Films like Shaft...Superfly

Sidney Poitier was the original cool black detective -- Virgil Tibbs. Richard Roundtree's John Shaft was the second, but blaxploitation was an urban genre; that's where the ticket-buying audience lived.

It is hard to recall any other memorable black films from the 1970s -- I think they were all low-budget movies with forgettable plots and acting.

Ragtime (1981) and A Soldier's Story (1984) were a couple serious black-themed films that sort of fit into the action genre. Richard Pryor starred in some enjoyable comedies in the 1980s, and Samuel L Jackson started to get some good roles. Spike Lee started making movies in the 1980s. The Color Purple (1985) was a showcase for black talent. Denzel Washington, who was in A Soldier's Story, received more attention in Glory (1989) with Morgan Freeman.

Denzel played a detective in The Mighty Quinn (1989), but it wasn't much of an action film. He did much better as Easy Rawlins in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), though Don Cheadle as Mouse almost stole the film.

Morgan Freeman also started to get great roles in the late 1980s, too many to mention. Danny Glover played Mel Gibson's sidekick, but got some other good roles in Witness (1985), The Color Purple, the Lonesome Dove miniseries (1989), Flight of the Intruder (1989) and Grand Canyon (1991) (outstanding performance).

Lawrence Fishburne had a good role in Apocalypse Now (1979), then in The Cotton Club (1984) and The Color Purple. His best acting has not been in action films, however.

Will Smith is probably the closest to an archtypical black action star right now. Samuel Jackson, who played John Shaft in the remake, is cool enough and black enough. Denzel Washington seems happy to take the money and play romantic leads instead of action heroes.

It wasn't just the Blaxploitation films. Flims like Vanishing Point, Easy Rider and Gone in 60 Seconds were one off films of the era, often conveying the same message...freedom, live and let live and sticking it to the man.

Man, I hate the man!

"Even a big bitch cockroach like you should know... never, but never, fu_ck with the King"