The rating for this movie is too low on here. 5.9? Come on. Also, this Superfly message board is PATHETIC.
We need more posts and a higher rating. This movie is a classic, you guys. Come on. Show some respect here, pay your *beep* dues.
I like Superfly.
shareSuperfly is junk. Poor story, action scenes and acting. The only redeeming factor is Curtis Mayfield's title track.
"No one's gay for Moleman"
I saw Superfly yesterday and I did not like this at all. Everything was bad, the acting, cinematography, directing, theme music. The lead actor clearly wasn't an actor, he sucked haaard, ooooohh he SUCKED, as did everyone else. You don't even see this bad acting from Paul Walker and the likes from the bad acting company of today.
Everything was just so horrendously made, it looked like a bad student project. Stuff that comes to mind is when a guy gets hit by a car, the fighting scenes, the "erotic" scene in the bathtub and pretty much everything else. I just couldnt believe what I was seeing as it had a good vote score here on IMDB, I wanted to turn the sh*it off after 10min. And what was it all about with the 15min photo montage in the middle of the movie with the extremely bad theme tune playing the whole while?
How can anyone like this? Why do you like this? There are so many better movies in the same genre, so WHY?!
Are you serious? You must be outta your mind!! Super Fly is a classic!!! Think about when it was made, what sort of budget they were on, and the amount of dudes that would of been doin' *beep* for free. Just the subject alone would of made them enemies. Dude you need to pull your head out your butt. And how dare you dis' Curtis Mayfield. I'm a white Australian, and can't help but groove to that funky *beep* Square up Tool!!!
shareEXCUSE ME: Ron O'Neal was a classically trained Shakespearian actor who had won numerous theatre awards by the time he did Superfly.
shareSuperfly is definitely a classic of its genre and perhaps beyond. Its sense of desperation and pathos is palpable, and the film is clearly a reflection of the gritty streets and their moral hopelessness. The movie also offers a brutally ironic view of the American Dream, cynical commentary about empty materialism, and a clever defiance of the system based in intellect rather than muscle. What's best about Spuerfly is its surprising objectivity and ambiguity. Yes, Ron O'Neal's mysterious, grave drug dealer is glamorous and seems to have it all (the looks, the hair, the clothes, the style, the car, the cash, the pad, the women), but he really doesn't want that lifestyle because it's ultimately dead-end dangerous and morally bankrupt. As a result, the obvious glamour of this ethos is probed and questioned. One senses that Priest (O'Neal), for all his illicit success, is residing on a precarious perch, physically and psychologically. Most of all, he senses his own despair, which is why he is grimly determined to eventually escape the lifestyle and the streets, even as he continues to profit from the drug dealing. Superfly essentially shows the American Dream, for poor, urban black people at least, to be a bleak amoral vacuum and an entry to the void of death rather than a liberating escape. It's a trap in luxurious disguise, an absence of soul rather than a fulfillment of it. This sense of pathos and the dour, sour seriousness with which it's presented elevates Superfly beyond mere Blaxploitation. The lead character is super-stylish, but there's no joy to him. Rather than a cocaine trip, the film plays like a sobering shower of bittersweet realism. I thoroughly admire Shaft (which is almost a Blaxploitation version of The Maltese Falcon), and its portrayal of iconoclastic black autonomy and labyrinthine urban crime is impressive. However, it doesn't match Superfly for social commentary, cultural poignancy, moral complexity, and human desolation.
sharejoekiddlouischama -- excellent analysis. "Hitneyblau" (whatever the phuc that means) is an idiot. I'm white, 45, and I think this film is the bomb. I like it better than "Shaft" or "Black Caesar." You are right, you get the sense of pathos in the lead, something you don't find in most black films from that era. So -- five years late for this party but I'm in the "10" camp. Great film. In fact, I really don't want to know anyone who doesn't like it. It's like "The Warriors" -- if you can't dig it, go away!
shareEXCUSE ME: Ron O'Neal was a classically trained Shakespearian actor who had won numerous theatre awards by the time he did Superfly.
[deleted]
[deleted]
This movie is a classic.The score alone is fantastic,and the story itself was very plausible,especially in that day and age,and Ron O'Neal is an excellent actor.Just check his performance in Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World".Oh,and it's not "a black thing",I'm a white Scotsman.Who hates "Braveheart".
shareHitneyBlau, you dirty Ape! You are a poor excuse of a man, not worthy looking at artwork like movies. Stick to picture-books, those with large fonts...
share[deleted]
HB who the hell cares about all that tech bs?! this flick is classic so cool baby...Super Fly
The game done changed....Game's the same,just got more fierce..
Hitney said: "There are so many better movies in the same genre, so WHY?!"
So name them. "Superfly" is one of the best crime movies ever made and was instrumental in cementing the "genre" you are talking about in the first place. First time I saw it I didn't think of it too much either. On second viewing it really occured to me that Hollywood can't make stuff like this again. A definite 8/10 for me.
__________________________________________________________________________________
I saw Superfly yesterday and I did not like this at all. Everything was bad, the acting, cinematography, directing, theme music.
________________________________________________________________________________
What?? I know that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I STRONGLY disagree with yours, particularly with respect to the theme music from this movie.
True, outside of Ron O'Neal in the tile role the acting in this movie isn't too keen, but I thought the direction by Gordon Parks Jr. was quite good and the photo montage in the middle of the movie was brilliant (Like father, like son). As for the soundtrack, well, outside of Issac Hayes score for "Shaft," there wasn't any musical movie score anywhere that could have compared to this one. Curtis Mayfield's musical work here was ingenious stuff of legend, and the soundtrack is widely regarded as a classic.
Cinematography and colour not great but enjoyed film. Priest had style!
share@Hitney Blau
Are you serious? This ain't the greatest movie in the world, but c'mon, Ron O'Neal was excellent in the lead (and,BTW, he was an award-winning stage actor at the time, not just some dude off the street.) It was a low-budget '70's movie, they made do with what they had. Plus it was an independent flick, not some glossy,flashy Hollywood film that you're clearly only used to, which is why it looks so downbeat--plus the fact that they actually shot on location in the N.Y. ghetto areas. It's basically more realistic and less glamorous/showing the down and-dirty reality of the street life, which is why I liked it. Also this was one of the key influential films OF the genre, AND it had one of the best damn soundtracks ever made (for the '70's.) Plus it just kicks ass, like some of the best '70's ever flicks did. Look up info on it--'enuff said!
You just have to be a brother to understand superfly. The story was good he had money power and fame and wanted out. In those day if you beat the man you the one. The music is of the best soundtracks made. Maybe it's just a black and you don't understand.
shareI watched Superfly today. Never heard about it until recently, when it came up in a review of American Gangster. Strange thing, I never watch House but I saw it yesterday and I think some 'Superfly' music was playing in the background (I swear I heard 'Superfly' in the music in the last scene of House).
Anyway, I thought the movie was great. Good story, very well done. Of course, production values were mixed but that comes with the territory. I don't think kids get the movie because they want non-stop action and everything spelled out for them.
The one thing I didn't like is that at the end, Priest really seemed to lose. He never had time to make the big score, most of the money he had he used to pay for the contract hit, he doesn't have enough money to escape the life he's in. What's he do now?
Oh yeah, I'm white and middle aged.
Scollnik, regarding the ending, remember that he had bought the 30 keys of coke, dealt it, and had gotten away with his half of the one million by sneaking it out via the suitcase swap with Gloria.
[deleted]
You're right, I gave it a 10.
All of us use the techniques of acting to achieve whatever ends we seek. Marlon Brando
[deleted]
Rollin' with the crowd....10 here!!!!
shareSuperfly is one of the worst films ever made.
Only postivie is Curtis Mayfield's awesome score.
Wendy, I couldn't agree with you more. I'll be honest, alot of white people don't get Superfly. That's just the way it is. I'm not saying all, and of course I don't know what race you are, but I can tell you that this movie has a resonance in the black community that is hard to measure or explain.
This movie is a true classic! But some people just can't see that. It's truly a cultural issue.
[deleted]
[deleted]
Not a cultural issue. If you can understand the time and place in which the film is set, then you should be able to see how well-constructed the film is. It is also cleverly shot, given that the budget was low even for its time.
If you have a moral objection to Priest's actions, well, that's supposed to be a talking point. You have multiple arguments here, from Priest himself to Scatter to Eddie and, of course, Georgia. All get their time to state their case, not something you would expect if this were a more shallow blaxploitation take on the material.
A lot of the harsh criticism for older movies like this tend to show a sad level of ignorance and closed-mindedness on the part of the poster ("Everyone dressed and talked funny. It was stupid and there were no explosions and the women were ugly. 2/10"). Sigh.
All that being said, I still find myself largely agreeing with the IMDB rating of 5.9. I'd go 6/10, but I don't rate everything at the broad ends of the spectrum. A 6 is a fine film, definitely worth seeing, but not something I'd drop everything to watch. A 7-8 is a film I watch over and over, finding something new to enjoy every time. 9-10 are damn near perfect films, which this is not (it IS a bit padded to fill out the running time). I'm okay with 5.9, but the internet is all about 1's and 10's.
[deleted]