Rating: 
Summary: The brother done speak.....
Review: ...and the honkies done shreik.
This is an independent movie that keeps it real. Not like them cracker movies like Sling Blade and Ulee's Gold.
FIGHT THE POWER, BROTHER MELVIN!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Dont waste your money
Review: A piece of junk. The movie was banned (by an all white jury) and i see why (and i'm black). I think Melvin was full of himself since most of the shots were of him running around town all dressed up in his fly 70's fit. I thought i was going to learn something from this film but instead, what i got was a porno. It was disgusting enough they had a seen that opened up with a very young boy sexin' a grown woman and showing his manhood. I seen a whole lot of manhood in this film (if thats what ya wanna call it..i wasnt impressed). Hopefully the remake will be alot better. This was pure junk.
Rating: 
Summary: No offense and pardon my french........................
Review: but just what the hell was this?
Are you serious?
Groundbreaking?
Ok,
I object!
Now,
far be it from me, to deny Peebles place in cinematic history, but this film is ridiculous. And as long as I maintain AT LEAST two functioning brain cells in my head, I will NEVER, EVER be convinced that this is worthwhile cinema. In my opinion,
this film is only "groundbreaking" (much salt taken here) because it was one of the very first independent films that scored big, in terms of revenues in mainstream cinema. Apart from that oversight (on the part of movie-goers that year), "Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song" is one fine work of absolute nothingness.
There is little, if any, redeeming value in this movie. Social commentary? That's very good, but how the hell can anybody take your commentary seriously if it's littered with such profane images? How can you concentrate on the message? Why would you try to promote a message denouncing social ills through the voice of a sex show stud? I don't know and I don't care.
No offense to anyone, but if anybody promotes this film as anything other than the vulgar creation of a twisted film maker, I would strongly recommend spiritual guidance of any kind (and anyone who doubts Peeble's warped sense of reasoning, check out the director's commentary in the DVD special features).
In my opinion, Peebles was fighting hard to make a name for himself and therefore spared no punches in terms of vulgar shock value; whatever it took to draw crowds and cause controversy. And of course, it helps to pull out the race card.
People, its okay to watch this film and like it. There are different tastes for everyone. However, the fact that somebody likes it (God help us all) does not mean that we all have to bow down and accept that this trash is a marvel of American cinema. Or at least I won't.
FIGHTING THE MAN?
whatever.
I wish some men had stolen this crap and destroyed it before it hit the streets.
Rating:
Summary: Please let's get serious ....
Review: I bought this DVD based on a .... believe it or not .... three star review in USA Today film selections last week. The negative reviews didn't scare me because I have seen campy, thought provoking movies get drubbed before and I had to see for myself. This DVD has hit the high point as to the worst garbage ever put on a DVD. The acting is the pitts, if you can call it acting. Matter of fact th other people watching with me had to keep asking if the hero of the film, played by Melvin Peebles, talked or if he was dumb. To even bring up cinematography and the name of this DVD in the same sentence is ludicrous. The one song track is so badly played it's repeated ad infinitum just in case you didn't get to hate it in the first place. Toward the end of the movie, at least one quarter of the film by the way deals with short shots of a minute or less of Van Peebles running from the man through the brush, the sewer, the street, tunnels, railroad tracks, desert, parks, highways .... you get the picture .... To make matters worse, the best part of the movie was when after wearing the same crushed gold velour jump suit, and dark shirt, for the WHOLE movie during the last five minutes he FINALLY managed to convince a vagrant to change clothes with his .... Finally, to equate this film with any sort of greatness of black society and their creative ability is really doing an injustice ...... please please please just because it's done by and about blacks does NOT make this DVD great ..... I am however giving serous consideration to cancelling my USA subscription!
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant in spots! Questionable in others! Recommended!
Review: I finally got the chance to see this movie in 1985 after Roger Ebert gave this a glowing review calling it a "groundbreaking" film for black filmmakers. Melvin Van Peebles basically captures what life was for Black Americans in the 1970's. The only thing I questioned was the use of a kid in the opening scene (Later identified as his son, Mario). Because of the low budget, I highly doubt that you can find a better print to transfer over to DVD. Take it for what it is. It's still a very good movie.
Rating:
Summary: This is garbage!!
Review: I love Blaxploitation films....but this film is aweful....a sad excuse for soft core porn and child porn....this movie should be avoided at all costs....the DVD quality is horrible....u want to see a good movie?....try "Black Ceaser"...........DO NOT BUY THIS [garbage]!!
Rating:
Summary: I only seen it once and I been trying to see it again.
Review: I only seen it once and I really like to see it again. I hope the scene of him being exploited as the black super hero. Of the ghetto will regain my dignity of being who I am. And thats being an well intelligent black man. Not the actual stereo type they visualize us black men today.
Rating: 
Summary: wha...?
Review: i suppose some circles could consider this classic...i dunno. it was kind of incoherent for me. i guess if i had really immersed myself in the film things would have been better, but...yeah. most of it seems to be nudity, yelling, and running. there's probably some heavy underlying moral that my muddy video quality can't capture. ah well.
Rating:
Summary: More for What It Was, Not What it Is
Review: I've been able to catch up on a lot of "Blaxploitation" films of the 1970's in the past few years but I had never seen SWEET SWEETBACK'S BADASSS SONG. I found a book about the film in the late 70's but, growing up in Ohio (a very white part of Ohio before videos and DVDs), there was no chance that I would ever see it then.
Now, with cable and DVDs, I could finally see it. Like other "breakthrough" films though, it didn't live up to the hype. I think it should be appreciated for what it was and not what it is.
I'm looking forward to seeing Melvin's son Mario's film, BADASS, because everything I've read and seen about SWEETBACK is more interesting than SWEETBACK itself.
SWEETBACK is very cheaply made. The night scenes are nearly impossible to see. Melvin, when he isn't running, looks like he's posing. The sex scenes get to be self-serving after a while (would white bikers of that era really cheer on a black man sexin' one of their women?). Production-wise and, honestly, story-wise, SWEETBACK is closer to the Dolemite films by Rudy Ray Moore than SUPERFLY (which I thought was a great movie).
But SWEETBACK is also bold and passionate and, if it did start the independent Black film movement of the 1970's, worthy of study.
Rating:
Summary: The best independent film of the 70's
Review: If you don't already know about this film you should. It is smart, cool and totally punk rock! Melvin Van Peebles is a hero to me. He is brilliant in everything he attempts-from novel writting(The True American is in the top ten fiction novels of the 20th century) to playwritting(BRER SOUL) to filmmaking(see the french new wave film:Story of a Three Day Pass) to option marketing-he became a millionaire. I am a filmmaker and hope to have as much energy and dynamite in one film that he has in one musical number in SWEET SWEETBACK. Seriously, Melvin, you are my hero and you inspire me greatly-look me up sometime and watch my first feature-it was inspired by you. TO ALL OTHERS-IF THIS IS NOT A GOOD ENOUGH REVIEW THEN GO BACK TO WATCHING MY BIG FAT BORING NON EVENTFUL FLUFF WEDDING.
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