Who’s the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks?

The Rio Theatre’s Friday Late Night Movie series continues on February 2 with a screening of Gordon Parks‘ iconic 1971 urban crime drama SHAFT. Featuring the late, great Richard Roundtree (who passed away in 2023) as the eponymous detective in a performance that launched a

The mob wants Harlem back. But they’re gonna get Shaft. Richard Roundtree stars as New York City private detective John Shaft. He’s cool, tough and won’t back down to anybody. But when the New York Mafia wants to take over the Harlem drug trade, they kidnap local crime lord Bumpy Jonas’ (Moses Gunn) daughter. Now in the middle of a war between mobsters that’s ready to ignite a racial tinderbox, Jonas hires the one man tough enough to get his daughter back–John Shaft. Academy Award for Best Original Song (Isaac Hayes)

“Quintessential blaxploitation that launched a thousand imitators, Gordon Parks’s Shaft is much more than a rollicking crowd-pleaser, as it’s also a snapshot of a bygone era.” (Slant Magazine)

“Forty years of gumshoe noir collided with black power in this 1971 action classic, the most popular of the blaxploitation pictures.” (Chicago Reader)

Friday, February 2
Doors 10:45 pm | Movie 11:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Advance tickets HERE

Late Night Date Night! Bring your best complicated friend, a cat who won’t cop out when there’s danger all about, or maybe even a bad motherf – shut your mouth(!) – and get two-for-one entry HERE (You’re daaaamn right)

SHAFT (Gordon Parks, 1971 / 100 mins / 18A) John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) is the ultimate in suave black detectives. He first finds himself up against Bumpy (Moses Gunn), the leader of the black crime mob, then against black nationals, and finally working with both against the white mafia who are trying to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.

*Minors permitted. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and Rio Theatre passes are OK for any single film screening only. Please redeem at the box office. 
*All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats and time for snacks at concession.
*Online sales end an hour before showtime; unless otherwise noted, tickets are also available for purchase at the box office prior to showtime. Box office is open 30 minutes before showtime.
*To redeem a Rio Theatre gift certificate or Groupon to any regular Rio Theatre screening: Either email us in advance <[email protected]> and give us a “heads up”, or exchange at box office prior to showtime. (We seat 400+ people and our regular screenings are very rarely at capacity – you should not have issues being admitted.)
*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale.