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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. So he didnt spend as much time rehearsing this, but hes a pro. Priest (Ron O'Neal), a suave top-rung New York City drug dealer, decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, "The return of "Freeway" Ricky Ross, the man behind a crack empire", "Trevor Jackson & Jason Mitchell To Star In Sony's 'Superfly' Remake From Director X; Future & Joel Silver To Produce", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Super_Fly_(1972_film)&oldid=1136581494, United States National Film Registry films, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lucky Scott as Himself (The Curtis Mayfield Experience), Craig McMullen as Himself (The Curtis Mayfield), Tyrone McCullough as Himself (The Curtis Mayfield), This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 01:45. She upends the stereotype by digging into the role with relish. The look for the Snow Patrol was scripted, says Messam, describing the rival gang that prides itself on dressing in all-white. Soon after, the drugs are sold by Priest and Eddie's "family." So maybe its heartening, in a way, that Super Fly once meant something and that the new Superfly, for what its worth, means next to nothing. Despite the controversy surrounding Super Fly's drug use, the production of the film made significant advances for African-Americans. Why do you think Hollywood often seems to prefer putting out remakes of old movies rather than releasing something new? Some contemporary and modern sources list the films title as Superfly, although the opening title card and copyright records list it as two words. The movie generated roughly $4 million in profits. Unsurprisingly, cocaine use is frequent. Costume designer Antoinette Messam got hired on December 18 to costume the suave hustlers of Superfly and on January 19, cameras rolled in Atlanta. Yet its timeliness appears, instantly, merely symbolic, as daily news reports surpass the movies horrors faster than it can pile them on. Why do you think that is, and how does it heighten the action? Its all about the accumulation of wealth and a sybaritic lifestyle. But until you can do that, you go sing your marching songs some place else. He has two live-in girlfriends, the quietly sophisticated Georgia (Lex Scott Davis) and the younger, flintier Cynthia (Andrea Londo). On a couple levels, you know Scatter is Priests mentor in the drug game and also his teacher in martial arts and jujitsu. He has a luxurious apartment, two girlfriends, and lots 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. Priest plays good guy by handing the victims friends a wad of cash and giving them the name of the best local trauma center. Speaking from Toronto, Messam shared insights about the hip looks that help sell the story of drug dealer Priest (Trevor Jackson) and his crew. His Priest is controlled and invincible, a leonine street king with two girlfriends, one African-American (Lex Scott Davis) and one Latina (Andrea Londo); when he takes a shower with both of them, its a misty porny daydream that ends as an erotic Piet. Mean Free Path: The mean distance that light travels in the surface before it scatters. That night, after picking up the kilo from Scatter, Priest and Eddie are apprehended by several policemen. 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. 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. (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 Outcry against the film prompted several groups in Los Angeles, notably the Coalition Against Blaxploitation (CAB) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), to assert that a separate ratings and review board for black films should be set up and overseen by CORE, according to the Jan 1973 LAT article. 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. Super Fly stopped airing in 1970. . But in this films 21st-century Atlanta, The Man never really manifests. I'm an intermediate flier (eflight ministick, hell raiser, formosa). 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. Producer Sig Shore directed a second sequel, The Return of Superfly, released in 1990, with Nathan Purdee as Priest. Hes a major drug supplier in bling-driven Atlanta. Furthermore, Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack remains one of the greatest movie soundtrack albums from the '70s or any other time. 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. And no motherf***er tells me when I can split. Eddie feigns allegiance with Snow Patrol, and tricks them into an ambush where they are killed by Mason and other cops alerted by Priest. I mean, maybe this is what you're supposed to do, maybe this is what you're growing to. Gordon's War (1973) Carl Lee was born on 22 November 1926 in New York City, New York, USA. The remake, by Director X, is set in Atlanta, and the night life and its artificial light (as well as an emphasis on indoor locations rather than street life), suggests that Priest and the other drug dealers in his realm occupy a hermetic underworld. He seems almost as influenced by Brian De Palmas Scarface (itself a remake) as by the original Super Fly. Witness the bright oranges and subsequent neon colors in the movies opening scene: a tracking shot of an underground nightclub, depicting Priest on a mission to collect money owed. 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. It was released on August 4, 1972. The Man so trenchantly invoked by Mayfield was incarnated in the earlier film by a white police superintendent who wants Priest as his puppet. Additionally, the end credits on the original film release and video cassette differ from the DVD. Fighting over recriminations about Freddie's death, Priest starts strangling Eddie and leaves him unconscious. Reardon threatens Priest that he must continue selling drugs as long as he is ordered to, but when Priest replies defiantly, the policemen begin to beat him. 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. Additionally, according to the Jan 1973 DV report, Curtis Mayfield, the composer of the films score and hit songs, was estimated to be receiving about $5,000,000 from performance and royalties from the more than 2,000,000 albums and singles sold to that point. Takin' it, sellin' it, bankrollin' so other small time pusher. Priest is then picked up by the lieutenant and other policemen and taken to the waterfront, where he is confronted by Reardon in person. The wide shots are really stunt people. Kaalan "KR" Walker as Juju, a member of the Snow Patrol, a rival drug outfit, who takes an immediate dislike to Priest and plots to kill him. Priest thanks Eddie for his help and prepares to leave the country with Georgia. But getting out isn't as easy as Priest hopes when it's revealed that the actual supplier from the police is higher up the chain of command, and this supplier wants Priest dead if he quits. Working some jive job for chump change day after day. Ad Choices, Nancy Reviewed: A Complex, Untapped Story of a Womans Desperate Hoax, The Tale, Reviewed: A Filmmakers Daring Excavation of Her Own Memories of Sexual Abuse. This is evident in the movie from the beginning as Priest communicates his desire to leave the business. We're out here building a new nation for black people. An additional way to control how far light scatters though the surface, only this time with separate values for the red, green and blue channels. 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. Eddie: I went along with that thing of yours about getting out cause I had nothing else. The remake runs twenty minutes longer than the originaltwenty minutes that detail Priests audacious maneuverings and their grim effects in milieux left unexplored by the earlier film. During a verbal altercation with militant African Americans in his community, the lead character talks of getting involved in their cause if it involves "killing whitey" and "organizing an army to do that.". Scatter gives Priest a packet of information on Reardon and his family, then arranges to meet him later, when Priest will give him money with which to flee New York. SuperFly Now Playing: Superfly: Character Piece-Scatter Summary: The movie is a remake of the 1972 blaxploitation film Super Fly. There is a 2018 remake of this movie. The picture reportedly cost less than $500,000 to make and was acquired for distribution by Warner Bros. after its completion. The money rolls in, and soon a couple of corrupt white cops are making aggressive requests to dip their beaks. But the experience of watching these movies is very differentas different as night and day. [12] It was the highest-grossing blaxploitation film at the time.[13]. He is inside listening to Curtis, his sapphire ring he brings the moon with him, this cat, and his eyes glow like mellow stones at my superfly threads. Deputy Commissioner: You're working for me until I tell you to quit. 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. Priest further explains that the men with whom he met were contract killers, whom he hired to murder Reardon and his entire family should anything happen to him. Producer Sig Shore, who plays Deputy Commissioner Reardon, is billed in the cast credits as Mike Richards. All rights reserved. . Snow Patrol deduces that Priest's colleague, Fat Freddie, was one of the assailants. This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 20:33. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free. The hot-tempered . And he was there a week ahead of time doing the work and getting the choreography down. Although the timid Freddie abhors violence, he agrees and accompanies a member of Priests family of lower-level dealers to commit the robbery. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He has a now-iconic charisma, "cool" in the classic sense of the word. Although this plan was much discussed throughout the mid-1970s, it was not implemented. Outside, Priest is held by two patrolmen, although he smiles to himself as Georgia makes good her escape. * Remember Me Forgot Password Tags: Members Only Previous Feds Get First Co-Defendant In Philly Mob Case To Cop Plea, Tony Meatballs Admits Booking Bets director of photography Film Editing by Bob Brady As the soundtrack's composer, Mayfield was the only other person in the production who earned revenue approaching Shore's. All these corrupt agents of the law are white; Priest and his circle, as well as the entire Snow Patrol, are black; and, clearly and bitterly, Superfly puts ingrained American racism and its resulting inequities, injustices, and outrages at the center of the filmmost conspicuously, in its depiction of the ease with which white police officers can get away with summarily executing black people and even be celebrated for doing so. Charles McGregor, who plays Fat Freddie, was released from prison before the film's production. The women in Priests group play subordinate yet crucial roles in the tradeyet there are other parts of the conspiratorial net in which women are crucially active (suffice it to say that their activities are far from heroic). Super Fly is a 1972 American blaxploitation 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. Synopsis Youngblood Priest, a young Atlanta cocaine kingpin, has been working the streets since he was eleven. Juju, a member of rival gang Snow Patrol, hits on Cynthia and, shooting at Priest, accidentally hits a bystander. Scatter is captured by the corrupt policemen, who give him a fatal overdose of drugs. The Harlem community backed Super Fly financially, and a number of black businesses helped with the production costs. Superfly - Necessary Violence: Adalberto Gonzalez (Esai Morales) kills Scatter (Michael Kenneth Williams) after he realizes that he's been stealing from him. 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. Priest has anticipated Eddie's duplicity, however, and gives the briefcase carrying the money to a disguised Georgia in exchange for one full of rags. I am Director X. Im the director of Superfly 2018. MORE TRAILERS AND CLIPS (30) 2:26 0 Superfly (Trailer 2) 1:00 0 Superfly: Director X (Vignette) 0:14 0 Superfly: Character Piece-Scatter 1:01 0 Superfly: Priest (Vignette) 0:56 0 Superfly: Everyone Loves A Hustle 0:53 0 ' Messam outfitted Mitchell in GStar jeans and a John Varvatos leopard print leather jacket. But its also less true than it once was. . If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. Priest is then picked up by the lieutenant and taken to the waterfront, where he is confronted by Reardon. Its very much an Atlanta look. Director X was very hands on with the look, she recalls. The powerless Reardon then watches as Priest stalks off, giving the policemen one final glare before driving off to join Georgia. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. If you go back and . 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. 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. Applied post-scattering, so textures applied to this input will remain sharp. Having settled his business obligations, and with his enemies either dead or in custody, Priest and Georgia relax on a cruise in Montenegro. Although a Sep 1971 HR article listed Shores company Plaza Productions as the films intended production company, Superfly, Ltd. is listed onscreen and by copyright materials. Youngblood Priest: I'm talking to you, you redneck f*ggot. 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. Scatter initially refuses to help Priest. African-Americans were a part of the process as well, with Gordon Parks Jr. as director and Phillip Fenty as screenwriter. 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. Parks, Jr. added that he and other black directors wanted to become a Fellini or a Bergman. Thats how hungry the audience was for a new screen mythology of African-American manhood. Priest defuses the situation and persuades Scatter to help them, although Scatter warns that it will be the last time. The soundtrack alone generated about $5 million in profits one of the first film soundtracks to earn such a sizable return primarily from the biggest singles "Super Fly" and "Freddie's Dead". The powerless Reardon then watches as Priest walks away free, giving the policemen one final glare before driving off to join Georgia. 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. Some contemporary and modern sources list the films title as Superfly, although the opening title card and copyright records list it as two words. Rapper Future produced alongside Joel Silver, as well as writing the film's original songs. The lieutenant in charge reveals that he is Scatters supplier and that the two men can now go directly to him. There's brief female nudity (breasts and buttocks) and one extended sex scene in a bath tub; characters moan with pleasure as the camera moves in slow motion up and down their bodies. Producer Sig Shore, who plays Deputy Commissioner Reardon, is billed in the cast credits as Mike Richards. Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. 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. Theres a bit of old school dandy to Scatter but at the same time hes into martial arts, so I wanted to combine those two worlds, Messam explains. In this regard, Superfly mirrors the original, in which Priest also had two girlfriends by those names. Getting up to speed in a hurry, Messam went power-shopping over the holidays in Toronto, where she loaded up on Fresh Company clothing. Cynthia: [after refusing a snort of coke because Priest is going to leave rather than stay for sex] Some things go better with coke. | Police rough up one of the lead characters, punching him repeatedly during an interrogation. Priest has anticipated Eddies duplicity, however, and gives the briefcase carrying the money to a disguised Georgia in exchange for one full of rags. For all its tossed-off flash, Superfly goes beyond the mere intricacy of its audacious plotting to suggest the cruelty, the horror, and the deceit at the heart of the American body politic. (screenplay by) Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification Produced by Music by Curtis Mayfield Cinematography by James Signorelli . Refused by Scatter, Priest has to pitch himself to a deadly Mexican cartel manager played by Esai Morales. 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. 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. 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. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Now, if you don't get me my money *tonight*, I'm gonna put that young girl of your's out on whore's row. The American Dream is invoked several times in Superfly. The mentions come from the movies lead character, and from a song on the soundtrack. in every room, and can snort a half a piece of dope everyday? Now man I ain't puttin you down. [13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 68% overall positive score.