But you kill me, and you and your whole f***in' family die. If you go back and watch a vintage blaxploitation film like Super Fly (1972), it has a time-capsule quality that only enhances the low-rent documentary scuzziness of its atmosphere. He lives with his two girlfriends, Georgia and Cynthia. The earlier film takes place mainly in daylight, on the streets of New York, which its director, Gordon Parks, Jr., approaches with a vitally textured, documentary-like range and avidity. David Remnick talks with Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the Times, and Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for the paper, about reporting on Trump and the perils facing American democracy. The mainspring of the action is a shooting. . Superfly - Rotten Tomatoes It holds your attention yet leaves you with nothing. Superfly saves its most righteous physical violence for its finale, and its a sequence that will probably enrage anyone whos ever uttered the phrase Blue Lives Matter. The entire denouement has a nice satirical sting, pushed along by the rapper and songwriter Big Bois droll turn as an incumbent mayor hungry for re-election. On June 26, 2018, The Warner Archive Collection released "Super Fly" on Blu-ray and has received mostly praise for its video & audio restoration. Film Review: 'Superfly'. Priest demands his half of their profits from Eddie. The original red and black Warner logo is replaced by the updated AOL/Warner logo used at the time of DVD release. Super Fly (1972) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Gordon Parks Jr. I'll tell you what you do, you go get you a gun and all those black folks you keep doin' so much talkin' about get guns, and come back ready to go down, then I'll be right down front killin' whitey. The Snow Patrol members leave while Priest gives the victim money and directs them to the trauma center. The site compared the situation to Proud Mary, a film released in January 2018 that Sony reported cost $14 million to make but other sources listed at as high as $30 million. You aint that good., The close call and its concurrent threat of a gang war compel Priest to take stock. The Atlanta locale of Superfly seems like the perfect high-low setting, but though Director X exploits a number of colorful locations (a hair salon that turns into a drive-by slaughter, a mansion that looks as big as Versailles), the film has very little visual texture or sense of place. SuperFly Now Playing: Superfly: Character Piece-Scatter Summary: The movie is a remake of the 1972 blaxploitation film Super Fly. Outside, Priest is held by two patrolmen, although he smiles to himself as Georgia makes good her escape. Superfly (2018 film) - Wikipedia He died on 17 April 1986 in New York City, New York, USA. In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3]. Snow Patrol members led by Juju shoot up Priest's mansion. (screenplay by) Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification Produced by Music by Josh Atchley Cinematography by Amir Mokri Film Editing by Joel Negron Casting By Tamara-Lee Notcutt Production Design by Priest's white mistress, Cynthia, is dismayed to learn that Priest does not return her love and is planning on quitting the business. Another quality that distinguishes Super Fly from other blaxploitation films was the technical crew, the majority of which was non-white, constituting the largest non-white technical crew in its time. The look for the Snow Patrol was scripted, says Messam, describing the rival gang that prides itself on dressing in all-white. Police rough up one of the lead characters, punching him repeatedly during an interrogation. While this new development excites Eddie, Priest is still determined to get out of dealing and decides to commit to his girlfriend Georgia (Sheila Frazier). Times reviewer, Jay Cocks, irritated by the pictures stereotypes and lack of technical proficiency, declared: What makes a crummy little movie like Super Fly worth getting angry about is the implication behind it: that movies made for black audiences have to be, or can easily be, so casually and contemptuously awful. The HR critic, on the other hand, praised the film as one of remarkable power and a revelation, technically, that realistically captured the struggle confronting those ghetto denizens who refuse to accept the life to which they have been consigned. [6], At the time of its release, there were many African-Americans that were displeased with the images of themselves portrayed in films such as Super Fly, Sweet Sweetbacks Baadassssss Song, and Shaft. I wanted Georgia to have a maturity about her. Pulling into his driveway, he confides to the audience, in voice-over, that he believes no car ever outran fate.. .st2{display:none;fill:none;stroke:#979797;stroke-linecap:square;} Parents need to know that Super Fly is a 1972 movie about a cocaine dealer attempting to make a deal large enough to retire and get out of the business. Scatter reveals that the real head of the operation is Deputy Commissioner Reardon, who is trying to kill him for quitting. Priest manages to get to terms with him just before some henchmen are going to throw him from a private jet. Super Fly (1972 film) - Wikipedia Deputy Commissioner: You're working for me until I tell you to quit. Priest diffuses the situation and persuades Scatter to help them, although Scatter warns that it will be the last time. Yes, Scream VI Marketing Is Behind the Creepy Ghostface Sightings Causing Scares Across the U.S. David Oyelowo, Taylor Sheridan's 'Bass Reeves' Series at Paramount+ Casts King Richard Star Demi Singleton (EXCLUSIVE), Star Trek: Discovery to End With Season 5, Paramount+ Pushes Premiere to 2024. Super Fly is a 1972 American blaxploitation neo-noir crime drama film directed by Gordon Parks Jr. and starring Ron O'Neal as Youngblood Priest, an African American cocaine dealer who is trying to quit the underworld drug business. But the remake nonetheless gains an outsized resonance, one that reaches far beyond their blandly glossy audiovisual identity, by way of its echo of current political crises and scandals. Youngblood Priest: Man, you white around the nose as a Georgia mule. [3] Principal photography started in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2018. When he finds out from his partner Eddie (Carl Lee) that they have $300,000, Priest proposes that they take that money to buy 30 kilos of the best cocaine money can buy, sell it, and end up with a million dollars. All Rights Reserved. After the announcement, Warner Bros. issued an apology for its erroneous submission of the song for consideration. But until you can do that, you go sing your marching songs some place else. Soon after, Priest and Eddie are joined by one of their low-level dealers and Freddie, who turns over the money he stole and agrees that the beef between the men is settled. He lacks Parkss canny compositional wit, his sense of the dramatic power of practical attention to time and space. Priest is then picked up by the lieutenant and other policemen and taken to the waterfront, where he is confronted by Reardon in person. Working some jive job for chump change day after day. When we first talked at the beginning, Diddy was inspiration for the Snow Patrol, representing New York flash and opulence, Messam says. Unsurprisingly, cocaine use is frequent. The film was shot by director of photography James Signorelli, who would go on to become the film segment director for Saturday Night Live. 2019 AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Youngblood Priest: I'm talking to you, you redneck f*ggot. Having settled his business obligations, and with his enemies either dead or in custody, Priest and Georgia relax on a cruise in Montenegro. Review: Superfly Adds Bling to an Old Tale, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/movies/superfly-review.html. Scatter (Michael Kenneth Williams), refuses to increase Priest's . (Click here to read about the 2018 remake .) He becomes a potent weapon in Priests score settling. Instead of paying off Mason, Priest tips off police and she is arrested for cocaine possession. In the DVD release, Warner Bros. decided to fade out the track midway right as "The End" is shown, and again brings up the AOL/Warner logo. Ya know, you've got this fantasy in your head about gettin outta the life and setting that other world on its ear. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. The new Superfly transplants the tale to the swank environs of contemporary upscale Atlanta, and it gives its hero the 21st-century equivalent of ONeals processed-pimp look. | The hero of Superfly certainly has the right to be a stud, but the difference between the two movies is that the new version, directed by the Canadian-born hip-hop video veteran Julian Christian Lutz (who bills himself as Director X, a moniker that seems caught between black nationalism and Whats My Line?), has no resonance, no real atmosphere, and almost no social context. [6], Superfly was initially scheduled to be released on June 15, 2018. And no motherf***er tells me when I can split. Just think about it, don't throw it out, just, just think about it. That's the American Dream, nigga! Junius Griffin, the head of the Hollywood branch of the NAACP stated, "we must insist that our children are not exposed to a steady diet of so-called black movies that glorify black males as pimps, dope pushers, gangsters, and super males. Yet all the threats and double-crosses are, in a word, standard. We're out here building a new nation for black people. (Click here to read about the 2018 remake.) When I pulled out a jacket that establishes Priests character, X said Is that Alexander Wang? He did a promo for them so he recognized the jacket right away.. Another controversy surrounding Mayfields score for Super Fly arose from the role of arranger Johnny Pate, who receives onscreen credit as music conducted by. As reported by a Sep 1972 LAT article, Pate, with whom Mayfield had worked several times before the films soundtrack, claimed that Mayfield had merely dictated ideas, while it was Pate who did the actual arranging, scoring, voicing, or orchestrating. Mayfield disputed Pates statements that he was unacknowledged, noting that Pate did receive adequate credit for his contributions on the Super Fly soundtrack liner notes. Priests clothes are predominantly dark and subtle because Priest doesnt want to bring attention to himself, Messam says. The lieutenant in charge reveals that he is Scatters supplier and that the two men can now go directly to him. With my record I can't even work civil service or join the damn army. Film Review: 'Superfly' - Variety The new group charged that Super Fly was super-genocide and that it was the latest Hollywood game being run on black people. A 28 Jan 1973 LAT article, which called the group BANG (Blacks Against Narcotics and Genocide), reported that it had picketed the movie and ONeal, when he made personal appearances in Washington, D.C. to support the movie, but its efforts had little apparent impact. He needs one big score to do it. In the middle of the film, a sequence of still photographs, taken by director Gordon Parks, Jr., illustrates how the thirty kilos of cocaine purchased by Youngblood Priest and Eddie is prepared, distributed and used. On the one hand, its a clever idea to have the pair negotiate drug supplies while sparring in Scatters martial-arts gym; on the other, the cleverness becomes beside the point because Director X cant manage to make both the action and the dialogue work in tandem. .st0{fill:#FFFFFF;} As noted in reviews, the picture was shot completely in New York City, and mostly in Harlem. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Those released in the previous decade could probably be counted on one hand. According to a 17 Sep 1972 NYT article, the project was initially brought to Shore by first-time screenplay writer Philip Fenty after Fenty and actor Ron ONeal, a longtime friend, had worked together to develop the story. The more Priest tries to wriggle out of the life, the more it wraps its tentacles around him. The article also reported that the distribution arm of Shores company, Plaza Pictures, would distribute Super Fly, but in mid-Apr 1972, Var reported that neither Plaza company would be involved with the film. Curtis Mayfield as Curtis Mayfield, Julius Harris as Scatter, and Al Kiggins as Policeman. When a scene takes place in the budget furniture store he uses as a legit front, its news to us, because the setting drops in out of nowhere. He isnt a bad actor, but its not like he finds many gradations within a young hustlers survivalist pout. If this wing can do ok in 10-12mph winds, I'm in. According to modern sources, K. C., who played a pimp in the film, was a pimp in real life and owned the car driven by Priest. AFI champions progress in visual storytelling to empower storytellers, inspire story lovers and further the limitless power of the moving image. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. There's a complexity to the character revealed through body language and facial expression in his reactions to everyone around him. The way that the media depict and distort police violence is embedded in the film, in a scene showing a news report that follows a monstrous incident, as is the power of media to amplify misdeeds and ruin careers at a single stroke. Furthermore, Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack remains one of the greatest movie soundtrack albums from the '70s or any other time. Carl Lee - IMDb Web. Georgia: Look maybe you should get out now now before something really bad happens. There's also marijuana and cigarette smoking and drinking. thecredits-expanded-wt. Be the first to review this title. The first name of actress and former model Sheila Frazier, who made her debut in Super Fly, is spelled Sheila in the opening cast credits and Shiela in the ending credits. He is murdered after being forced to reveal information about Priest to Mason. The film is well known for its soundtrack, written and produced by soul musician Curtis Mayfield. And you really ain't got the stomach for that. Youngblood Priest is a young cocaine kingpin from Atlanta, Georgia, working the streets since he was brought in by his mentor Scatter at age eleven. All rights reserved. SuperFly (2018) Cast & Crew Cast; Crew; Trevor Jackson Youngblood Priest Jason Mitchell Eddie Michael Kenneth Williams Scatter Lex Scott Davis Georgia Jennifer Morrison Detective Mason Kaalan Walker Juju Esai Morales Adalberto Gonzalez Andrea Londo Cynthia Big Bank Black "Q" Big Boi Mayor Atkins Jacob Ming-Trent Fat Freddie . Super Fly (Film) - TV Tropes In this regard, Superfly mirrors the original, in which Priest also had two girlfriends by those names. He was an actor and writer, known for Super Fly (1972), The Connection (1961) and The Doctors and the Nurses (1962). However, w. Scatter initially refuses to help Priest. 2023 Cond Nast. [5], While Sony and other publications reported the film was made on a net production budget of $16 million, Deadline stated their sources insisted the actual cost was "well north of $20 [million], near $30 [million]". The first name of actress and former model Sheila Frazier, who made her debut in Super Fly, is spelled Sheila in the opening cast credits and Shiela in the ending credits. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. [10][11], On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 51% based on 102 reviews, and an average rating of 5.3/10. Youngblood Priest: You don't own me pig. Superfly reflects the gun-madness of modern American society, with drug dealers and police alike bearing arsenals-worth of military-style firearms and using them with a chillingly casual frequency. This film, directed by Director X from a script by Alex Tse, is a remake of the 1972 picture directed by Gordon Parks Jr. (whose father had made Shaft a year before). Hes wearing the jacket as he counts stacks of money. In the movie, that underworld comes to the surface of society mainly in the form of media representations (such as television-news accounts)which are themselves part of the story, and part of the sleek glow with which Director X endows his film. When Eddie states that they have $300,000, Priest reveals his plan to buy thirty kilos of high-quality cocaine, which they can sell for $1,000,000 within four months. A remake of the 1972 blaxploitation classic trades in its drug-dealer-as-outlaw-capitalist mythology for a glossy, slammed-together genre flick. Despite the controversy surrounding Super Fly's drug use, the production of the film made significant advances for African-Americans. Trevors only 21 playing a 27 year old, and he worked so hard, she says. After "The End" is displayed, the film fades to black, but Mayfield's "Superfly" continues to play for a few minutes until the track ends. Big Bank Black as Q, the pragmatic leader of Snow Patrol. [4] The film was financed by two directors: Gordon Parks, who had directed the 1971 film Shaft and Sig Shore, who produced Super Fly, and played Deputy Commissioner Riordan, or "The Man" in the film. Review of SuperFly movie - shawnshawn.co "Super Fly" Filmed In Harlem, NY, 1972 Hes got a beautiful house and a beautiful car, commands respect, and presides over an uneasy peace with Snow Patrol, a competing drug gang that wears all white. Unlike the earlier film, the new one (written by Alex Tse) goes beyond the local streetside and backroom focus of the drug trade to expose a vipers nest of conspiracies that extend from the internecine conflicts between groups of dealers to the collaboration of major elected officials. One of the groups formed specifically to fight the film and other similar exploitations films, according to a Sep 1972 Var article, called itself Blacks Against Narcotics. Homeboy Cosmopolitan. In Search of Africa, 252. Theres no spiritual dimension, no sense of genuine civic aspiration. Super Fly is a 1972 Blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Parks Jr. (son of Shaft director Gordon Parks) starring Ron O'Neal, Carl Lee and Julius Harris. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. Yet its timeliness appears, instantly, merely symbolic, as daily news reports surpass the movies horrors faster than it can pile them on. (Hes played in the earlier film by Ron ONeal; in the remake, by Trevor Jackson.) All rights reserved. Working with his reluctant friend, Eddie (Carl Lee), Priest . Filming took place from January to mid-April 1972 in New York City. Later on I found out, Big Boi has that hat, Bank has that hat, King Luther has that hat. Eddie threatens Scatter, demanding that he reveal his source if he will not supply them, but Scatter holds him at gunpoint. As the lead character Youngblood Priest, the late Ron O'Neal brought a fresh take on the "man of few words" cinema archetype. In the middle of the film, a sequence of still photographs, taken by director Gordon Parks, Jr., illustrates how the thirty kilos of cocaine purchased by Youngblood Priest and Eddie is prepared, distributed and used. "Pusherman," "Little Child Runnin' Wild," "No Thing on Me," "Give Me Your Love" and "Superfly," music and lyrics by Curtis Mayfield. SuperFly (2018) Cast and Crew - Cast Photos and Info | Fandango After the deal is made, Priest and Eddie are picked up by the police, where it's revealed that the supplier is a lieutenant in the department and that they can now have as much cocaine as they want to sell on credit and protected by the police. In the Sep 1972 NYT interview, ONeal also defended the film by stating that cocaine was not a major drug problem among African Americans, and that not only was it not addictive, it had never caused an overdose. Jackson does cool almost too well. According to an Oct 1972 LAT article, Var had reported that by Sep 1972, Super Fly was third behind The Godfather and Play It Again, Sam (see above for both) in the list of top-grossing films of 1972. Parks, Jr. would make only three more films before his death in 1979 in an airplane crash. SuperFly (2018) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. The first, Super Fly T.N.T., was released in 1973 and was directed by and starred ONeal, in addition to Frazier, who reprised her role as Georgia. Shore also directed the second sequel, The Return of Superfly, which was released in 1990 and starred Nathan Purdee as Priest. The powerless Reardon then watches as Priest walks away free, giving the policemen one final glare before driving off to join Georgia. Rolayo THE FOOD AND SMALL CHOPS PLUG on Twitter: "Yam pepper scatter With Mason's gun at Freddie's head, Freddie's girlfriend reveals his criminal history and Priest's identity. Priest demands his half of their profits from Eddie. He confides to a lieutenant, Eddie (Jason Mitchell), that he wants out. Within those cynically defined contemporary parameters, Youngblood Priest (Trevor Jackson, dressed to the nines and sporting what one character derides as Morris Day hair) is doing well. Shot in a functional, slammed-together manner thats less sensually stylish than youd expect from a music-video auteur, the film is a competent yet glossy and hermetic street-hustle drug thriller, less a new urban myth than a lavishly concocted episode. Griffin, before he resigned his post in Aug 1972, demanded that Warner Bros. recall prints of the film from distribution and reshoot the ending so that Priest would be killed or otherwise punished for his drug usage and dealing. Juju suspects Priest of a hit on Snow Patrol and plans to retaliate. Scatter, who now runs a popular restaurant, initially refuses to help Priest, but Priest plays on his emotions, claiming that he wants to get out while he is young and before he has to endure the extreme hardships faced by Scatter. "[7], Super Fly resonated with many of the post-Civil Rights Movement generation of African Americans, who saw Youngblood as a new example of how to rise in the American class system. Priest, so-called because the tip of the cross he wears is fasioned in the shape of a spoon, with which he frequently samples his wares, yearns to leave the life and go straight, despite the money he makes.