''Super Fly T.N.T.'' is a 1973 American

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 ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed and starring

Ron O'Neal Ron O'Neal (September 1, 1937 – January 14, 2004) was an American actor, director and screenwriter, who rose to fame in his role as Youngblood Priest, a New York cocaine dealer, in the blaxploitation film '' Super Fly'' (1972) and its seq ...

. O'Neal reprises his role of Youngblood Priest from the 1972 film '' Super Fly''. The film was both a critical and commercial failure according to some critics. The film was released on VHS in 1993, but it has not been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...

. It was shot in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and other locations such as Senegal. A sequel, ''

The Return of Superfly ''The Return of Superfly'' is a 1990 American crime drama film directed by Sig Shore. The film is a sequel to the 1973 film '' Super Fly T.N.T.''. It stars Nathan Purdee as Youngblood Priest (replacing Ron O'Neal from the two previous films) and ...

'', was released in 1990, with

Nathan Purdee Nathan Purdee (born August 6, 1950 in Tampa, Florida) is an American actor, best known for his roles in popular soap operas. __TOC__ Personal life Purdee's father was an officer in the United States Air Force, and the family moved around many tim ...

as Priest.

Plot

Youngblood Priest and Georgia have now relocated to Rome from New York City and now are living in Rome. Priest drops Georgia off and when she goes to the place, she meets a black American man named Jordan who recognizes her from New York City. Priest meanwhile has been feeling bored in Rome, so he plays poker games with Italian businessmen every day to entertain himself. In one of the games, Priest has a run-in with Dr. Lamine Sonko, whose country of Umbria was destroyed by battle tanks and who came here to talk to Priest, however he ignores him. Priest then has a dinner engagement with Georgia, Jordan and his girlfriend, Lisa and after they talk, Jordan starts singing, much to the dismay of Priest. Georgia tells Priest that she wants children and to start a family, but Priest refuses. He then meets Jordan the next morning and they talk about their previous lives in New York City, with Priest mentioning a little bit about him being a drug dealer. After he has a horse riding lesson, Priest meets dr. Sonko, however they’re attacked by an assassin, but dr. Sonko manages to subdue him in time. Priest and the doctor go to Priest’s place, where they talk about Umbria, Priest refuses to help dr. Sonko however and he leaves. Priest then realizes that dr. Sonko was right about Umbria and tells Georgia that he’s going there, which makes her angry. The next morning, Priest arrives in Umbria, and then back in Rome, decides to help dr. Sonko. In one of his casino games, he talks to one of the businessmen, Matty Smith, to help him with the weapons. Matty agrees and the next morning, Priest says goodbye to Georgia and dr. Sonko before he boards the plane. After landing however, he is betrayed by the people and detained by soldiers in the airport, who bring them to their commander and beat him up before keeping him in a jail cell. The commander then calls Dr. Sonko and priest hears from nearby how the poor doctor has to accept defeat from the soldiers. The commander then leaves and one of his henchmen goes to check on Priest, but is electrocuted by him, the other also goes to check, but he is also beaten to death by Priest. Priest then goes out of the place and into some Africans standing in a circle with him in the middle of it. Priest then returns from Umbria, all nice and safe and reunites happily ever after with Georgia again.

Cast

as "Youngblood" Priest *

Roscoe Lee Browne Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American actor and director. He resisted playing stereotypically black roles, instead performing in several productions with New York City's Shakespeare Festival Theater, Leland Hayward ...

Dr. Lamine Sonko *

Sheila Frazier Sheila Elaine Frazier (born November 13, 1948) is an American actress, producer, and model. Frazier is known for her co-starring role as Georgia in the 1972 crime/drama film '' Super Fly''. Frazier later reprised her role in the 1973 sequel, '' ...

as Georgia *

Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series '' Soap'' and its spin-off, '' Benson'', as well as for voi ...

as Jordan Gaines *

Jacques Sernas Jokūbas Bernardas Šernas (30 July 1925 – 3 July 2015), commonly known as Jacques Sernas and sometimes credited as Jack Sernas, was a Lithuanian-born French actor with an international film career. Biography He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, ...

as Matty Smith * William Berger as Lefebre *

Silvio Noto Silvio Noto (25 December 1926 – 24 October 2000) was an Italian TV and radio presenter, actor and voice actor. Born in Bari, graduated in law, Noto became first known as radio-host after the first World War. He became popular as the host of ...

as George, Restaurant Proprietor *

Olga Bisera Bisera Vukotić ( sr-Cyrl, Бисера Вукотић; born 26 May 1944), known professionally as Olga Bisera, is a Yugoslav-born Italian film actress and producer. She was born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She entered the Drama Arts Aca ...

as Lisa *

Federico Boido Federico Boido (8 January 1938 – 7 October 2014), was an Italian film actor who appeared in many horror films, Spaghetti Westerns, and sword and sandal movies. He also acted in the Sadistik photo novels and related his experiences in the fi ...

as Rik, Mercenary * Dominic Barto as Rand * Minister Dem as General * Jeannie McNeil as Riding Instructress * Luigi Orso as Crew Chief *

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

as himself; his band, The Curtis Mayfield Experience, also appears in the film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was done by English/African/Caribbean band

Osibisa Osibisa are a Ghanaian-British Afro-Rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London based Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in ...

and charted at #159 on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

and #41 on R&B albums. It has been re-issued on CD by Red Steel Music with bonus tracks in 1995.

Track listing

All songs arranged, performed and composed by Osibisa.

Musicians

Teddy Osei Teddy Osei (born December 1937) is a musician and saxophone player from Ghana. Osei is best known as the leader of the Afro-pop band Osibisa, founded in 1969. Born in Kumasi, Osei was introduced to musical instruments while still a child. He began ...

, from

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

; - tenor sax, flute, African drums & vocals
Sol Amarfio, from Ghana; - drums
Mac Tontoh, from Ghana; - trumpet, flugel horn, kabasa
Jean Mandengue, from the

French Cameroons French Cameroon or French Cameroons (french: link=no, Cameroun) was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. History Beginnings The area of present-day Cameroon came under German ...

; – bass guitar, percussion, vocals
Gordon Hunte, from Guyana; - lead guitar & vocals
Robert Bailey, from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

; - organ, piano, timbales
Kofi Ayivor, from Ghana; - congas, African drums, percussion, vocals Additional brass arrangements by Mike Gibbs

Release

The film was to be released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

but they dropped the film a month before it was due to be released due to concerns about unfavourable reaction from certain groups, similar to that received by the original. The film premiered in New York City on June 15, 1973, which was boycotted by members of the

Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...

In popular culture

*In the 1994 film ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rha ...

'', Jules Winnfield, portrayed by

Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...

(who acts in ''

''), says to

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (1 ...

Vincent Vega ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames ...

, "Every time my fingers touch brain, I'm Super Fly T.N.T. I'm the Guns of the Navarone."

References

External links

* * * * {{Super Fly 1973 films 1973 crime drama films American crime drama films American gangster films American sequel films Blaxploitation films Films set in Africa Films shot in Rome Films shot in Senegal Paramount Pictures films Works by Alex Haley African-American films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films