Ivan Dixon's The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973), based on co-screenwriter Sam Greenlee's 1960s novel, merges forces with a handful of other subversive films like Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers / La battaglia di Algeri (1966) and Burn / Queimada (1969), Costa Gavras' Z (1969) and State of Siege / État de Siège (1972), Emile de Antonio's In the Year of the Pig (1969) and David Fincher's 1999 excellent adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's short novel Fight Club: all intense, thoughtful and relevant cultural expressions. As befits subversive films, they are mostly low budget but high in the make-you-think-and respond zone.
With a jazz fusion soundtrack by Herbie Hancock and beautifully controlled performance by Lawrence Cook, The Spook Who Sat by the Door envisions a Chicago-based black (and mostly male) uprising in the top ten urban areas of the USA. Despite an abrupt ending and production values reminiscent of early 1970s TV action series, it's an important film, well-worth seeing.
Today's Rune: Fertility.
1 comment:
Erik, my Grandpa used the word 'spook' back in the day--MUCH to my chagrin! Herbie is so cooooolll!
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