Customer Reviews

Spook Who Sat By the Door [VHS]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The film itself gets 5 stars from me, but this DVD only 4. It is seriously lacking a commentary track, any subtitles, and is presented in full frame instead of letterbox.

(UPDATE: The disc IS in widescreen, but is optimized for the newer widescreen TV sets, so you'll have to re-set your DVD player's output. Check the owner's manual.)

But beggers can't be choosers, and I've been begging someone, ANYONE, to get a good quality print of this long-suppressed film onto DVD. And this DVD is made from the master negative that has been in a vault for over 30 years!

After watching only pirated VHS copies and badly worn Canadian releases for so long, this film looks and sounds fresh and crisp.

For those uninitiated to this film, or the book it is based upon, here's a quick summary...

A White U.S. Senator, looking to improve his standing among Black voters, sponsors a drive for the CIA to recruit Black agents. However, everyone is graded on a curve, so all are condemned to flunk...save for soft-spoken Dan Freeman. After going through grueling training in self-defence, guerilla warfare and underground operations, he is recruited to be a "reproduction chief" (he runs a photocopier in the sub-basement), and serves the CIA as a token Black employee (the term "spook" used here is both a racial slur, and a slang term for a spy).

After 5 years, he leaves the CIA to work in his native Chicago for a social services agency...by day. By night, he's using his CIA training to teach a street gang to be the vanguard in an upcoming race war...

Understandably, this film raised a lot of fears among Whites when released, and despite box office success, it vanished from distribution after only three weeks. The film-makers insist it was pressure on the film's distributors by the FBI and their COINTELPRO program against Black Nationalist groups.

Long available only on bootleg video copies and screened only on college campuses, it became an underground classic. And now, it's legitimately available on DVD.

The DVD includes the rarely seen coming attractions trailer and TV spot, as well as interviews with the book's author, Sam Greenlee (in his 70's and still as vocal as he ever was!) and film-maker Robert Townsend, who says that this film literally changed his life.

Believe the hype! This film was made against the odds (The producer struggled just to make payroll, and the outdoor scenes in Chicago were shot without permits!), and despite the years, has not lost any of it's punch!

In short: Buy it now!

Re-released with nary a bang nor a whimper by Tim Reid's New Millennium Studios in early 2004, THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR remains one of the most striking and important films of the 1970s. Based on the novel by Sam Greenlee, SPOOK is the subversive tale of Dan Freeman (Lawrence Cook) who's hired into the CIA as a "token Negro" and political tool for a Senator to appeal to black voters.

Freeman does his best to keep his head low and nose clean as he soaks up as much of the CIA's tactics as possible before taking his leave. He heads back to Chicago, adept now at pushing paperwork and, more importantly, making explosives, handling guns, and a wide range of other "covert ops." Freeman maintains his air of respectability via his Social Service job. However, his life outside of work includes organizing and leading an underground guerilla army, recruiting from the gangs with which he works. "You really want to mess with Whitey? I can show you how."

Known on the street as Turk, Freeman's group could give Al-Qaeda a run for their money. Freeman knows the "rules" and "the game" and he plays it expertly. For example, when Freeman needs funds for his domestic terrorism operation, he asks the lightest skinned members to rob a bank, knowing that such a well organized group would be mistaken for white, leading authorities on a wild goose chase. "This took brains and guts, which we don't have, right?"

An incendiary tale of revolution, SPOOK should have lit up the country--had it not been pulled from theaters almost immediately after release. The film is as chilling now in an era where people jump at their shadows for fear of terrorists, as it must have been when it came out originally when cities still smoldered after the riots of the late `60s. Only available for years via grey market dealers in a less-than-pristine video version, the DVD release of THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR has been given the deluxe treatment this must-see film deserves.

I bought this movie after hearing about it for a decade. Those people who informed me of the movie, had watched bootleg copies of it because it was unavailable in your local Blockbusters. If one studied the Black Nationalist Groups of the 1960's and 1970's, and how the FBI conspired to prevent the rise of the Black Messiah who would lead a Mau Mau revolution in America, and those were the FBI's words from their COINTELPRO files, then you will know why this movie was surpressed. Quite simply, this movie is powerful. It is just as potent today as it was 30 years ago. If one studies the Black Panther Movement and the Black Nationalist Groups of that era, one can see the fear that the government would have if the thesis of this movie were to take hold. The interview with Sam Greenlee, the author, was excellent. He is just as militant today as he was yesterday.

Enjoy it with the love of all things good.

I came across this movie by accident in Berlin, of all places, and to my surprise found an underground classic that has been kept from American audiences for three decades. It is my understanding that the movie was doing well at the box office when released in 1974, and getting strong reviews, and then after two weeks was suddenly pulled out of theaters in 8 cities. It is easy to see why. This film has the power of Pontecorvo's Battle of Algiers, applied to a story that advocates urban guerrilla warfare as the means for establishing a separatist black nation in the U.S. Strategy and technique are laid out with enough detail to make the idea plausible. The acting is excellent and the story-line gripping. Amazon.com should make this available to its customers.

If you are into fighting against the establishment, then this is the film for you. No wonder the government pulled it, and squashed all publicity of the movie. It is about a black social worker from Chicago that joins the FBI as the "first negro agent." He learned everything he could and used the knowledge obtained to turn a Chicago street gang into the largest internal threat the U.S. Government has seen since the civil war. Ironically, the government discounted the possibilities that the force was black.

This is truly a must have for any Freedom Fighters video library. For years this film, directed by Ivan Dixon of the television comedy Hogan's Hero's was only a legend. Everyone claimed to have seen it, yet no one had the actual tape. It is said that the movie was only in theatres for a mere 3 days, when I presume the powers that be thought that it may insight oppressed inner city youth to become too sophisticated in their efforts to gain equality. This is one of those rare books turned movies that really doesnt lose a beat! Sam Greenlee's experience as an ex CIA agent and freedom fighter weaves a great tale for interested viewers. Each time I view the film, I salivate at the thought of there being a re-make. Very well directed for an early 70's Blaxploitation flick. I highly reccomend this film.

This is one of the Greatest movies I have ever seen and I see why some would want to keep a film like this out of the spot light it causes you to think.

I actually saw this movie when it was released in the seventies. It did not stay at the theater long, but I was so glad I got to see it. It was a controversial film, then. And anyone who has seen it and can comprehend will know why. I'm sure the powers that be were not amused at the very thought of what the movie portrayed. It has very good acting as well as action. It gives one something to think about. Most of my friends never saw it. I was looking forward to ordering it for my library. Please make this movie available for order. I'll pay whatever the cost. I need to share it with my sons and other people of purpose.

(To begin, my choice of * * * reflects this particular cut... not the film itself... But as the film has been long out of print, the fact that its out may very well warrent * * * * *... Read on...)

In the late 60's/early 70's, the air was ripe with talk of revolution.
White people too spoke of it... but in a different way. a.k.a. "The blacks are taking over!"

This film is a dramatization of both the dream (or fantasy) and the nightmare... And the idea of working within the system just enough to learn the ropes, then using it to your own good... (A play on the debate if taking advantage of the system makes one a sell out... a.k.a. Uncle Tom.)

Conceptually speaking, that's what makes this film great...
It is not a typical B-movie "exploitation" film with the revolutionaries being afro-wig wearing stereotypes, and the political content just being backdrop for the car chases... its a film with a message... To that extent its in a league of its own...

In addition, the production values are surprisingly good... Though an underground film, the production values hold their ground... Its a very well crafted film... even to the point of being slick. (The editor later went on to work for Steve Spielberg and is currently one of the top in his field.)

So why do I give the film three stars...? I feel it drags at times... but there may very well be an excuse... Incidental music (which is just as important as the visuals in any good film) is very important. My assumption is that the company that released it couldn't get the rights, so the soundtrack had to be muted. A shame because the original soundtrack was done by HERBIE HANCOCK (!) - - so what happens is you hear it faintly in the backround... at one point you even see a band playing and girl dancing, but you barely hear any music... The end result... the film feels a bit empty and spacey... and in parts where the music would have complimented the scenery (and visa versa) it just feels like empty space... so the film drags... The problem could probably easily be resolved by having one of today's "acid Jazz" bands provide a funky soundtrack in the same same style... but you have to be careful like that, because if the soundtrack is done cheaply, it diminishes the quality of the film... NO SOUNDTRACK however, makes it feel empty.

That aside, there are a few wonderful suprises, including an interview with the author/director, who is as militant and outspoken as ever. (Reminds me a bit of Melvin Van Peebles.) - - Robert Townsend gives his thoughts on the film... And there is plenty of hyping.

In conclusion, the idea of guerillas learning their game from the CIA is very interesting in today's climate... because that's exactly what's happening now regarding the war on terrorism... There is some irony though... when Kennedy was shot Malcolm X got into trouble for saying it was an example of "the chickens coming home to roost" - - On 9/11 the same thought came to my mind... Yes, it was a terrible thing, but when you have a foreign policy and shake a bee's nest, you can't blame when the bees come out and sting you to death. You can moralize that the bees were wrong, but that doesn't change the fact that you were stupid for provoking them. In fact, if a nearby person gets stung, its the person who provoked the bees fault, not the bees themselves whether or not their behavior is "right" or "wrong" or whether they were "right" or "wrong" for building the hive... - - This film, then can be watched from two perspectives: 1) As a fantasy that was very popular during that era. 2) As a warning of what happens when people feel surpressed and frustrated. Likewise, it is a play on every white bigot's worst nightmare: The help banding together and going far beyond merely steeling the silverware. (There is a very funny scene demonstrating this.)

So * * * * * in concept... Let's hope it gets recut, remade or re-released again!

i have been looking for this movie in dvd format for 10 years. the content in this film is just like old scholl cats told me life was like in the late 60's early 70's in the urban community among blacks and whites. if you want to know why the government wanted to destroy this film, buy it, its the truth