Better Late Then Never

A lot of fun.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Gordon Parks, Jr's blaxploitation classic "Superfly" chronicles the trials and tribulations of a cocaine dealer, Youngblood Priest (Ron O'Neal of "Original Gangstas"), who wants to bow out of the business with one big score and retire to obscurity. Priest informs his partner that they can buy 30 kilos of high-quality cocaine for $300-thousand and sell it in four months' time for a cool million. The catch is that Priest wants to buy the coke from his favorite drug dealer, Scatter (Julius W. Harris of "Live and Let Die," but Scatter has already made it known that he has dealt his last cocaine. Priest admires Scatter and convinces the older man who he grew up with to get the product for him. Just about everybody around Priest who either wants out or prefers to remain as a drug pusher suffers a terrible fate. Unfortunately, Scatter discovers that his former employers don't want him to quit, and they kill him and make his death appear to be a drug overdose. Call it sympathy for the pusher because the protagonist has decided to turn over a new leaf, change his ways, and conclude his life of crime. Priest's sexual conquest in a bubble bath glamorizes his lifestyle as much as the plethora of up-close shots of him cruising around in his pimped-out 1972 Eldorado Cadillac with a Rolls Royce Grill. Indeed, according to the trivia section at IMDB.COM, the NAACP denounced the portrayal of Priest's lifestyle "for its glorification of drug use and the stereotyping of African-Americans." Nevertheless, our protagonist experiences his share of woes. Early, in the action, Priest struggles with two junkies who try to steal his money, and our protagonist has to chase one of them across town-it seems-to reclaim his loot. O'Neal must have been in tip-top shape to perform stunts like clambering up a fire escape in his desperate pursuit of his quarry. Later, a dim-witted, ill-fated underling, Fat Freddie (Charles MacGregor of "Across 110th Street"), gives up Priest to dirty NYPD detectives after being brutally tortured for the information. The 1970s' blood splashed across his face resembles paint more than blood. Nevertheless, Priest is sincere about his vow to quit. Just when the police are poised to crush his dream, Priest learns that those corrupt white cops want to use him as their pipeline. Priest's partner-in-crime Eddie (Carl Lee of "Werewolves on Wheels") rejoices about the new set-up and banishes any thought of turning his back on the sweet life. Later, near the end of this 91-minute epic, Priest confronts his chief adversary, a high-ranking white policeman, Deputy Commissioner Reardon. The only thing that prevents Reardon from killing Priest is that the hero has paid white assassins to retaliate against the Commissioner and his family if Priest dies. If any soundtrack were ever inseparable from a film such was the case with Curtis Mayfield songs. "Superfly" wouldn't be "Superfly" without Mayfield's iconic songs. Produced for a reputed half-million dollars, this crime classic coined over $30 million at the box office.

I found this movie in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I didn't know what to expect, but I did know the meaning of the title is that a character is cool, I hoped for something good, directed by Gordon Parks Jr., son of Shaft director Gordon Parks. Basically Priest (Ron O'Neal) is an African-American drug pusher, a cocaine dealer with a strong desire to get retire from the drug business. Before he can exit the drug world, Priest has to earn enough funds to support himself, as he feels a regular job will not satisfy his needs. Priest forms a plan to sell thirty grams of cocaine, he uses his profits to sustain himself while searching for a job, but he assumes his criminal background will hold him back from securing one. Along the way, Priest has many encounters with corrupt law enforcement, he also has his close friend Eddie (The Cool World's Carl Lee) betray him. In the end, Priest manages to escape the drug business, and walks away unharmed with his girlfriend Georgia (Sheila Frazier). Also starring Live and Let Die's Julius Harris as Scatter, Blazing Saddles' Charles McGregor as Fat Freddie, Nate Adams as Dealer and Polly Niles as Cynthia. O'Neal is indeed "superfly", i.e. flamboyant and super cool, the other black characters are slightly robotic, the white characters are crooked, and the women (black and white) are nothing more than sex objects. This movie may be a little dated now, but it was big success at the time, full of controversy with racist language, drug use and strong sex, and featuring a funky soundtrack, including the catchy "Pusher Man" by Curtis Mayfield, and the fantastic groovy title track and Grammy nominated score by Curtis Mayfield, all in all an interesting cult blaxploitation crime drama. Worth watching!

Superfly is a groundbreaking urban crime classic and of the best films to come out during the blaxsploitation era. After the success of Shaft, this got the green light from Warner Bros. studio and went on to be a big hit and in my opinion a much better film than Shaft. Directed by Gordon Parks Jr. and starring Ron O'Neil as Priest and rounded out by the excellent and totally on point score by Curtis Mayfield, Superfly is a powerful, amazing film. Priest(Ron O'Neil) is a cocaine dealer that is tired of the life and takes steps to get out. Ron delivers an incredibly tough, but cool performance here and comes across very authentic. He definitely embodies what could have been one of the baddest hustlers in town. The film has a lot of style, but has a lot of depth and commentary on what life was like for urban blacks at this time. While Priest is indeed superfly(beyond cool), and a very charismatic and bad ass character, the film does show that hustling is'nt easy and is a hard life that our main man is trying to get out of. The film is very realistic and gritty, much like getting hit in the face with a bike lock. Much of this is still relevant today, especially with regards to crooked cops and civil rights. While, a lot of blaxsploitation movies are very entertaining and fun. Superfly, is much more than that and is a exceptional film and classic that really holds up.

To anyone out there who wants to see a seminal blaxploitation film: skip this one! This is one of the absolute DULLEST movies you will ever see. All the high ratings that people give this one, I gotta wonder what the heck they were smoking/snorting (some of Priest's blow, no doubt).Just check under the 'Trivia' section where it's revealed that the script was only 45 pages long - thus all the footage of people driving, walking, etc. This recalls comments by notorious schlockmeister Herschell Gordon Lewis in an interview with John Waters in which Lewis recalls how he purchased an unfinished film called 'Monster A Go-Go' and filled out the continuity by shooting random, unrelated footage of 'feet walking...hands passing telegrams, etc.' This movie may as well have been directed by Lewis, for all the 'excitement' that it evokes. Gordon Parks Jr. could not hold a candle to his old man (R.I.P.).So pass this one over and check out any number of GOOD blaxploitation pictures, like just about anything with Pam Grier ('Coffy', 'Foxy Brown'), or 'Black Shampoo', or 'Detroit 2000', or a Doris Day movie...