The Mack

Goldie has just come out of prison and returns to Oakland. Rather than going back to his old boss he sets up on his own and quickly becomes the most powerful pimp in the city. As he rises, pressure comes from both sides: two corrupt policemen and the crime organisation he used to work for. His brother, meanwhile, is doing political organising in the neighbourhood and opposes what Goldie does directly. Michael Campus's film is among the best-known productions of the blaxploitation period. The narrative presents Goldie as a hero and keeps questioning that through his family and the political movement in the neighbourhood; the two views clash throughout and neither wins. Max Julien plays Goldie and Richard Pryor plays his friend. It was shot on location in Oakland and became a source long quoted in hip hop culture. Who it's for: Viewers who like 1970s American crime cinema, blaxploitation, and the music of the period. Who it's not for: The place of women in the narrative rests entirely on exploitation and the film does not look at that critically. The production quality is also uneven.