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A Review-'SUPER FLY'Directed by .Gordon Porks Jr.; screenplay • by Phillip Keny; director of photography, James Signo-r e 111; film editor, Bob Brady; music % by, Curtis Mayfield; produced* by Slg -Sfeore^Warner -Brothers re-tcaser At 'the -llippodromcr 97 mln. run. Hated K.Every other decade or so the movie'industry rc-dis-covers the black market. And the action-filled, idea-starved moving pictures come at you, featuring every possible variation on ’what some director thinks is black life: shooting dope, running whores, stealing, and lately, super niggers driving suped-up hogs and looking for white women.A casual viewing of Gordon Parks Jr.’s first film, “Super ■ Fly,” could lead to conclude that this is simply another of those rip-offs. But that is iu.t quite the case with this story of a “white-looking nigger” cocaine chief’s attempt to take a final $300,000 haul, make a million, and then-settle down to do some comfortable family living. Afraid that he might “end up killing somebody” (an opening sequence showing him doing-in a would-be thief prompts this fear), Priest resolves to stop dealing. lie’s had enough. Ron O’Neal creditably plays the coke chief Priest, who, like Christ in the wilderness, fights those forces (including the police) that tempt him to “stay in the business and make millions more.”Priest, sniffing coke from a cross chained around his neck, faces the parade of converters, listens to their appeals/threats, and sing-Iemiudedly pursues his goal. Not even his partner, Eddie (Carl Lee), whoso eloquent defense of dealing is a fine piece of wri.ting, can detour him. And when the forces murder his fath-- erly friend irnan attempt to. J- intimidate -Priest,-—his—re- -solve to get out is simply fueled. The battle of wills makes for an entertaining film that uses black life styles to make- a significant yet subtle statement on a serious . problem in the black' community.We might consider “Super Fly” as Parks’ practice piece, a trying of various styles and techniques. And like all such pieces this film suffers from a montage of styles, some effective and some not so. (Parks effectively uses the Sam Peckinpah slow-motion technique in a beautifully orchestrated fight sequence). One flaw is unmotivated sequences, for example, a fight between two sisters in a supper club. Some sequences (like Priest’s confrontation with some black revolutionaries) are unde r-developed.Others are too long: Priest’s making love in the bathtub and the series of stills.Ron O’Neal Is supported by a good but uneven cast. There is a great deal of overacting. Acting on film requires a subtlety that, give experience, these new faces will soon master. But Parks’ first effort is almost actor-proof and is well worth a trip down to the Hippodrome. Undoubtedly, we’ll be seeing a lot more from him. And that’s something to look forward to.SAMUEL A. HAY
Newspaper Details
Baltimore Afro American
Baltimore, Maryland, US
Sat, Sep 09, 1972
Page 38
Full Page
Clipped by
Rotten T.
USA 24 Jun 2020
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