Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

Starring: Melvin Van Peebles, Mario Van Peebles
Directed by: Melvin Van Peebles
Rating: X
Genre: Drama, Action
1971

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles) agrees to go downtown with two white cops after the body of a black man is found. The cops take a detour to brutally beat a black man, causing Sweetback to attack the cops, escape, and go on the run from the police.

Review:

Tim: The first thing you notice about this film is the shoddy camerawork. This 1971 movie is a landmark film, as it is a landmark of American filmmaking. The film spawned the blaxploitation genre of film. That is impression whena an entire genre can trace its roots to one film. However, the movie was crudely constructed on a shoestring budget. Melvin Van Peebles directed, wrote, produced, edited, scored, and starred in the film. That is quite an achievement, but the limitations of a one-man crew are evident in almost every frame. The real trick here is to look past the terrible quality of the film, past the somewhat provoking scenes in '71, the film was rated "X" (by an all-white jury, as the film proclaims), and see the film for the influential marvel that it is.

To be honest, most people will not like this movie. Truthfully, I found it difficult to watch. It is dated, and of such poor quality that it distracts from the story (which, by the way, is weak and full of holes). There is little to really enjoy in this movie. However, every frame is important because of the influence it had on mainstream America, especially the black community. In 1971, this was one of the most important films of the year, and influenced generations of people. It is also incredibly racist, sexually repungant- the opening scene involves 13 year old Mario Van Peebles having sex (on screen) with a much older woman.

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a very different movie, and you will have to really work to watch it. If you can get past the low quality of the film, you will find some very bright moments. Even still, for true movie connoisseurs, you are going to need to see this film

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
the entire genre of blaxploitation films