Customer Reviews

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

The most important thing to understand about this film is that if you're getting it just because you expect to live up the expectations of its genre... you better not... in fact, that was the debate over Sweetback for years : what was it ? the world's first blaxsploitation film or the world's first black social empowerment movie, a black porno flick or deep social satire ??? B-move trash or a brilliantly inspired art movie... - - The truth is, the strength and weakness of SWEETBACK is that its really all of this, but if you're expecting it to meet the mold of any one of these genre's you'll be disappointed... and that's part of the fun of the film... getting past the shock to see the message, and the message to dig the shock... and just riding along with Sweetback (EWF's soundtrack definitely makes that part easy !) With its gritty, funky tale and soundtrack, ample booty, controversial story no doubt that there's something in it to both appease and offend just about anyone that watches it... so the best thing to do is put it like this : SWEETBACK is a genre all of its own... just sit and watch it in suspended judgement and disbelief... watch it, again and again and again... Depending upon who you are you'll either find it tasty and addictive... or... well, revolting and disgusting... whatever... the fact is when you watch it there's one thing you won't come away seeing, "Man this film reminds me of a film I've seen 100 times before..." Nope... no one really did it before Peebles, and no one (despite all the films it inspired) did it after and that's why you should see it... but again... don't expect Shaft, Rudy Ray Moore or Superfly... that's not what the film is about... and whatever you do DO NOT WATCH IF EASILY OFFENDED... Now, on with the *****ing contest ! ! !

In 1971, Melvin Van Peebles managed to get this little gem released by Cinemation Industries, a low-budget exploitation distributor and launched into theatres, consequently launching what would come to be known as Blaxpoitation at the same time. True, there were other black films before this one, but never one like it, and really, there never would be again.

Melvin van plays Sweetback, a professional stud who works live sex shows, who is picked up by the cops to help them look as though they are working on a murder case. But when, the cops stop to rough up a revolutionary, Sweetback suddenly develops revolutionary ideas of his own and beats up the cops with his own handcuffs and goes on the run. That's essentially it, and what may seem boring, dated, disgusting and/or silly to most people, was some radical stuff back in 71. [...] It's radical enough now, you ain't ever seen a film like this! During his travels, Sweetback encounters all kinds of opposition (cops, biker gangs, posses etc), sees all kinds of places in the ghetto (baptist churches, rat-infested tenements, and finally the dessert)and is subjected to all kinds of experimental film making (colour tints, subjective shots, weird angles, freeze-frames etc.)

What makes this film so different and exciting for me, is that having obviously been made with private money and many, many miles away froma studio, it can and does push the politics and revolutionary rhetoric right in your face and believe me it does! It is little wonder that Huey Newton (supposedly) made this required viewing for the Black Panther Party and that within a short time films like Shaft, Superfly and their clones were filling the cinemas on 42nd Street. Unlike the legions of films that followed this, which became more and more watered down copies of the central idea of this film (that a black man can take on his oppressors and actually win), this film is the REAL DEAL and power to van Peebles for having the guts and wherewithall to get his vision splashed across the screens.

I finally got the chance to see this movie in 1985 after Roger Ebert gave this a glowing review calling it a "groundbreaking" film for black filmmakers. Melvin Van Peebles basically captures what life was for Black Americans in the 1970's. The only thing I questioned was the use of a kid in the opening scene (Later identified as his son, Mario). Because of the low budget, I highly doubt that you can find a better print to transfer over to DVD. Take it for what it is. It's still a very good movie.

Without the historical context in the early 70s, `Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song' makes no sense at all. But if you have some knowledge about so-called blaxploitaion films, minor film genre made mainly for Afro-American audiences in the 70s, `Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song' is still a very bizarre experience to you. And I am a Japanese, fan of Pam Grier films, but I believe the film about `Sweet Sweetback' looks strange wherever you live.

The content or message of `Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song' can be summarized in the following words you will see at the beginning of the film: "This film is dedicated to all the Brothers and Sisters who had enough of the Man." Most probably before this film no film had ever tried to show a black character hitting and knocking out a white (and a white cop for that matter), and for better or worse, the way the film does it is amazingly raw and crude.

The Man is represented by several non-descriptive white cops who beat up a black. When star and director Melvin Van Peebles says he had enough, he (or his character) shows it by bludgeoning the cops senseless. The police (largely whites) are not competent enough to chase Sweetback, and he gets away very easily from them. By the conventional standard of narrative, the film is almost pointless, going on and on without showing where it is leading us. Occasionally we see Sweetback helped by some and betrayed by others (including blacks), or the strange episodes of Sweetback drinking the water in the mud.

It might look strange today that the film actually became a big hit in 1971, but it did. What distinguishes `Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song' from the films like `Shaft' and `Coffy' both commercial success, is the crudeness of its message and the techniques. As to the message there is nothing that I can add here, I tried to find the sub-texts in the scenes of Melvin Van Peebles running endlessly in the street of LA, or lots of nude bodies in the film, but could find nothing in them.

You know what you should expect from the low-budget film with less-than-enough lighting equipment. That happened in the films like `Superfly.' But `Superfly' doesn't have so many double exposures, out-of-focus images, and other tricks that could be seen only in the psychedelic era. At the same time, the film is also notable for clever use of the jazzy and funky soundtrack by Earth Wind and Fire, setting the trend of the blaxploitaion films and their music.

But all these things do not prove that the film is still good as entertainment nor justify the abundant nudities and sex scenes. The opening section showing young Sweetback (played by Melvin's real-life son Mario) is still unnecessarily graphic and even shocking to some today.

Perhaps as Mario Van Peebles did in his `Baadassss!' a filmic account of the making, `Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song' is most interesting if seen with social and personal history behind itself. Otherwise, the messy film is hard to enjoy as it is today.

just see it. i'll say that much. it is pretty flimsy stuff, content-wise, but it had something going for it stylistically. it looks like a 60s primative art flick. there were a multitude of attractive shots and great late 60s psychedelic vibes. it actually reminded me a little of easy rider, but not as good. whereas easy rider is a sort of plotless ramble of a hippy death trip in the desert set to good music, sweet sweetback is a kind of naive celebration of the black penis within a plotless ramble of a black panther trip in the desert set to good music.

the earth wind and fire music is fantastic. however the main musical theme was overused and it comes off as awkward as it fades in time after time throughout the movie. particularly effective though is the strange vocal chanting bits. it's vaguely like a call and response baptist congregation, a heavy handed evocation perhaps, but it's really cool sounding and it builds tension as sweetback runs through the desert. and speaking of the desert, peebles doesn't get enough credit for his visual knack. the colors and tangibility of the barren desert and industrial blase' of the southern california back country is very well photographed.

so in the end i wasn't offended by this. do i care that a young mario was filmed having sex with an actress? not really. i read an interview with mario recently, he doesn't seem much the worse for wear and he has a lot of respect for his father and this film (maybe too much?). the race politics of the film may indeed be confusing and seem off the mark. the film is very quaint, actually, in that regard.

but i think it is enjoyable as a mood piece. many of the incidental parts are obviously just played by people peebles found on the street. it's awesome footage. a very attractive tapestry of old school cali funkiness. i feel that the movie works on a metalevel and in spite of the many idealogical flaws it's a great document from the era.

i suppose some circles could consider this classic...i dunno. it was kind of incoherent for me. i guess if i had really immersed myself in the film things would have been better, but...yeah. most of it seems to be nudity, yelling, and running. there's probably some heavy underlying moral that my muddy video quality can't capture. ah well.

I know this film has been trashed by critics both black and white for its heavy content (i.e. stautory rape scene, and interracial sex scene), but this film was given an X rating. Melvin Van Peebles, who is highly regarded as the "Godfather of Modern Black Cinema" put everything he had on the line to get this film made, despite the Supreme Court, death threats. Bill Cosby even co-financed the film.

Ten years ago, I purchased "Sweetback" on VHS, and I was completely, blown away by this controversial, yet revolutinary, independent Black film. Bottom Line: If it weren't for Melvin Van Peebles raising the bar in filmmaking, there would be no Spike Lee or John Singleton.

While this movie is, in many ways, distasteful, none of it is without reason. It exposes and redefines the traditional stereotypes of African-Americans in cinema and also explores the issues facing the African American community in the late 60s and early 70s (much of it is also relevant to today). While it may be unsavory, it is nonetheless an important work. If one takes the time to watch and understand the film (and you may need some help from those more knowledgeable about film history) you will be rewarded with a fuller understanding of African American cinema.

This movie was revolutionary. Unfortunately it spark the blaxploitation era in cinema, a genre of low budget kill whitey flics, that with their high violence, low budgets, and great soundtracks(minus the political message of Sweetback) began to define an era in cinema when black directors where able to make black movies with black cast in leading roles. Released independently by Melvin Van Peoples in 1971 at a time when blacks in the cinema was next to non-existent (unless they were docile and shuffling their feet). Sweetback tells the story of a man that has had enough of the man and fights back. This movie was revolutionary from its polititcal message to its cinematography. The cinematography of this film which set the president for all other blaxploitation movies to follow was amazing.

This movie might be unreal for some but blaxploitation was born due to the help of "the Black Community" who were all tired of the "Man" holding them down.I sat down to watch "Sweet Sweetback" for the first time last night and was almost lost for a moment. The opening sequence, bordering on child pornography, would never slip by the protestors of today. Yet, in 1971, this movie made its debut in (according to the box) two theatres and endured a torrent of negative reviews before going on to gross $10,000,000. Go figure.

The movie breaks down like this -- Sweet Sweetback is a lover-extraordinaire (he nails just about every female in the film) that rises up against two white cops and beats them down while they are picking on a local militant leader. From here we watch Sweetback run... and run... and run... and run... and run... and run... and run, trying to make his way to Mexico before he gets caught. Along the way, Sweetback encounters various people that matter little to the story but are just there for the hell of it, it seems. Dialogue is sparse throughout most of the film -- how much time is there to talk when you're setting the world's record for the most profitable cross-country video on the market? -- making the story hard to follow unless you've merely dismissed it as a dude running from the long-arm of the law.

I rate this film 5 stars without even a second thought on the matter. "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," although giving birth to the blaxploitation genre, has to be one of the most horrible films to endure by any one person. This movie is politically motivated, but is not political. The oppressive whites in the film are caricatures (and most, incidentally, are in the police); they torture Sweetback's allies for clues, threaten with guns, and are racially motivated. Sweetback's incriminating action -- murder -- is justified in this haughty racial context. Finally, it is style, glamour, and even virtuosic direction (in the inclusive use of so many familiar techniques) that paves Sweetback's value as a timepiece -- its lasting, testimonial contribution is its position as the first of its kind.