ThiefHott Too much of everything

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

philosopherjack Richard Fleischer's Mandingo is a terrifying, thematically labyrinthine portrait of slave-owning America's moral and psychological wretchedness, positing a corruption so deep that generations won't succeed in washing the stain away (and haven't). Reduced to a plot summary or recounting of "high points", the film sounds lurid and exploitative, and has often been dismissed or mocked as such. But in its embrace of melodrama and what's sometimes labeled "scenery-chewing" acting, it digs painfully deep into the sick underpinnings of the culture - one in which the economic model demands that the humanity of the slaves be denied, and yet in which their presence makes that impossible, generating hypocrisy upon perversity. Physicality and sexuality lies at the centre of the madness of course - the absence of imprisoning formal structures makes their relationships with black women more satisfying to the white men than those with their wives, to a degree that's all but formally admitted and embedded in the culture, with the consequent flow of children being regarded as so much by-product; in contrast of course, the prospect of male black sexuality crossing the colour line is the ultimate horror (and a white woman who invited this would merely be sacrificing her right to go on living). But at the same time, the film takes us deep into how the white males project their own physical inadequacies onto their prize "inventory" - a prizefighting scene goes on virtually in agonizing real time, forcing us to confront the depth of the investment in blood and brutality and enforced submission. Indeed, the whole film is unnervingly direct and visceral, seeped in its time and place, even as the viewer inevitably looks for broader parallels or redemptions. But the only organized revolt depicted here is rapidly extinguished, and the ending suggests no immediate prospect of sustained resistance or relief, only of continuing madness in shifting configurations.

Coventry To be (a nasty, mean-spirited exploitation flick) or not to be (a nasty, mean-spirited exploitation flick): that is the question! "Mandingo" is pretty much a mystery of cinema on its own. Did the prominent Hollywood crew, with names like Richard Fleischer, Norman Wexler and Maurice Jarre, intend to produce a trashy & sleazy picture … or was it really their intention to bring a harsh yet realistic portrait of the slavery business in Southern America around the year 1840? Either way it was meant, "Mandingo" is a truly impressive and unforgettable film that totally represents the 70's decade! Wexler's screenplay – adapted from a novel by Kyle Onstott – is definitely not meant for squeamish or easily offended people, as it is an honest depiction of how awful and disrespectful the wealthy white "masters" treated their black servants AND considered their behavior to the most normal and common thing in the world. The movie revolves on the plantation-owning Maxwell family, Warren and his son Hammond, and their main occupation is the "breeding" of slaves. Hammond hits the jackpot when he buys a pure Mandingo on the market. This is a physically strong black male he uses for reproducing and trains to become a bare-knuckle fighting champion. Meanwhile, father Warren insists on having a son of his own with the distantly related Blanche, but Hammond is far more sexually aroused by his collection of black "wenches". "Mandingo" is a very powerful film, despite the large amount of exploitative sex and violence, and Richard Fleischer's like-it-or-not narrative style is ultimately confronting! Particularly the harrowing yet accurate little details will have a severe impact on you. For example, the sight of rich white bastards resting their legs on black children or the endless images of obedient slaves being exhibited on markets and getting inspected like ordinary farm animals. Much rather than a sick exploitation film, I think this is a truly insightful and fundamental portrait of one of mankind darkest history pages. Naturally, this film got boycotted due to its explicit content and I can easily understand why most film-committees chose to ignore a production that deals with topics like racism & sadistic rape, but it's a great film that needs to be seen by wider audiences. Just to prove that it's more intelligent than the majority of 70's exploitation films, there's the compelling sub plot of a courageous slave (Cicero) who tries to mobilize his companions in misfortune to revolt against their masters. Richard Fleischer, one of the most underrated filmmakers ever, assures a tight directing and most of the players deliver excellent performances, which isn't so obvious seeing the insane lines they sometimes had to say. The n-word dominates pretty much every dialog and everyone talks with a heavy Southern accent. Ken Norton (as the Mandingo) isn't much of an acting talent, but physically speaking he's definitely the right man for the job. What a handsome fella, he is! The music, cinematography and use of rural filming locations are all splendid as well. In conclusion, "Mandingo" is a fabulously curious 70's highlight and recommend to open-minded lovers of cinema.* Note: this comment got deleted once after a complaint raised by another user. Can somebody please tell me what's so offensive about this write-up??

Woodyanders Loved by some, hated by many, this searing antebellum Southern Gothic melodrama about the inherent barbarism and inhumanity of slavery in the deep South circa 1840 reigns supreme as one of the single most startling and unflinching sleazoid epics to ever ooze its way onto celluloid. The fact that established director Richard Fleischer and respectable actor James Mason joined forces with major studio Paramount to produce such a raw, harsh and gritty expose on the slave trade is amazing in and of itself. Granted, this picture certainly isn't pretty or pleasant by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly lives up to its notorious reputation and delivers a potent lingering sucker punch right to the gut.Cruel Warren Maxwell (marvelously essayed with deliciously nasty brio by Mason) runs his plantation with a proverbial iron fist. His handsome and more compassionate son Hammond (a fine Perry King) gets married to spoiled belle Blanche (a gloriously histrionic Susan George mangling a Southern accent), but falls for tender slave girl Ellen (an affecting performance by Brenda Sykes). Moreover, Hammond buys beefy stud Mede (brawny heavyweight boxer Ken Norton) and trains him to become an unbeatable champion fighter. Meanwhile, the neglected Blanche has a extramarital fling with Mede. Director Fleischer and screenwriter Norman Wexler take the stereotypical romanticized vision of the Old South and completely turn it on its ear by relating the sordid narrative in an unsparingly lurid and sensational manner: Incest, torture, sex, degradation, beatings, miscegenation, nudity (even King goes full frontal!), infidelity, and murder are all served up hot and graphic in this fascinatingly warped and depraved cinematic brew. Even the most hardened aficionado of in-your-face base and trashy exploitation fare should be pleased by such savage highlights as a little boy being used as a foot stool, a pregnant woman having a miscarriage after she's sent flying down a steep flight of stairs, a ferocious no-holds-barred fighting match, and Mede being boiled alive in a huge pot of hot water by an enraged Hammond. The cast really sink their teeth their juicy roles, with stand-out supporting work from Richard Ward as cowed house servant Agamemnon, Lillian Hayman as cheery maid Lucretia Borgia, Ji-Tu Cumbuka as angry, defiant slave Cicero, Ben Masters as Blanche's evil heel brother Charles, Roy Poole as the cold Doc Redfield, and Paul Benedict as slimy slave trader Brownlee. Cinematographer Richard H. Kline gives the movie a properly rough and grainy look while Maurice Jarre's neatly varied and melodic score likewise does the trick. Muddy Waters sings the excellent bluesy theme song "Born in This Time." A true landmark of big budget grindhouse cinema at its most unapologetically seamy and twisted.

ianlouisiana If you can imagine Kenneth Williams in the James Mason role and Jim Dale as his son,Liz Fraser as the daughter in law you may get some idea where I'm coming from.The idea that this preposterous trash was ever meant to be anything other than exploitative semi - porn is absolutely ludicrous. The employment of ex - boxer Ken Norton in the title role should give you a clue.He's big and he's black..........er,that's about it really.There were many excellent black actors the producers could have chosen if "Mandingo" was supposed to be a serious exploration of the horrors of slavery,why,in heaven's name pick a man whose only attribute is his size? I remember seeing the book on display at W.H.Smith,a well - muscled bare chested black man on the cover,his arm round a pouting blonde with a strategically torn silk blouse inadequately covering her large breasts....clearly a serious work of scholarship.................. It is fruitless for the makers of this movie to deny its leering voyeuristic racist heart.With the benefit of many years hindsight,they have claimed some absurd post -modern interpretation for their piece of smutty trash.It is - so they say - presenting a "warts and all" picture of life in the South before the Civil War.Yeah,right.There was a place for movies like "Mandingo" in the fly - blown windows of dingy back street shops selling surgical appliances and something for the weekend 30 years ago.There isn't any more,and everybody concerned with making should keep very quiet about it and hope that eventually it will be forgotten.