Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 23, 1995 TAG: 9510230097
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
According to Richard Herskowitz of the Virginia Festival of American Film, it's different for virtually every title. Take the curious case of "Shaft in Africa,'' for example.
Once the theme of this year's festival - U.S. and Them - had been established, the staff began looking at mainstream Hollywood movies scheduled for release in the fall and winter; titles that would be ready for possible regional premieres in Charlottesville. Last summer, they realized that director Tim Reid's ``Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored'' fit the criteria, and talks with the studio led to Reid's participation in the festival itself.
When Herskowitz saw the film, he realized that its stars - Bernie Casey, Isaac Hayes and Richard Roundtree - represented a veritable who's-who of the famous ``blaxploitation" films of the early 1970s. Could the festival find one of those lively entertainments to screen with ``Once Upon a Time ...''; something to provide a context for Reid's vision of a black community?
A Nexus search turned up a Chicago newspaper interview where Richard Roundtree, star of the ``Shaft'' series, said that he thought his own best performance was in ``Shaft in Africa.'' That's when the pieces started to fall into place.
The third entry in the series, ``Shaft in Africa,'' has been well regarded by critics, though it's not nearly as well known as the first film. More importantly, it fits perfectly with one of the festival's sub-themes, Americans Abroad. To clinch the deal, it was underappreciated in its theatrical release, and it has never been available on videotape.
In short, it's a good film that hasn't found a following, exactly the kind of thing that the Virginia Festival has been designed to promote.
At 10 Friday night, Richard Roundtree will introduce the film and a new audience can have a look at it.
by CNB