Cheap The Mack (New Line Platinum Series) (DVD) (Max Julien, Don Gordon, Richard Pryor) (Michael Campus) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Mack (New Line Platinum Series)

CLASSIC PIMPIN !!!
THIS IS A MUST HAVE CLASSIC FOR ALL BLAXPLOITATION MOVIE LOVERS MAX JULIEN , CAROL SPEED, AND RICHARD PRYOR , AND THE LEGENDARY JUANITA MOORE APPEARS IN THIS MOVIE I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND TO GET THIS IT IS A MUST HAVE DRAMATIC ACTION PACKED FILM TO OWN AND I WOULD RECCOMMEND THIS VIDEO TO ANYONE WHO LIKES BLAXPLOITATION MOVIES AND I WOULD ALSO RECOMMEND THE SOUNDTRACK BECAUSE WILLIE HUTCH DELIVERS WITH HIS TRADEMARK SONG "I CHOOSE YOU", slick, the mack and the other smash hit "Brother's gonna work it out " if you are a Willie Hutch fan I would definitely recommend this album to anyone who enjoys Willie Hutch but this is your classic Pimp movie I enjoyed it very much and I still watch it sometimes !!!!!

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I'm Still Trying To Get Over the Planetarium
This movie is a blaxploitation classic. Its only rival could be considered to be 'Superfly' with Ron O'Neil. In my opinion "The Mack" is more enjoyable. Max Julien became 'Goldie' in 1973 as he stepped into this role.

His desire is simple..."to be the coldest pimp in history! People are gonna be talkin' about Goldie like they were talking about Jesus!" he declares. And he sets out on his quest to do just that. It doesn't necessarily explain how he came to secure all of the women and the money, but we see him throwing money in the air and immediately surrounded by his ghetto fabulous trappings. Soon he is running a business in which he teaches his ladies how to steal, deceive and "always remain a lady". He even goes so far as to run a show at a planetarium to show how necessary it is to control a woman's body and not just her mind.

The dvd includes a documentary into how "The Mack" was made. It shows that it was partially financed by the notorious Ward brothers (real ... and hustlers) who had small roles in the film. It also showed that there is in fact a message to the "Mack" and what its intents and purpose was. It would be easy to dismiss this movie as a 70's black movie about ... women. But it does in fact have a message. You're able to see Goldie's faults. Not everythig turns out right for him once he makes it big. This movie isn't a must see, but it's entertaining all the same.

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"a wad of cash so big your pockets look like they got mumps"
The Mack (1973), probably one of the most referenced movies in the hip hop culture, on appearance has all the qualities of a blaxploitation film, but a closer and thoughtful look might give you a different opinion. Directed by documentarian Michael Campus and starring Max Julien, Richard Pryor, and Carol Speed, The Mack presents a portrait taken in time of a particular lifestyle not many ever get to see.

The movie opens with two men, Goldie (Julien) and Slim (Pryor), involved in a gunfight in a junkyard. Seemingly out numbered, Goldie tells Slim to take off (wouldn't have been my choice as Slim is sporting what appears to be a M16 while Goldie's sporting a handgun). Slim manages to split, while Goldie gets picked up by the police, and subsequently sentenced to five years in a penitentiary. Serving some particular hard time, Goldie gets released, and tries to put the pieces back together. He visits his brother, Olinga, played by Roger E. Mosley (Magnum P.I.), who is involved in trying to educate and empower the community, in a character fashion after Black Panther leader Huey Long. Basically. Goldie is presented with two options; follow his brother in focusing on making a difference through psuedo-political means, or follow the path of the Mack, becoming a flesh peddler, and gaining empowerment through the acquisition of money. Goldie chooses the latter, hooking back up with Slim and taking advice from an older blind man, sort of a Obi Wan Kenobi of the underworld, who shares his knowledge with Goldie on how to deal with women in the Mackin' game, the importance of controlling their minds rather than just their bodies. Goldie soon recruits some ladies of the night, and has to deal with corrupt police detectives, rival players, and various other underworld characters during his meteoric rise (he gets chosen as The Mack of the Year at an annual players ball). As Goldie's popularity, or notoriety, increases, so does the pressures, both internal and external, along with the violence, and begins carrying over into his family, and forces Goldie to decide where it's at...

The Mack certainly does seem to glorify these men who deal in the flesh trade, with their extravagant lifestyles, flashy cars, and great wads of cash, but the glamour is quickly overshadowed by the harsh realities presented as the stories progresses, and just how much one has to give up to be a success in that particular business. There are a lot of laughs to be had here, maybe not intentional, but the film is pretty dated. Between the dialog, stereotypes, and trash-talking criminals, there was an underlying sadness for me in the realness of the disgusting attitudes depicted towards the women, objectified to the point where they weren't even people anymore, merely tools of the trade, a means to obtaining material possessions through the sale of their bodies, and also how many look up to these men, idolizing them, thus perpetuating their activities. Shot on location in Oakland, and featuring actual individuals within the community, the film forgoes the slickness of a Hollywood budget, but gains a real grittiness one wouldn't be able to reproduce on a soundstage. The dialog, a lot of it improvised, and some indistinguishable, only adds to the realistic quality of the film, but also isolates it, in my opinion, within the time period in which it was made. The funniest part had to be when Goldie had his women at a planetarium, using the effects of the simulated stars and a microphone to subliminally enforce his will through their repetition of his player mantras. I did like how the film ended, nicely book ending the beginning, bringing the main character full circle.

Presented here is a very good looking wide screen version of the film, which runs approximately 110 minutes. Special features include an original theatrical trailer, a commentary track featuring star Max Julien, producer Harvey Bernard, director Michael Campus, and actors Richard Anthony Williams, Annazette Chase, Don Gordon, and George Murdok, along with an excellent 38 minute featurette titled Mackin' Ain't Easy, which looks back on the making of the film, detailing all the problems and issues that arose, especially those filming on location within Oakland in the early 70's. To some extent, I found this almost more enjoyable than the movie.

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