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Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

Play trailer Poster for Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song R 1971 1h 37m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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73% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Sweet Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles) is a black orphan who, having grown up in a brothel, now works there as part of a sex show. When the police need a patsy for a murder in the black community, Sweetback's employer gives him up to two white cops, whom Sweetback ends up killing. Suddenly the target of a massive manhunt, he decides to flee to Mexico. As he makes his way there, he is captured by, and escapes from, both the cops and a chapter of the Hell's Angels.
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Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

Critics Reviews

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Penelope Gilliatt The New Yorker 01/29/2024
Impossible, haughty, not likable, but sometimes rather admirable in its context. Go to Full Review
Gary Arnold Washington Post 01/29/2024
People who believe that all that smoke must indicate one hell of a fiery movie might be rather dismayed by the movie itself. Go to Full Review
Richard Brody The New Yorker 01/31/2022
For all its horror, the film has an exuberant, hedonistic excitement (including a sexual showdown in a Hell's Angels den); Sweetback's spirit of outrage and revolt gives rise to bitter, exasperated ironies. Go to Full Review
Brian Susbielles InSession Film 02/28/2023
Van Peebles' third film was a nuclear bomb. Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand 03/12/2022
The unusual mix of agitprop and exploitation is directed in a jagged style that recalls what Jean-Luc Godard was doing in France and set to a funky score performed by Earth, Wind, and Fire... Go to Full Review
Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 07/06/2021
Farr more overtly political and experimental than anything subsequently bracketed in that ["Blaxploitation"] genre. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Christazia J @RT53130700 May 1 This is another movie I could not watch all the way though. I liked the story line but again, I was very bored and found reasons to click off. See more Aaron G @Aarong16 May 1 "Bucko" is now a permanent part of my vernacular. See more Carlitos .. @RT65213104 Apr 23 Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song was pretty intense and different from most movies I’ve seen. It has a strong message and you can tell it was important for its time, but the pacing felt kinda slow in parts. Some scenes dragged a little, but overall it still kept my attention. Definitely not for everyone, but it stands out See more Leslie A @Les233 Apr 20 The film brought attention to racism and authority but there were some scenes that were very gruesome and disturbing. There was nice music and effects in some parts but overall I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. See more Shanneal M. @RT11059013 Apr 13 it was really hard for me to get into it had to try 3 times. Watching Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song was really different, especially because of the visuals. The film looks raw and almost gritty, with a lot of quick cuts, close-ups, and unusual camera angles that make it feel intense and sometimes chaotic. The lighting is often dark or harsh, which adds to the serious mood. Some scenes feel almost experimental, like they’re more about emotion than telling a clear story. See more valeria S @valeriasalgado Feb 27 It was an interesting movie to say the least. While I do believe Sweetback could have done a different approach I do like what he stood for and I dp like how lot of people from the black community but from different levels of life worked together to protect him. See more Read all reviews
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

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Movie Info

Synopsis Sweet Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles) is a black orphan who, having grown up in a brothel, now works there as part of a sex show. When the police need a patsy for a murder in the black community, Sweetback's employer gives him up to two white cops, whom Sweetback ends up killing. Suddenly the target of a massive manhunt, he decides to flee to Mexico. As he makes his way there, he is captured by, and escapes from, both the cops and a chapter of the Hell's Angels.
Director
Melvin Van Peebles
Producer
Jerry Gross, Melvin Van Peebles
Screenwriter
Melvin Van Peebles
Distributor
Image Entertainment Inc., Direct Cinema Limited, Criterion Collection, New World Pictures
Production Co
Yeah
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 23, 1971, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 17, 2020
Runtime
1h 37m
Sound Mix
Mono