SHAFT IN AFRICA (1973)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: R
Duration: 112 Minutes
Audio: English DTS HD-MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Director: John Guillermin
Cast: Richard Roundtree, Frank Finlay, Neda Arnerić, Vonetta McGee, Frank McRae
Shaft in Africa (1973) is the third film in the original trilogy about bad-ass private investigator John Shaft (Richard Roundtree, Earthquake). Directed by John Guillermin (King Kong) the film removes the titular character from his familiar urban setting, broadening the scope of the series with Shaft headed to Africa to investigate an Africa-to-Europe slavery cartel headed-up by Euro-bag-guy Amafi (Frank Finlay, Lifeforce).
At the start of the film Shaft is beaten, drugged and abducted from his Manhattan apartment by a pair of African strongmen working for African diplomat Emir Ramila (Cy Grant). He's then unwillingly put through a series of grueling trials designed to judge his African-worthiness, including being locked in a room with a sand-covered floor under a series of searing heat-lamps meant to simulate the African desert, and forced to stick-fight a towering opponent in the nude, complete with a peek at Shaft's lil' shaft, which is something I never noticed while watching this on DVD .
Passing the unorthodox trials he is contracted by Ramilia after some convincing to travel to Africa and infiltrate a slavery operation posing as an African man looking for work abroad. Along the way there's neck-snapping, biting and torture by electrocution, plus he manages to romances the diplomats very attractive daughter, who serves as his dialect coach, (Vinetta McGee, Blacula), and beds Amafi's nympho lady friend (Neda Arneric) who serve her boss's sexual desires. She's introduced to us while she's slobbing his bone in the backseat of his luxury car, later being sent to Africa to eliminate Shaft when all else fails. She's instructed to seduce him, record the sexual encounter on audio tape, and then kill him. She's a very sexy lady, and in a very Bond-type way falls victim to a knife meant for Shaft.
I like that the film removes Shaft from the familiar New York City environs, losing his signature leather jacket for a simpler traditional African wardrobe and a nguni fighting stick. The undercover aspect of it and the globetrotting locations certainly give the film a very 007 feel, but we still get plenty of bloody action, resulting in a violent blaxploitation spin on the spy-action thrillers.
Audio/Video: Shaft In Africa (1973) arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Archive with a brand new 2019 2K scan framed in 2.40:1 widescreen, with the 1080p HD image looking sharp and nicely detailed throughout. Though the colors here lean heavily towards brown and beige earth tones occasionally the reds and blues will get a nice pop. The foreign locations looks phenomenal, especially the sun-drenched African landscapes, and you can see the sweat seeping from Shaft's pores like never before, feeling the sun-baked heat radiating right off the screen, this is a very solid looking transfer on Blu-ray.
Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 that is clean and free of distortion. Dialogue is crisp throughout with the Johnny Pate score (Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde) sounding great in the mix. While it's not as good as Isaac Hayes score from the first film it's a bit better than what we got in Shaft's Big Score from director Gordon Parks, plus we get a solid theme song from The Four Tops. Optional English ALL CAPS subtitles are included.
The only extra on the disc is a widescreen HD trailer for the film. The single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the very cool and quite phallic original movie poster artwork, which is also featured on the Blu-ray disc inside.
Shaft In Africa (1973) is a wildly entertaining ending to the trilogy of films, expanding upon the gritty original with globetrotting adventures and spy-thriller action. The film looks great on Blu-ray, and is available as part of a triple-feature Blu-ray release with all three of the original films or single-disc Blu-ray from the Warner Archive, this comes highly recommended for fans of gritty 70's action.
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