The Mack

All the quotes that youve heard in rap music regarding the pimping lifestyle is from this film. From Too $hort, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Nas, Raekwon, theyve all used snipets of this film.

This is defintely a great movie if you are a fan of the 70s films. Willie Hutch delivers a slammin score and the acting is phenomonal! Richard Pryor does his usual "free-style adlib" acting, while Max Julien plays the lead role. I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

This movie begins with a shootout in Oakland between the police and a group of black men. One of the black men named "Goldie" (Max Julien) is caught and sentenced to 5 years in a penitentiary. When he finally gets released he meets up with a childhood friend name "Lulu" (Carol Speed) who has since become a prostitute and laments to him how difficult her profession is without a pimp. He then makes the decision to accept the challenge and begins to actively recruit attractive women to oversee. One thing leads to another and soon he becomes the top "mack" in all of Oakland. Yet while this obviously translates into increased revenues for him it also attracts other undesirable elements who want a cut as well. So now he has to contend with crooked cops and an organized crime boss in addition to his rivals. Now, rather than reveal any more of the story and risk ruining the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a fairly good "blaxploitation" film which seemed to get better as the movie progressed. Personally, I didn't think Max Julien fit the role that well because of his quiet demeanor but he still put in a decent performance all the same. Certainly worth a watch for those who enjoy films in this genre.

If you want to get an insider's glimpse into the world of pimpin', look no further than "The Mack." Often compared to the other, better known black movies of the 1970's, which tend to focus more on drugs and street justice, "The Mack" incorporates both of those elements, but with a heavy focus on pimpin'. It gives outsiders a glimpse into the life of a pimp through the eyes of 1973's official Pimp of the Year, Goldie ("The Mack" shows that this dubious title is actually given out in an annual event, one similar to the Oscars). Goldie's strengths are his strong pimp hand, which he uses early and often, and the fact that he always gets his percentage on time (as in "woman better have my percentage"). Although his brother (fyi: one of magnum p.i.'s sidekicks)dedicates his life warning people about pimps and drug pushers, Goldie continues his lavish lifestyle, going so far as to bring his women to the annual Pimp Softball and Barbeque Outing (for a pimp, Goldie sure knows how to swing the lumber). But, with a tragic ending, Goldie must examine his life and is forced to make a huge decision.

If you are looking for great acting, a movie where you can hear what the people are saying (everyone speaks really softly), or good music, look elsewhere. Also, although Richard Pryor gets second billing in this movie, he is seen in the movie less than a pimp in daylight.

On the other hand, I think the strengths of this movie are the costumes and the "pimp insight" one can gain. If you want a crash course on what it takes to be a respected pimp (fine clothes, ability to wear sunglasses during all hours, have an unruly afro, kill people using dynamite, play a lot of craps and three card monty), then look no further than "The Mack". However, if that is not your intended goal, look further, look much much further.

'The Mack' is one of the very best blaxploitation movies of the 1970s, and one that has had an enormous influence on both hip hop culture and Quentin Tarantino. Max Julien gives a brilliant performance as Goldie an ex-con who decides that pimping is his best hope for survival and success. Julien had played one of the members of Jack Nicholson's psychedelic combo Mumblin' Jim in Richard Rush's 60s classic 'Psych-Out'. 'The Mack' should have put him up with Fred Williamson and Richard Roundtree as a major black star, but for some reason his career never took off, despite his obvious charisma and co-writing and co-producing the hugely successful 'Cleopatra Jones'. So much so that when Tarantino wanted him to audition for the part of Marcellus Wallace in 'Pulp Fiction' he was unable to even track him down. Too bad as Julien would have been a terrific Wallace and it might have kick started his career. Apart from Julien the movie features Richard Pryor as his crazed best friend Slim, Roger Mosley (who played Leadbelly in Gordon "Shaft" Parks little seen biopic) is Goldie's politically active younger brother Olinga, and Carol Speed ('Abby') plays Lulu, the prostitute who gets him started in the game. But my favourite supporting role is the one by Don Gordon who plays Hank, an evil corrupt cop. Gordon later went on to play another nasty piece of work in Dennis Hopper's 'Out Of The Blue'. He's just terrific in both movies and rarely gets the attention he deserves. 'The Mack' definitely makes my blaxploitation Top Five, along with (no order) 'Superfly', 'Shaft', 'Black Caesar' and 'Coffy'. (Sorry I don't count 'Across 110th Street' as blaxploitation, otherwise I'd list it).

The Mack (1973)

*** (out of 4)

Goldie (Max Julien) gets released from prison after a five year stretch and heads back to the streets where he plans to become the greatest Mack (pimp) out there. His brother is against the idea and wishes he'd do something better for his people but Goldie becomes a pimp and soon has issues with two racist white cops.

The blaxploitation genre was just kicking off when THE MACK was released and it eventually found some new fame when it was used in TRUE ROMANCE. Watching the film today you can't help but rather respect it because it's not really exploitation. Instead of exploitation it really plays out more like an actual drama that tackles various issues that were in the black community. There's no question having a pimp playing your hero is why so many had issues with the genre but THE MACK is a pretty good film.

What I enjoyed the most is the fact that it didn't exploit the situation and instead the movie plays out like a very well-written drama. The Goldie character goes through a lot of changes throughout the film and I thought the character development was rather good. I also thought the supporting players like the pimps, the cops and the brother were also very good. There were a lot of ups and downs for the character but I thought it all played out very well and in a serious way.

Julien obviously steals the film playing the pimp. I thought he gave a very strong performance and one that kept you entertained throughout the somewhat long running time. Richard Pryor was also fun in his supporting role where he once again proved what a good dramatic actor he could be. Both Don Gordon and William Watson are a lot of fun as the racist cops.

THE MACK has some flaws including it running on a bit too long but I think most people will be surprised at how serious the subject matter is handled.