972

In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?

Gangster Squad

Gangster Squad

Crime · 2013

Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.

Dead Man Down

Dead Man Down

Thriller · 2013

In New York City, a crime lord's right-hand man is seduced by a woman seeking retribution.

Destroyer

Destroyer

Thriller · 2018

When Erin Bell was a young cop, she was given an undercover assignment that ended badly and destroyed her life. Years later, she must face her demons in order to make peace with her past.

Black Caesar

Black Caesar

Action · 1973

Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.

Paid in Full

Paid in Full

Action · 2002

Ace is an impressionable young man working for a dry cleaning business. His friend, drug dealer Mitch, goes to prison. In an unrelated incident, he finds some cocaine in a pants pocket. Soon, Ace finds himself dealing cocaine for Lulu. Via lucky breaks and solid interpersonal skills, Ace moves to the top of the Harlem drug world. Of course, unfaithful employees and/or rivals conspire to bring about Ace's fall.

Scarface

Scarface

Crime · 1932

In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.

The Enforcer

The Enforcer

Action · 2022

A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.

The Killer

The Killer

Action · 2024

Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Gordon Parks

Written by

Ernest Tidyman · John D.F. Black

Richard Roundtree

Richard Roundtree

John Shaft

Moses Gunn

Moses Gunn

Bumpy Jonas

Charles Cioffi

Charles Cioffi

Vic Androzzi

Christopher St. John

Christopher St. John

Ben Buford

Gwenn Mitchell

Gwenn Mitchell

Ellie Moore

Lawrence Pressman

Lawrence Pressman

Sergeant Tom Hannon

Victor Arnold

Victor Arnold

Charlie

Court is in session

Put Shaft on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.