Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Shaft

 Shaft
type
TVTItem
 Shaft
label
Shaft
 Shaft
page
Shaft
 Shaft
comment
You's know de dojigger. You's know de movie. You's might even know de remake. But do ya' know Shaft?Shaft is a 1971 Blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Parks and written by Ernest Tidyman, based on Tidyman's novel of the same name.It tells the story of John Shaft (Richard Roundtree), a tough African-American private detective who travels through Harlem and infiltrates The Mafia in order to find the missing daughter of a black mobster. Also in the cast are Moses Gunn as Bumpy Jonas, Charles Cioffi as Lt. Vic Androzzi, and Christopher St. John as Ben Buford, along with Gwenn Mitchell and Lawrence Pressman. Isaac Hayes did the theme song quoted above, which has reached Memetic Mutation to the point where it may actually be better known than the movie. It also earned Hayes the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the first ever awarded to a black musician.The film was followed by two sequels — only the first of which was based on a Tidyman novel and directed by Parks — along with a series of made-for-TV movies following the further adventures of Shaft during the 1973–74 season of The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies. As the series was being aired on network television, the character of Shaft was toned down a fair amount; for example, he frequently worked with the police, instead of being against them as in the original movie. Due to this Executive Meddling, the series was unpopular, and it was quickly cancelled.Two spinoff / sequel / revival films followed, focusing on other members of Shaft's family, in 2000 and 2019. Roundtree reprised his role in both as a supporting character.Incidentally, Ernest Tidyman, writer of the original novel series and the first two movies, also wrote The French Connection and High Plains Drifter.In 2014 a Shaft comic book debuted to strong critical reaction, inspired more by the Tidyman novels and written by David Walker of BadAzz MoFo, a blog about Blaxploitation history. Included in each issue of the first arc, A Complicated Man, was a chapter of Shaft's Revenge, the first new novel about John Shaft since Tidyman's death. In Walker's second arc, Imitation Of Life, Shaft gets hired on a low-budget detective film that may or may not be based on his life.And we can dig it.For the anime studio, look no further than Studio SHAFT. "That cat Shaft shows up in these other baaad mutha- / Shut your mouth!": Shaft's Big Score (1972) Shaft in Africa (1973) Shaft (2000) Shaft (2019)
 Shaft
fetched
2024-02-06T14:01:22Z
 Shaft
parsed
2024-02-06T14:01:22Z
 Shaft
processingComment
Dropped link to DoubleEntendre: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Shaft
processingComment
Dropped link to TheMafia: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Shaft
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Shaft / int_127fc252
type
Creator Cameo
 Shaft / int_127fc252
comment
Creator Cameo: Gordon Parks briefly appears as a landlord.
 Shaft / int_127fc252
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_127fc252
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_127fc252
 Shaft / int_12b796e
type
Phoney Call
 Shaft / int_12b796e
comment
Phoney Call: When Shaft is impersonating a waiter at a bar that several mafia goons are drinking at, he calls his Friend on the Force Lt. Androzzi to let him know how many are there and where to send the cops, pretending to be talking to one of his girlfriends.
 Shaft / int_12b796e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_12b796e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_12b796e
 Shaft / int_1cc2ea8d
type
Villain Ball
 Shaft / int_1cc2ea8d
comment
Villain Ball: Inadvertently held by Bumpy. Since he's a Harlem crime lord, and leaving the safety of his neighborhood would be a risk with the Mafia out gunning for him, he orders two of his men to bring John uptown to him instead; he doesn't specify how he wants it done, though, so they show up armed, which arouses Shaft's suspicion and gets one of them killed in the ensuing scuffle. If they'd just been told to be upfront about their employer and why they wanted to see him, none of it would've gone down the way it did.
 Shaft / int_1cc2ea8d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_1cc2ea8d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_1cc2ea8d
 Shaft / int_225527db
type
Cult Soundtrack
 Shaft / int_225527db
comment
Cult Soundtrack: Isaac Hayes' legendary "Theme From Shaft," which is so memetic that it was inducted into the National Recording Registry!
 Shaft / int_225527db
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_225527db
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_225527db
 Shaft / int_237404cc
type
Ironic Echo
 Shaft / int_237404cc
comment
Ironic Echo: Vic tells Shaft to "Close it yourself, shitty!" referring to the door of his apartment, echoing (non-ironically) the woman Shaft has just slept with. In the final scene, Shaft echoes the line, this time referring to "closing the case."
 Shaft / int_237404cc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_237404cc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_237404cc
 Shaft / int_32976084
type
Destination Defenestration
 Shaft / int_32976084
comment
Destination Defenestration: One of the two goons sent to bring Shaft in gets knocked out of his window during a scuffle.
 Shaft / int_32976084
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_32976084
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_32976084
 Shaft / int_329a19a0
type
Hollywood Healing
 Shaft / int_329a19a0
comment
Hollywood Healing: Shaft gets shot once in the shoulder at close range by a machine gun and hits the floor, apparently unconscious. After minimal medical attention, it doesn't seem to take long for him to get back in action.
 Shaft / int_329a19a0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_329a19a0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_329a19a0
 Shaft / int_34dcfc96
type
Kick the Dog
 Shaft / int_34dcfc96
comment
Kick the Dog: Shaft grabs one of Lee's mooks and uses him as a Human Shield to try and escape. The villain shoots and kills his own henchman. He lets Shaft live only because he has to report back to Bumpy that Lee hasn't killed Bumpy's daughter, that he has taken her hostage.
 Shaft / int_34dcfc96
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_34dcfc96
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_34dcfc96
 Shaft / int_364b9be6
type
Flipping the Bird
 Shaft / int_364b9be6
comment
Flipping the Bird: At the beginning of the original film, Shaft flips the bird at a cab driver who's honking his horn at him and yelling "Up yours! Get out of the way!"
 Shaft / int_364b9be6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_364b9be6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_364b9be6
 Shaft / int_55232afa
type
Politically Incorrect Hero
 Shaft / int_55232afa
comment
Politically Incorrect Hero: In the novel, Shaft is very antagonistic toward homosexuals.
 Shaft / int_55232afa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_55232afa
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_55232afa
 Shaft / int_5e032315
type
One-Book Author
 Shaft / int_5e032315
comment
One-Book Author: This was the only film role for Sherri Brewer (Marcy Jonas).
 Shaft / int_5e032315
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_5e032315
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_5e032315
 Shaft / int_608bf5a0
type
Shoot the Hostage
 Shaft / int_608bf5a0
comment
Shoot the Hostage: Mob boss Bumpy hires Shaft to get his kidnapped daughter back. Shaft wants proof that Bumpy's daughter is still alive so he goes to meet with the kidnappers, and grabs one of the mooks to try and use him to get Bumpy's daughter back. The kidnapper shoots and kills his own mook, grabs the daughter, then beats up Shaft but doesn't kill him because he has to be alive to tell Bumpy that his daughter is alive and unhurt.
 Shaft / int_608bf5a0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_608bf5a0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_608bf5a0
 Shaft / int_6201e8b0
type
I Have Your Wife
 Shaft / int_6201e8b0
comment
I Have Your Wife: The mafia kidnaps Bumpy's daughter to try and make him back down.
 Shaft / int_6201e8b0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_6201e8b0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_6201e8b0
 Shaft / int_67792344
type
Grievous Bottley Harm
 Shaft / int_67792344
comment
Grievous Bottley Harm: Shaft whacks a bottle over a Mafia mook's head at the bar. All it gets the mook is a cut scalp.
 Shaft / int_67792344
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_67792344
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_67792344
 Shaft / int_68da6712
type
Canon Welding
 Shaft / int_68da6712
comment
Canon Welding: According to Quentin Tarantino in a 2012 Comic-Con interview, Django and Broomhilda (von Shaft) from his movie Django Unchained are the great-great-great-great grandparents of John Shaft. Make of this what you will.
 Shaft / int_68da6712
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_68da6712
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_68da6712
 Shaft / int_78270847
type
Curse Cut Short
 Shaft / int_78270847
comment
Curse Cut Short: The title theme:
 Shaft / int_78270847
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_78270847
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_78270847
 Shaft / int_7a163538
type
Brooklyn Rage
 Shaft / int_7a163538
comment
Brooklyn Rage: The film focuses on a New York private eye who initiates a one-man battle against Da Mob in Harlem.
 Shaft / int_7a163538
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_7a163538
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_7a163538
 Shaft / int_7d89315b
type
"The Reason You Suck" Speech
 Shaft / int_7d89315b
comment
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Bumpy hires Shaft to find his daughter:
 Shaft / int_7d89315b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_7d89315b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_7d89315b
 Shaft / int_7f0f2e2
type
Recycled Title
 Shaft / int_7f0f2e2
comment
Recycled Title: Three out of the five films are just called Shaft.
 Shaft / int_7f0f2e2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_7f0f2e2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_7f0f2e2
 Shaft / int_82a64c4b
type
Adaptational Nice Guy
 Shaft / int_82a64c4b
comment
Adaptational Nice Guy: Shaft was a bit of a homophobe in the original novel, a trait that's dropped for the movie.
 Shaft / int_82a64c4b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_82a64c4b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_82a64c4b
 Shaft / int_8319aaea
type
Compensating for Something
 Shaft / int_8319aaea
comment
Compensating for Something: Played up in the ads. According to a book on blaxploitation films, several theaters had a contest going during the run of In Africa where customers could win a prize if they correctly guessed the length of Shaft's... walking stick.
 Shaft / int_8319aaea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_8319aaea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_8319aaea
 Shaft / int_95bca4c9
type
Tuckerization
 Shaft / int_95bca4c9
comment
Tuckerization: During the scene where Bumpy Jonas visits Shaft at his office, a door adjacent to the office says "Skloot Insurance" - named for Steven P. Skloot, a production manager on the film.
 Shaft / int_95bca4c9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_95bca4c9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_95bca4c9
 Shaft / int_970c790a
type
Big Bad
 Shaft / int_970c790a
comment
Big Bad: The first film has Lee, The Mafia agent who led the operation to kidnap Bumpy's daughter.
 Shaft / int_970c790a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_970c790a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_970c790a
 Shaft / int_a3049ac6
type
The Chosen Zero
 Shaft / int_a3049ac6
comment
The Chosen Zero: One of the taglines was something along the lines of "The mob wanted Harlem back. They got Shaft."
 Shaft / int_a3049ac6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_a3049ac6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_a3049ac6
 Shaft / int_b0855ef3
type
No Historical Figures Were Harmed
 Shaft / int_b0855ef3
comment
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Bumpy Jonas is very obviously based on real-life Harlem mobster Bumpy Johnson.
 Shaft / int_b0855ef3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_b0855ef3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_b0855ef3
 Shaft / int_b572a91c
type
Cold Cash
 Shaft / int_b572a91c
comment
Cold Cash: Shaft keeps a pair of revolvers in his fridge.
 Shaft / int_b572a91c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_b572a91c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_b572a91c
 Shaft / int_ce27dc3f
type
Protagonist Title
 Shaft / int_ce27dc3f
comment
Protagonist Title: The title is Shaft, and John Shaft is the protagonist.
 Shaft / int_ce27dc3f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_ce27dc3f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_ce27dc3f
 Shaft / int_d0edc982
type
The Chief's Daughter
 Shaft / int_d0edc982
comment
The Chief's Daughter: Shaft woos an African princess in the second sequel.
 Shaft / int_d0edc982
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_d0edc982
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_d0edc982
 Shaft / int_d0f0a80d
type
One-Word Title
 Shaft / int_d0f0a80d
comment
One-Word Title: It's simply Shaft.
 Shaft / int_d0f0a80d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_d0f0a80d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_d0f0a80d
 Shaft / int_d1e7f24a
type
Big "SHUT UP!"
 Shaft / int_d1e7f24a
comment
Big "SHUT UP!": The iconic theme song has a famous example.
 Shaft / int_d1e7f24a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_d1e7f24a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_d1e7f24a
 Shaft / int_d7c3ba61
type
Race Lift
 Shaft / int_d7c3ba61
comment
Race Lift: Ellie Moore was white in the original novel. Conversely, Linda was black in the novel, but white in the film. In the novel, the bartender at The No Name Bar, Rollie, is black in the novel, but in the film is a white friend of Shaft who nonchalantly declares that he is gay.
 Shaft / int_d7c3ba61
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_d7c3ba61
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_d7c3ba61
 Shaft / int_dca70c44
type
Reasonable Authority Figure
 Shaft / int_dca70c44
comment
Reasonable Authority Figure: Police Lt. Vic Androzzi. He's pretty much the only cop that Shaft is willing to put up with, and frequently helps Shaft out by looking the other way while he takes care of business.
 Shaft / int_dca70c44
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_dca70c44
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_dca70c44
 Shaft / int_ef2d2bae
type
Mafia Princess
 Shaft / int_ef2d2bae
comment
Mafia Princess: Deconstructed with Bumpy's daughter. Turns out, in the cutthroat world of organized crime, being a crime lord's beloved little girl isn't necessarily a good thing...
 Shaft / int_ef2d2bae
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_ef2d2bae
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_ef2d2bae
 Shaft / int_f005bd1c
type
Friend on the Force
 Shaft / int_f005bd1c
comment
Friend on the Force: Lt. Androzzi, one of the few cops Shaft genuinely likes and respects.
 Shaft / int_f005bd1c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_f005bd1c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_f005bd1c
 Shaft / int_f4fcc961
type
TV Telephone Etiquette
 Shaft / int_f4fcc961
comment
TV Telephone Etiquette: Shaft does it in style...
 Shaft / int_f4fcc961
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_f4fcc961
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_f4fcc961
 Shaft / int_f6f2994f
type
Paying for the Action Scene
 Shaft / int_f6f2994f
comment
Paying for the Action Scene: Shaft routinely compensates people for the damage his fights cause.
 Shaft / int_f6f2994f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_f6f2994f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_f6f2994f
 Shaft / int_f729e5bc
type
Sequel Goes Foreign
 Shaft / int_f729e5bc
comment
Sequel Goes Foreign: Shaft in Africa, as the title states, has Shaft being taken to Africa.
 Shaft / int_f729e5bc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_f729e5bc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_f729e5bc
 Shaft / int_ff70018b
type
Bragging Theme Tune
 Shaft / int_ff70018b
comment
Bragging Theme Tune: "Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?/Shaft!/Who's the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all around?/SHAFT!"
 Shaft / int_ff70018b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_ff70018b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_ff70018b
 Shaft / int_name
type
ItemName
 Shaft / int_name
comment
 Shaft / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Shaft / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Shaft
hasFeature
Shaft / int_name
 Shaft / int_name
itemName
Shaft

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Shaft
hasFeature
AFI's 100 Years… 100 Songs / int_ba9c8f40
 AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong
seeAlso
Shaft
 Shaft
hasFeature
Action Genre / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
African-American Media / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Afro Asskicker / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Angry Black Man / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
B-Movie / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Badass Family / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Big "SHUT UP!" / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Black Is Bigger in Bed / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Blaxploitation / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Bragging Theme Tune / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Canon Welding / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Cold Cash / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Creator Cameo / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Cult Soundtrack / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Darkhorse Casting / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Epic Instrumental Opener / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Exit, Pursued by a Bear / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Hollywood Healing / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Jive Turkey / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
My Name Is Inigo Montoya / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Phoney Call / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Private Detective / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Recycled Title / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Soul Brotha / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
TV Telephone Etiquette / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
The Foreign Subtitle / int_ba9c8f40
 Shaft
hasFeature
Title Theme Tune / int_ba9c8f40