Cult film fanatics may find themselves initially stunned by The Mack because it is in many ways the polar opposite of the blaxploitation films it is often lumped in with: the amount of racy and violent content is minimal, the storyline is episodic in nature and the dramatic tone is very heavy and dark from start to finish. It also lacks the polish of films like Shaft and Superfly: the technical quality of the film is frequently raw and the pacing is sometimes inconsistent. However, viewers who can get used to this style will find The Mack to be a rewarding experience because it makes up for what it lacks in polish with a wealth of detail and plenty of raw emotion.

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"The Mack* is a kind of godfather to a future stark frankness about life on the streets. But forget the sociological hooey and dig into the piece as an urban costume picture with a greasy/funky score by R&B genius Willie Hutch."

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When discussing the blaxploitation genre, the topic often turns to the stars — actors such as Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Richard Roundtree, and Jim Brown, all playing larger-than-life characters on either one side of the law or the other. Blaxploitation movies often were action movies, and most offered a chance for these key players to perform in dynamic parts that were denied to black actors until then. Many of these pictures were just redressed versions of Hollywood's 1930s movies, filled with local characters and street smarts (never more clearly denoted than by 1973's Black Caesar named after 1930's *Little Caesar*); they were engaging, but light. And though that may be the most notable characteristic of the genre, a handful of films tried to push the envelope and be more than just that — movies like *Cooley High*, *Cornbread, Earl and Me* and 1973's *The Mack*.

DVDJournal.com

Chris Mulroony

"Henley is supposed to have used the term (an abbreviation of "mackerel") in 
a translation of Villon. The Mack is built on the useful model of Howard 
Hawks' Scarface, and shares with its original a decided originality. Even 
knowing Hawks, there is an element of unpredictability in Campus' film which 
really pays off at the end (a kind of transposition sometimes criticized 
when literary works are involved). 

The first few minutes are enough to cue the alert that this is going to be a 
great film, but certain details in the handling only prepare the mighty 
shocks which follow, such as Goldie (Max Julien) inculcating his girls at 
the planetarium as president, chairman and king of the universe in a 
lifetime contract. The charmers stare at starbanks weaving in and out under 
his control, they repeat his grinning gobbledygook. 

Where the structure really towers is in its forceful ambiguities. By 
controlling minds, Goldie is able to forswear the mack's usual manhandling. 
This eventually leads to the crisis when a rival's girl "chooses" him. 

The mirroring complications of the plot deserve and really require analysis. 
Goldie's brother (Roger E. Mosley) is also involved in "cleaning up the 
streets" after his own fashion. Two Oakland detectives (Don Gordon, William 
C. Watson) have their own game. 

Richard Pryor, an excellent actor, plays Goldie's chum, who in the opening 
jumps a fence and leaves him staring up from an overturned car at the two 
detectives, and later follows him enthusiastically in his rise to 
mackereldom. 

All of the performances are spirited and acute, imbued with underworld 
ambience and well-directed. The unexpected ending gives a psychological 
variant of the Scarface motif which principally bears on the mack's line of 
work."

Combustable Celluloid

"One of the seminal works of blaxploitation is actually a bit softer and 
more thoughtful than it may appear. This is partly thanks to the low-key, 
sleepy-eyed performance by Max Julien as "Goldie," the "mack" of the title. 
Released from prison, Goldie vows to eschew his former 
drug-pushing/drug-taking ways and become the best pimp the Oakland streets 
have ever seen. When he assembles his ladies, he lays down the law to them 
over the loudspeaker at the Planetarium, accompanied by thunder and images 
of planets and stars spinning around. The film is full of odd little 
touches, such as a man attacked by rats in the trunk of a car or battery 
acid injected into the veins of another. But in-between the (white) director 
Michael Campus employs an almost improvisatory approach, it's as if the 
actors weren't even aware the camera was running."

The Digital Bits

"The Mack remains one of the most memorable examples of 70's black cinema. 
Part of its appeal lies in its top-notch cast. Julien anchors the movie but 
there really isn't a bad performance in the film (and how many 
blaxploitation movies can you say that about?). In addition, the dialogue is 
a notch above most low-budget action pictures. The screenplay was apparently 
substantially rewritten by Julien, Pryor and director Michael Campus from 
the original treatment by credited screenwriter Robert J. Poole. These three 
added memorable, realistic dialogue (most of which I wouldn't dare quote in 
this review) and some honest and thoughtful consideration of the role of the 
pimp in the black community. 

But what is most remarkable about The Mack is its authenticity. Apart from 
Julien and Williams, most of the players in the movie are real pimps playing 
themselves. Even if you didn't know that before watching the movie (and I 
certainly didn't), you can't help but feel the documentary-style realism of 
scenes like the Players Ball. This blend of reality and fiction lands The 
Mack in the company of such films as Haskell Wexler's 1969 classic Medium 
Cool. It's an honest and unflinching glimpse of life in Oakland in the early 
70's."