Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 20, 2018

1971’s “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” is largely credited as the film that inspired the Blaxploitation movement of the 1970s. However, it’s not a particularly exploitive movie itself, with writer/director/star Melvin Van Peebles pulling the material from his gut, working to craft a piece of art that exists in a near surreal haze of edits and angles, also trying to speak to a specifically black audience about the state of individual empowerment. It’s a crazy feature, but one with defined purpose, with Van Peebles endeavoring to rattle the world with his picture, pouring blood, sweat, and tears into the work. The effort shows, even when “Sweet Sweetback” periodically gets lost in its own cinematic loops.

Raised by prostitutes, Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles) is known for his exceptional manhood, but his life is constantly under siege by the white authority. While offered up for a quick sacrifice when local cops require a patsy for a crime, Sweetback recognizes the danger, beating two arresting officers in the process of throttling a member of the Black Panther party. Now on the run from the law, Sweetback tears across California, meeting various people who either offer help or hindrance as he fights his way to Mexico for a fresh start away from the white man.

“Sweet Sweetback” doesn’t play softly, opening with an uneasy sequence (and one that helped the film receive an X rating) where a 10-year-old Sweetback (played by Mario Van Peebles) is deflowered by a bored prostitute, setting him off on an odyssey of adulthood that’s defined by his habitual silence and displays of manliness, giving the gift of orgasms to his conquests. It’s an unsettling way to commence the picture, but Van Peebles isn’t interested in taking it easy on the audience, using such dangerously forward sexuality as a way to announce his creative intentions, which is to make the most provocative endeavor he’s capable of, with sex merely one weapon in his storytelling arsenal.

There’s not much of a narrative for “Sweet Sweetback,” just a series of encounters for the titular character, who’s on the run after beating white cops, literally sprinting his way to Mexico after setting himself up for a lifetime in prison. Rage is in clear view, but Van Peebles embraces oddity, putting the character in charged situations with women and gangs, trying to conjure a nervous energy that either explodes with acts of sexual intercourse or violence. Plotting is thin but energy is palatable for the first hour, with “Sweet Sweetback” welcoming confrontations from all sides, though it saves much of its resentment for Caucasian characters, who are expectedly one-note aggressors in profound fear of an enraged black man who’s nearly impossible to capture.

Helping to sell the mood of “Sweet Sweetback” is wild editing from Van Peebles, who elects to make an art project over a traditional thriller, taking time to assemble surreal set-pieces where the fugitive experiences hostile encounters and dangerous environmental elements. The visual impact of “Sweet Sweetback” is impressive, but there’s a limit to the jazz-inspired filmmaking rhythm. When Van Peebles runs out of things to do with this world, technical achievements are often amplified to cover dramatic gaps. More exhausting is the score by Van Peebles and Earth, Wind & Fire, which locates a cool pocket of funk to support Sweetback’s run, but runs it on a frightfully tight loop, becoming a torture device as the movie nears completion and the same stretch of music is heard for the 100th time.

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There's a note from Vinegar Syndrome that opens the "Sweet Sweetback" viewing experience (included in the last screenshot) that explains some difficulty incurred while putting together the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation. It's nice of the company to inform viewers on what they're about to see, and thankfully, there are no major disruptions to be found here. Already a movie that thrives on chaos, solarization issues are mild at best, with a few evening sequences carrying heavy displays of the issue. The rest of "Sweet Sweetback" is in good hands with Vinegar Syndrome, who carefully bring the feature to HD, pulling out satisfactory detail when possible, giving the rough looking endeavor some needed dimension and clarity. Facial particulars are vivid at times, and locations are open for exploration, capturing the nuances of different environments. Colors are tastefully refreshed, accentuating period hues, with broad primaries generally carrying the greatest power, though greenery is evocative, offering a feel for the outdoors. Skintones are natural. Delineation reaches as far as the original cinematography allows. Source is in adequate shape, but there is roughness with speckling, scratches, and reel changes.

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD MA mix creates a listening event out of a collision of sounds, making sense out of the charged nature of the track. Dialogue exchanges are clear, with easy to track performances. Scoring is capable, finding decent instrumentation and a percussive beat. Silences are preserved as well, creating striking stops in the action. Crowd activity is adequate, without slipping into distortive extremes.

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historian Sergio Mims.

• Booklet (10 pages) contains an essay by Travis Crawford.

• Career Interview (23:24, HD) features Melvin Van Peebles in his home ready to discuss some of the history and legacy of "Sweet Sweetback" and particulars from his other endeavors. The conversation (courtesy of Olumide Productions) starts with artistic origins in Paris, where his first feature, "The Story of a Three-Day Pass," allowed him access to Hollywood, soon creating the 1970 hit, "Watermelon Man." Learning about studio politics during this time, Van Peebles sharpened his scheming in the name of directorial vision, soon setting out to make "Sweet Sweetback" with a small crew and next to no money. Van Peebles answers questions about the movie's influence, especially on the Blaxploitation movement, and his relationship with the Black Panthers, who turned the effort into smash hit when it opened on two screens in March, 1971. Granted, Van Peebles is in his 80s now, and age makes him ramble on a bit, but his mischief and defiance remains. The visit ends with a tour of Van Peebles's art collection.

• Interview (31:58, HD) with Niva Rochelle is a lengthy discussion of the actress's quest to become a major force in Hollywood, eventually finding herself in the role of the prostitute who deflowers 10-year-old Sweetback. Rochelle shares her early Los Angeles experiences, including her introduction to moviemaking in efforts like "Up Tight." She's candid about her dealings with Van Peebles, who was very strict during filming, sharing the mood of the set during the creation of the controversial scene. While Rochelle was rewarded with a misspelling of her name in the "Sweet Sweetback" credits, she seems okay with the picture's legacy, and her part as a major image in marketing efforts. She also details her toil putting together a similar X-rated endeavor, "Tongue," hoping to cash in on industry trends during the 1970s.

• Q&A (36:20, HD) is a video from the 2013 Black Panther Film Festival, which took place at the Maysles Center in Harlem. Van Peebles returns to beguile a small crowd with anecdotes about the "Sweet Sweetback" experience, taking questions from audience.

• "The Real Deal" (22:09, SD) is an undated interview with Van Peebles where he dissects his experience creating, shooting, and living with "Sweet Sweetback." It's a strange featurette, with some time spent following the subject as he wanders around Paris while sharing anecdotes and listing influences, while later on, he recreates the aforementioned deflowering scene with a nude model (who understandably wears a paper bag over her head to protect her identity). At his most eccentric and rascally here, Van Peebles certainly has vivid stories to share about the making of "Sweet Sweetback," including the misplacement of a real gun in a prop box, his battle with gonorrhea after engaging in real sex for the cameras, and the picture's immediate performance at the box office.

• Still Gallery (4:55) is an informative assembly of newspaper ads, reviews, and stories that chart the rise of "Sweet Sweetback," including box office boasting and articles from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:30, SD) is included.

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Now "Sweet Sweetback" is held in high esteem as one of the first shots fired in a cinema revolution to come. Back in 1971, it was dangerous work, with balled-up fists and blunt sexuality, and that vibe is interesting to study, especially as Van Peebles develops it through inventive directorial ideas and a few technical Hail Marys. The picture runs out of steam long before it ends, but the ideas driving the effort remain potent, and it's hard to discount Van Peebles's attempt to start a revolution with his little film about a rebel on the run.