Shaft's Big Score! is a 1972 American neo-noir action crime–drama film starring Richard Roundtree as the private detective John Shaft. Directed by Gordon Parks, this is the second film in the trilogy. Ernest Tidyman once more supplied the screenplay. The first film's composer Isaac Hayes was unavailable, so Parks, the returning director, did the score himself. The film was produced on a budget of $1,978,000. Shaft's Big Score! also stars Moses Gunn, Drew Bundini Brown, Joseph Mascolo, Julius Harris, and Joe Santos.
Shaft's Big Score! | |
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Original theatrical release poster by John Solie | |
Directed by | Gordon Parks |
Produced by |
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Written by | Ernest Tidyman |
Based on | Characters by Ernest Tidyman |
Starring |
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Music by | Gordon Parks |
Cinematography | Urs Furrer |
Edited by | Harry Howard |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 104 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,978,000 |
Box office | $10,000,000 |
Screenplay
While New York is never at a loss for criminal activity, things take a turn for the worse when the corrupt co-owner of a funeral parlor and insurance agency kills his partner, a personal friend of John Shaft, only to discover that the money he was planning to steal to pay his gambling debts is missing. He makes a deal with the mobster he owes (Joseph Mascolo) to split the business but also makes the same deal with crime lord Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn). The bullets start flying when the hoods find they've been played against each other, and Shaft is forced to clean up the mess.
- Richard Roundtree as John Shaft
- Moses Gunn as Bumpy Jonas
- Drew Bundini Brown as Willy
- Joseph Mascolo as Gus Mascola
- Kathy Imrie as Rita
- Wally Taylor as Johnny Kelly
- Julius Harris as Capt. Bollin (as Julius W. Harris)
- Rosalind Miles as Arna Asby
- Joe Santos as Pascal
Shaft's Big Score! earned estimated North American rentals of $4 million.
Critical response
Shaft's Big Score! received a lukewarm reception from critics, with New York Times critic Roger Greenspun describing the film as "less responsible, less detailed, less personal, less serious and less fun" than the original due to feeling more mechanical.. Conversely, Roger Ebert awarded the film 3 stars out of 4, describing it as "mass-audience escapist entertainment" that works better than the original film did. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively gives the film a rating of 70% based on reviews collected from 10 critics, with an average rating of 5.5 out of 10.
Shaft's Big Score! was released in theatres on June 8, 1972. The film was released on DVD initially on June 6, 2000, then August 30, 2005, and finally January 31, 2006 by Warner Home Video.
- List of American films of 1972