Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
Melvin Van Peebles' groundbreaking classic. A young hustler's aimless pleasure seeking turns to radicalism after witnessing the beating of a black revolutionary by two white cops. Driven to a state of blind rage, Sweetback takes brutal revenge on the cops, forcing him into a desperate life on the run.
Despite a humble opening at only two theaters followed by a torrent of negative reviews, SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG mushroomed to $10,000,000 at the box office, landing it on Daily Variety's list of top-grossing independent films. It is credited as the film that kicked off the so-called "Blaxploitation" film movement.
"[SWEETBACK] accumulates a kind of hallucinatory groove, with unexpected shafts of bizarre humor and vigorous, experimental new wave direction." - Geoff Andrew, Time Out
"A series of stark, earthy vignettes, Van Peebles evokes the vitality, humor, pain, despair and omnipresent fear that is life for so many African-Americans." - Kevin Thomas, The Los Angeles Times
Running Time
98 mins
Year
1971
Rating
R
Kanopy ID
3411230
Filmmakers
Features
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Comments (2)
A groundbreaking film it is. A good film? Not in any way. Poorly shot, terrible sound, poorly acted, and the run time padded by seemingly endless shots of Van Peebles jogging, accompanied by a funky soundtrack.
"I don't know nuthin' 'bout no Sweetback"