This month will see the release of Superfly, Director X’s reimagining takes place in
Atlanta and stars Trevor Jackson as Youngblood Priest, a major drug dealer working to remove
himself from the drug game, before the game takes him.
The film will have a soundtrack executively produced by Atlanta rap superstar Future,
and is the first of many iconic blaxploitation films getting remakes, with new versions of
Cleopatra Jones, Get Christie Love! and Shaft in the works.
But before any of this happens, you already know who we need to talk about,
Mr. Ron O’Neal,
the first Youngblood Priest, the original “Superfly.”
Released in 1972, “Superfly,” directed by Gordon Parks Jr. and starring O’Neal
as the iconic drug dealer is one of the most iconic titles to come out of the blaxploitation
movement.
Blaxploitation was a genre of cinema that began in the early 70’s with Ossie Davis’
Cotton Comes to Harlem, Mario van Peebles Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, and Gordon
Parks Sr.’s Shaft.
These films were not exactly well made, however, they were hugely popular in the African-American
community.
Because this was the first time that audiences got to see films directed by and starring
people who looked like them.
The stars of blaxploitation films s were the heroes of their stories and not just victims
or sidekicks to white characters, which had been the case since oh… the beginning of
cinema.
Now the genre was not without controversy.
People didn’t take too kindly to many of the characters being drug dealers and pimps.
And while the genre was rightfully criticized for its treatment of women, it also provided
American cinema with its first female action hero: Pam Grier.
The genre even spawned a number of parodies such as I’m Gonna Git you Sucka, Undercover
Brother and the soon to be iconic Black Dynamite.
Superfly stands out from many of these films thanks to the performance of O’Neal himself,
who sells the intensity of living the life he has chosen, and the desperation that comes
with trying to leave it behind.
He just, consumes all the energy in the room: with that ice-cold stare, all business attitude,
immaculate wardrobe and quite impressive athleticism, I don’t see Chris Evans doing this do you?
The other thing Superfly is known for, which was a staple of the genre, was the soundtrack,
one of the most iconic in a genre full of them.
It was produced and performed by the great Curtis Mayfield, who even makes an appearance
in the film.
Many of the films songs have been sampled through the years appearing on albums from
artists such as The Beastie Boys, Ice-T, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Jay-Z and many more.
Southern rapper Master P even made his own version of “Eddie’s Dead” for a South
Park album.
Seriously, this is the actual video you’re watching right now
There were two sequels, the first Superfly T.N.T, which was released a year after Superfly
and follows Priest in Rome and later Africa.
The third was a made for TV film called Return of Superfly, which had Nathan Purdee take
over the role after O’Neal refused.
There’s no telling if this new Superfly or any of the new films based off blaxploitation
titles will hold up as much as the originals.
However, one upside to this trend is that perhaps due to the success of Get Out and
Black Panther, studios are taken note that audiences are willing to go and spend money
on films made by black directors and starring black actors.
So that means we will be seeing more black stories in the very near future and I for
one, can certainly dig that.