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. What are some other movies with unforgettable soundtracks? Review: Superfly Adds Bling to an Old Tale, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/movies/superfly-review.html. That's the American Dream, nigga! Yet all the threats and double-crosses are, in a word, standard. According to some reviews of the film, the term super fly was slang for high-quality cocaine, while other reviews stated that it meant the pusher himself, or meant a superlative adjective that could be applied to anything. With my record I can't even work civil service or join the damn army. How are remakes similar to and different from the originals? Both movies tell the story of Youngblood Priest, a coke dealer looking to make one last big score and then get out. 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. SuperFly (2018) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Director X. Youngblood Priest: Don't argue with me, man, I'm trying to give you a chance. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. Working some jive job for chump change day after day. As Priest, Ron ONeal had a charisma and enigmatic elegance that stood out in the Harlem back rooms and alleys where he did his business. Hoping for one last score, Priest and his partner travel to Mexico to arrange a deal. ', Messam fondly remembers taking in the stylish street energy emanating from the original 1972 Super Fly. But one of those minions, Juju (Kaalan KR Walker), seethes with resentmenthe wants to do away with Priest and take over his business, and, without Qs permission, takes a shot at Priest outside the club, but instead hits a bystander. He lacks Parkss canny compositional wit, his sense of the dramatic power of practical attention to time and space. Getting up to speed in a hurry, Messam went power-shopping over the holidays in Toronto, where she loaded up on Fresh Company clothing. It features 13 new and previously released songs, as well as guest appearances from Miguel, Lil Wayne, Khalid, Ty Dolla Sign, Young Thug, PartyNextDoor, H.E.R., Gunna, Sleepy Brown, and Yung Bans, among others. All Rights Reserved. [10] The filmmakers maintain that it was their desire to show the negative and empty aspects of the drug subculture. .st1{display:none;fill:#FFFFFF;} 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. Priest explains that as a child, he thought he wanted all the trappings of success and wealth, including a lover like her, but now wants a simpler life and will be ending their relationship. Shore received the bulk of the profits since he put up the most money, 40 percent, while the actors, directors, and scriptwriters split the remaining profits. Scatter (Michael Kenneth Williams), refuses to increase Priest's . Costume designer Antoinette Messam got hired on December 18 to costume the suave hustlers of Superfly and on January 19, cameras rolled in Atlanta. While controversial among civil rights groups for its portrayal of African Americans as negative and antiheroes, this film has stood the test of time as a classic of the "blaxploitation" genre. Common Sense and other associated names and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN: 41-2024986). The hot-tempered . But in this films 21st-century Atlanta, The Man never really manifests. Scatter gives Priest a packet of information on Reardon and his family. A title card then appears, reading "November 25, 1975, Philadelphia." That night, Priest enjoys a romantic bath with his girl friend Georgia, although she disapproves of his drug usage. Big Bank Black as Q, the pragmatic leader of Snow Patrol. He really knows his [fashion] lines. Youngblood Priest: You better take real good care of me. He has a now-iconic charisma, "cool" in the classic sense of the word. He died on 17 April 1986 in New York City, New York, USA. When we first talked at the beginning, Diddy was inspiration for the Snow Patrol, representing New York flash and opulence, Messam says. Although this plan was much discussed throughout the mid-1970s, it was not implemented. I took a $100,000 contract out on your life, your wife, EVERYBODY. He lives with his two girlfriends, Georgia and Cynthia. Roy Innis, the leader of CORE, also proposed that a black review board should pre-edit African-American-oriented films before they were theatrically released and that profits from the pictures be turned over to black-dominated communities to advance educational opportunities. 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. Their argument is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Scatter who reveals that the real head of the operation is Deputy Commissioner Reardon, who is trying to kill him for quitting. After the announcement, Warner Bros. issued an apology for its erroneous submission of the song for consideration. The film's soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield was well enough received that he was sought for other soundtracks. Georgia pleads with Priest to quit immediately, as she does not care if they are poor, but Priest maintains he must get the money, because his criminal record will make it difficult for him to find a job. Just think about it, don't throw it out, just, just think about it. Mean Free Path: The mean distance that light travels in the surface before it scatters. 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. Once Priest decides to pursue his last score, he seeks help from his mentor in crime, Scatter, played by an avuncular but cautiously sinister Michael Kenneth Williams. Manthiahas Diawara suggested that the film's glorification of drug dealers served to subtly critique the civil rights movement's failure to provide better economic opportunities for black America and that the portrayal of a black community controlled by drug dealers serves to highlight that the initiatives of the civil rights movement were far from fully accomplished. Youngblood Priest: Priest is then picked up by the lieutenant and taken to the waterfront, where he is confronted by Reardon. Trevor Jackson Re-invents the Sleek Priest, The original Priest, played by Ron ONeal, famously sported leisure suits and floor-length overcoats, but Trevor Jacksons version of the drug dealer favors a less flamboyant style drawn from AllSaints, Burberry and German designer Phillip Plein. She then scoured stores in New York, explored off-the-grid spots in Atlanta and scoured the web for online purchases. [12] It was the highest-grossing blaxploitation film at the time.[13]. Its comments on the lack of legitimate opportunity for African Americans in the inner city remains relevant -- relevant enough to bring on a remake of the movie 46 years after the original film's release. 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. But the majority of time, Priest wants to keep a low profile, so the clothes are dark., Given the tight time constraints, Massam did much of her tailoring on the fly. Rapper Future produced alongside Joel Silver, as well as writing the film's original songs. [7], The film was released on digital and iTunes on August 28, 2018 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. It was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on 11 September 2018. On Freddies Dead, a song on the 1972 soundtrack album (its not sung in the film itself), Mayfield calls out Another junkie plan/Pushing dope for the Man, vocalizing in a tone that the critic Greil Marcus (in his great book Mystery Train) called incredulous and disgusted.. Its initial success transcended the African American audience it was made for at a time when African American actors were hardly ever given lead roles in movies. Inspiring true story of African American women at NASA. Theres another crucial difference between the two films, a difference that marks virtually every encounter, every scene, every moment: firepower. [3] Principal photography started in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2018. Mayfield, who made his film scoring debut with Super Fly, received a Grammy nomination for the films soundtrack. You'll all be hit if I die. 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. Eddie has his back but Scatter refuses to help. Scatter is captured by the corrupt policemen, who give him a fatal overdose of drugs. Despite the controversy surrounding Super Fly's drug use, the production of the film made significant advances for African-Americans. Priest demands his half of their profits from Eddie. 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. After the men leave, Priest finds his partner, Eddie, and asks him how much cash they currently have. K. C.s only other motion picture appearance was in the 1972 United Artists release Across 110th Street (see above), which was also filmed on location in New York City. The songs "Freddie's Dead" and the title song both shot up the Pop Top Ten chart in late 1972, with each single selling over a million copies. Although the timid Freddie abhors violence, he agrees and accompanies a member of Priests family of lower-level dealers to commit the robbery. Trevor actually has been doing capoeira for maybe 10 years, so hes really excited and really capable to do these kinds of things. Radius. Priest spends the rest of the film dancing among a trio of forces who are out to put the screws on him: the cartel, led by the always lively actor Esai Morales; the thugs of Snow Patrol; and a pair of corrupt white officers, played by Brian F. Durkin and Jennifer Morrison, who shake him down for a million dollars. Priest overcomes his foes using karate, then reveals that he knows exactly who Reardon is. And he was there a week ahead of time doing the work and getting the choreography down. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Militant: Dig it, dope peddler. She upends the stereotype by digging into the role with relish. As reported by Filmfacts, as well as other contemporary news items and reviews, Super Fly was the first black-oriented film to be financed entirely by blacks (in this case, a group of businessmen from the Harlem community) as well as the first to use an all-black and/or Puerto Rican technical crew. In mid-Apr 1972, Var noted that, because of the black-oriented nature of the screenplay, Fenty and Parks, Jr. directly approached the Harlem community for financial backing, which they obtained from a consortium of businessmen, lawyers, dentists et al. The films pressbook adds that the consortium of eighteen investors included pimps, madams and drug dealers. In a Sep 1972 Var article, Parks, Jr. specifically thanked his father, director Gordon Parks, Sr., and two black dentists, Ed Allen and Connie [Cornelius] Jenkins, for financing the production. Priest's white mistress, Cynthia, is dismayed to learn that Priest does not return her love and is planning on quitting the business. In Jan 1973, trade papers reported that although it previously had been announced as under consideration as a nominee, Mayfields song Freddies Dead had been ruled ineligible for entry in the Best Original Song category because it appeared in the film only as an instrumental. One lengthy sex-in-the-shower scene between the characters played by Mr. Jackson, Ms. Londo and Ms. Davis has a nearly risible box-checking quality. Priest (Ron O'Neal), a suave top-rung New York City drug dealer, decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. There's also marijuana and cigarette smoking and drinking. [11], After an initial gross of $24.8 million, the film was re-released in 1973 and earned $2 million in US and Canada rentals. Superfly is a 2018 American action crime thriller film and a remake of the 1972 blaxploitation film Super Fly. Georgia: Look maybe you should get out now now before something really bad happens. Nearly every character in the film, with the notable exception of his "main squeeze," tries to dissuade Priest from quitting; their chief argument being that dealing and snorting are the best he ever could achieve in life. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Scatter is captured by the corrupt policemen, who give him a fatal overdose of drugs. Movie Info. [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. Supertones' sixth album Hi-Fi Revival Featured image:Jason Mitchell and Trevor Jackson in SUPERFLY. All rights reserved. Besides pimpin'? Priests clothes are predominantly dark and subtle because Priest doesnt want to bring attention to himself, Messam says. Killed while trying to hunt down Priest. Parks, Jr. would make only three more films before his death in 1979 in an airplane crash. The powerless Reardon then watches as Priest stalks off, giving the policemen one final glare before driving off to join Georgia. He came out of a dance background. But his supplier and mentor, Scatter (Michael Kenneth Williams), refuses to increase Priests supply, so Priest takes matters into his own hands and attempts to deal directly with Adalberto Gonzalez (Esai Morales), the head of a Mexican drug carteland, in so doing, he enters a labyrinth of menace. After the men leave, Priest finds his partner, Eddie, and asks him how much cash they currently have. Youngblood Priest: You don't own me pig. Gordon's War (1973) Carl Lee was born on 22 November 1926 in New York City, New York, USA. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. [The soundtrack album did feature the lyrics written for the song by Mayfield.] Release Dates Super Fly stopped airing in 1970. . [8], In the United States and Canada, Superfly was projected to gross $712 million from 2,200 theaters over its five-day opening weekend. 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. 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. Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners. Youngblood Priest: Look what would I do? Snow Patrol members led by Juju shoot up Priest's mansion. [5] The film made $1.2 million on its first day,[9] $938,583 on its second and $1.8 million on its third. Altogether, such an independently financed film ultimately had unusually large financial backing. Eddie: Look, I know it's a rotten game, but it's the only one The Man left us to play. The gaudy fashions might be as obsolete as the old crumbling '70s New York City that serves as the background to the scenes, but the substance of the movie has ensured that Super Fly remains something more than a relic. Eight Track Stereo, color T.V. ' Messam outfitted Mitchell in GStar jeans and a John Varvatos leopard print leather jacket. Curtis Mayfield as Curtis Mayfield, Julius Harris as Scatter, and Al Kiggins as Policeman. 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. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998. 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. Snow Patrol deduces that Priest's colleague, Fat Freddie, was one of the assailants. 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. After the police leave, Eddie is elated by the new situation, claiming that they are set for life, although Priest is still determined to quit after selling the thirty kilos. Jacob Ming-Trent as Frederick "Fat Freddie" Davis, one of Priest's oldest colleagues. Powerful Stories About Martin Luther King Jr. Yet its timeliness appears, instantly, merely symbolic, as daily news reports surpass the movies horrors faster than it can pile them on. Priest has anticipated Eddies duplicity, however, and gives the briefcase carrying the money to a disguised Georgia in exchange for one full of rags. In his flattened long hair and wide collars and designer sideburns, he may have looked like a coke-spoon version of DArtagnan, but his need to claw his way out to use the drug game to defeat the man suffused every scene. 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. It was released on August 4, 1972. I'm to the point where I ain't afraid to die. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. In the opening sequence, set at a throbbing nightclub, he establishes his dominion by publicly humiliating a street-cred rapper who owes him money. matplotlib is a Python package used for data plotting and visualisation. Although the timid Freddie abhors violence, he agrees and accompanies another member of Priest's "family" of lower-level dealers to commit the robbery. Superfly - Necessary Violence: Adalberto Gonzalez (Esai Morales) kills Scatter (Michael Kenneth Williams) after he realizes that he's been stealing from him.BUY THE MOVIE: https://www.fandangonow.com/details/movie/superfly-2018-2018/MMV03DF2F54CD1C96B7C04778B9249D9045C?cmp=Movieclips_YT_DescriptionWatch the best Superfly scenes \u0026 clips:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqpnyrFQ3OaPQQz-oIebzeAO#superfly#trevorjacksonFILM DESCRIPTION:Cocaine kingpin Youngblood Priest realizes that it's time to get out of the game after surviving a violent attack from a crazed rival. Priest defuses the situation and persuades Scatter to help them, although Scatter warns that it will be the last time. Fat Freddie: Listen, Priest, that's my wife you're talking about, man.