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Sweetback
''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' is a 1971 American blaxploitation film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character as a young boy. The film tells the picaresque story of a poor black man fleeing from the white police authorities. Van Peebles began to develop the film after being offered a three-picture contract for Columbia Pictures. No studio would finance the film, so Van Peebles funded it himself, shooting it independently over 19 days, performing all of his own stunts and appearing in several sex scenes, some reportedly unsimulated. He received a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby to complete the project. The film's fast-paced montages and jump-cuts were unique features in American cinema at the time. The picture was censored in some markets, and received mixed reviews. However, it has left a lasting impression on American cinema. The musical score of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, '' The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' (1967), was based on his own French-language novel ' and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut '' Watermelon Man'', in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker. In 1971, he released his best-known work, creating and starring in the film '' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', considered one of the earliest and best-regarded examples of the blaxploitation genre. He followed this up with the musical, '' Don't Play Us Cheap'', based on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president of the Beverly Hills-Hollywood NAACP branch. He claimed the genre was "proliferating offenses" to the black community in its perpetuation of stereotypical characters often involved in crime. The genre does rank among the first after the race films in the 1940s and 1960s in which black characters and communities are the protagonists and subjects of film and television, rather than sidekicks, antagonists or victims of brutality. The genre's inception coincides with the rethinking of race relations in the 1970s. Blaxploitation films were originally aimed at an urban African-American audience but the genre's audience appeal soon broadened across racial and ethnic lines. Hollywood realized the potential profit of expanding the audiences of bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (soundtrack)
''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' is the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles' 1971 feature film of the same name. The soundtrack was performed by then-unknown Earth, Wind & Fire and released in 1971 on Stax Records. To attract publicity for the film without spending significant money, the soundtrack was released before the movie; it performed well, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. Overview As a soundtrack the album was ranked at No. 32 on Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...'s "MOJO 1000 – The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide". Track listing Side One #"Sweetback Losing His Cherry" (2:45) #"Sweetback Getting It Uptight And Preaching It So Hard The Bourgeois Reggin Angels In Heaven Turn Around" (5:00) #"Come On Feet Do Your Thing" (4:15) #" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide. The band was founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1969, growing out of the Salty Peppers. Prominent members have included Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Robert Brookins, Sonny Emory, Fred Ravel, Ronnie Laws, Sheldon Reynolds and Andrew Woolfolk. The band is known for its kalimba sound, dynamic horn section, energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the contrast between Bailey's falsetto and Maurice's baritone. The band has won 6 Grammys out of 17 nominations and four American Music Awards out of 12 nominations. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame, and Hollywood's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mario Van Peebles
Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in '' New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, whom he portrayed in the 2003 biopic '' Baadasssss!'', which he also co-wrote and directed. Early life and education Mario Van Peebles was born in Mexico City, Mexico, the son of writer, director, actor and musician Melvin Van Peebles and Maria Marx. He travelled often with his parents between Europe and the USA. He majored in economics at Columbia College, the undergraduate division of Columbia University. He was invited to speak as the Class Day Speaker as part of the annual commencement exercises in 2021. Career 1968 to 1971: First roles Van Peebles' first screen appearance was in 1968, in the soap opera '' One Life to Live''. In 1971, he appeared in the film '' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', Melvin Van Peebles d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Maxwell (cinematographer)
Robert Maxwell (sometimes credited as Bob Maxwell) was an American cinematographer known for his work on B movies, pornography, and exploitation films of the 1960s and 1970s. His best-known credits include Melvin Van Peebles' '' Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song'' and ''Don't Play Us Cheap''. Selected filmography * '' Candy Stripers'' (1978) * '' Telefantasy'' (1978) * '' The Only Way to Spy'' (1978) * ''The Zebra Force'' (1976) * '' Mafia Girls'' (1975) * '' Paesano: A Voice in the Night'' (1975) * ''The Centerfold Girls'' (1974) * '' Tower of Love'' (1974) * ''Don't Play Us Cheap'' (1973) * ''The Severed Arm'' (1973) * ''The Candy Snatchers'' (1973) * ''House of Terror'' (1973) * '' Did Baby Shoot Her Sugardaddy?'' (1972) * ''Strangers'' (1972) * '' The Blue Hour'' (1971) * ''Point of Terror'' (1971) * ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' (1971) * ''Wanderlove'' (1970) * '' Up Your Teddy Bear'' (1970) * ''Blood Mania'' (1970) * '' The Bang Bang Gang'' (1970) * '' The Zodiac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exploitation Film
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become historically important, and even gain a cult following. History Exploitation films may feature suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudity, gore, destruction, rebellion, mayhem, and the bizarre. Such films were first seen in their modern form in the early 1920s, but they were popularized in the 60s and 70s with the general relaxing of censorship and cinematic taboos in the U.S. and Europe. An early example, the 1933 film Ecstasy, included nude scenes featuring the Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr. The film proved popular at the box office but caused concern for the American cinema trade association, the MPPDA. Hildegard Esper and Dwain Esper are husband and wife film directors and producers who made some of the most e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinemation Industries
Cinemation Industries was a New York City-based film studio and distributor owned and run by exploitation film producer Jerry Gross. History Gross released ''Girl on a Chain Gang'' (1966) and achieved success with Cinemation's release of sexploitation films such as ''Inga'' and ''Fanny Hill'' (both 1968). Among other films, the company has distributed exploitation films such as ''Shanty Tramp'' (1967), ''Teenage Mother'' (1967), and ''The Cheerleaders'' (1973) as well as two blaxploitation films '' The Black Six'' (1974), and ''The Black Godfather'' (1974). The company, however, also distributed unexpected smash hit independent films like Melvin Van Peebles' ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' (1971) and Ralph Bakshi's ''Fritz the Cat'' (1972). Other films released by the distributor include Peter Fonda's '' Idaho Transfer'' (1973), Freddie Francis' '' Son of Dracula'' (1974), Alain Resnais' '' Stavisky'' (1975), and the film version of ''Oh! Calcutta!'' (1972). It handled the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception in 1988. History Through the 1980s, several prominent filmmakers and industry personalities in the United States, such as Frank Capra and Martin Scorsese, advocated for Congress to enact a film preservation bill in order to avoid commercial modifications (such as pan and scan and editing for TV) of classic films, which they saw as negative. In response to the controversy over the colorization of originally black and white films in the decade specifically, Representatives Robert J. Mrazek and Sidney R. Yates introduced the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, which established the National Film Registry, its purpose, and the criteria for selecting films for preservation. The Act was passed and the NFR's mission was subsequently r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Library Of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages." Congress moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800 after holding sessions for eleven years in the temporary national capitals in New York City and Philadelphia. In both cities, members of the U.S. Congress had access to the sizable colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brass Knuckles
Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal shaped to fit around the knuckles. Despite their name, they are often made from other metals, plastics or carbon fibers. Designed to preserve and concentrate a punch's force by directing it toward a harder and smaller contact area, they result in increased tissue disruption, including an increased likelihood of fracturing the intended target's bones on impact. The extended and rounded palm grip also spreads the counter-force across the attacker's palm, which would otherwise have been absorbed primarily by the attacker's fingers. This reduces the likelihood of damage to the attacker's fingers. It also allows its user to break glass windows without injuring their hands, thus are widely utilized in vehicle theft to bre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
