Sheba, Baby

Starring:Pam Grier, Austin Stoker, D'Urville Martin, Rudy Challenger, Dick Merrifield, Christopher Joy, Charles Kissinger, Charles Broaddus, Maurice Downs, Ernest Cooley, Edward Reece Jr., William Foster Jr., Bobby Cooley, Paul Grayber, Sylvia Jacobson, Leroy Clark Jr., Mike Clifford, Rose Ann Deel, Clayton Rose, Frank Scroi
Director: William Girdler
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Pam Grier combines big guns and fantastic '70s outfits in Sheba, Baby. After roughly 4,000 establishing shots of Chicago in the opening credits, private eye Sheba Shayne (Grier) immediately heads to Louisville, where thugs are leaning on her father's business, trying to get him to sell out. The police, alas, are no help, but never fear--Sheba is the kind of private dick who doesn't shy away from dunking a man's face in toxic chemicals to get the information she needs. She soon finds herself going head-to-head with a crime lord named Pilot, and the butt kicking begins. Sheba, Baby offers giant ties, big guns, and a firefight on speedboats, and yes, of course there's a catfight. Mandatory viewing. --Ali Davis

Description

Super sexy soul sister Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) is hotter than dynamite in a role she fills with fiery determination. Proving she's cool, tough and glamorousa female fantasy Wonder Woman (Los Angeles Times), Grier delivers a riveting, gutsy performance in this hard-hitting thriller that leaps from one death-defying scene to the next. Sheba Shayne is a private eye summoned to her hometown to help her father stop the mob from moving in on his loan business. But she gets too close to the fire, narrowly escaping the blast of a car bomb. Gunning for justice, Sheba vows to take revenge. Packing a .44 Magnum, a machine gun and a couple of surprises that will blow the bad guys away, she leaves a blazing trail of blood in her wake and puts the mob on the defensive until she's duped into an ingenious plot that could flatten her curves forever.

Customer Reviews:

Sheba, Baby.......2007-01-04

Let me start by saying I'm a big Pam Grier fan but this movie was one of her worse efforts. I don't know if it was just the particular disc I have but the sound was awful. I had to turn up the sound to a rediculous volume level just to barely hear it. Typical of "Blaxplotation" films the plot was weak, the violence gratuitous and the villians one dimentional. Our heroine looked good as usual but if you're looking for skin this isn't your film.

I wasn't feeling this one baby........2006-10-18

If I had to describe `Sheba Baby,' the best I can come up with is Pam Grier Light with some really bad mellow drama. I really tried, but this movie just didn't work for me. The action scenes were dull, the acting was surprisingly poor, and some of these characters were TOO stereotypical to even be funny.

This Pam Grier film is incredibly tame. It's nowhere near as violent as some of her earlier films. Gone are the over-the-top images of Pam placing a small revolver or razor blades in her afro. Pilot (D'Urville Martin) and his crew can't hold a candle to some of the real villains Pam faced in her previous movies. It's strictly by-the-numbers and almost has a made-for-TV feel. As for the bad acting, the baddies that Pam faces off with are as unnatural sounding in their delivery as I've seen. As a result, characters like Pilot don't come across as threatening as they should or need to for the movie to work.

That's not to say there aren't moments or elements in `Sheba Baby' that I didn't enjoy it's just that when compared with Pam's other films like `Coffy,' `Foxy Brown,' and even `Friday Foster' that the movie fails. It is not one of her best performances, though. Her "avenging angel" persona has been soften quite a bit, so she is forced to rely mostly on her natural charm. Still, I had fun with this film. A bit of a letdown, but definitively worth watching for the sake of curiosity.

Pam Grier, Forever!.......2005-12-11

This is the first of Pam Grier's efforts that I would not lump wholly in the exploitation category. Sure, there's lots of gunplay and a redundant catfight. That said, the dialogue here avoids the tongue-and-cheek quality that was evident in "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" and the villains here are more realistic and not as cartoonish. The underlying theme here are the underworld elements that threaten legitimate black entrepreneurs. Because the film deals with the threat more seriously the message becomes more potent. Even in this low-budget effort Grier just commands the screen like any of her contemporaries and would give a run for the money for today's top actresses. She was definitely ahead of her time. I can't recall if Halle Berry thanked her in her Oscar speech. She does not appear nude here but she looks so fabulous clothed that your imagination will do somersaults. Timeless entertainment.

Worth it just to see Pam in a wetsuit.......2005-04-28

This may not be Pam Grier's best film, but I give it high marks, because there's a long stretch towards the end of the film where we see her in a sexy blue beavertail wetsuit. She keeps the jacket unzipped about half way through most of it, so you can get a good, alluring view of her chest. Sure, she has a swimsuit on under the wetsuit, but I find that more interesting anyway. Lets one use one's imagination, I say. You can't ask for more than a beautiful woman in a beavertail wetsuit (and if you ARE asking for things like character development, fine acting, etc you're really looking in the wrong place).

Also Bad TandA.......2002-08-31

If you're looking for sexy scenes, and why else would you watch these movies, don't waste your time.

Fox in a Box - Featuring Pam Grier (Sheba, Baby / Foxy Brown / Coffy)

Average customer rating:

fox in a Box-bring back good time
Boppin'n BuSStin' Fox
clumsy filmmaking, but not without their prurient charms
at least the price is right
A trio of fun exploitation flicks from the Queen of the genre

Fox in a Box - Featuring Pam Grier (Sheba, Baby / Foxy Brown / Coffy)
Starring: Pam Grier , Austin Stoker , D'Urville Martin , Rudy Challenger , and Dick Merrifield
Director: William Girdler , and Jack Hill
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Dolemite Collection: Bigger & Badder (7pc) (Ws)

ASIN: B000B5XOTI
Release Date: 2005-12-06

Description

"From Blaxploitation to Hip-Hop" Featurette "Pam Grier: Super Foxy" Featurette

Customer Reviews:

fox in a Box-bring back good time.......2007-03-14

yes! just watching this box set bring back the good old day

Boppin'n BuSStin' Fox.......2007-02-16

Man, this is just alotta fun - got this a coupla wks ago and seen "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" thus far. Obviously, the production team got a good deal more cay'sh fer doin' "Foxy Brown" (made a yr after "Coffy"). I actually preferred the earlier film - seemed like the actors were more focused, less sure of their success. Make no mistake, this is not top-of-the-line film, but it's premium B-Movie stuff, and a real treat (in my opinion) jus' takin' a step back into 1973, '74. Not to mention the Rubenesque charms of Ms Grier (tho' I must admit I think she looks much more attractive some 24 yrs. later in Mr Tarantino's film "Jackie Brown" - like some wines, she improved with age).

I also enjoyed the director's commentary on "Coffy" - interesting to hear Jack Hill describing his trials/tribulations with the studio - they wanted more sex'n violence, he wanted some more character development, more laid back scenes, eg, drivin' through Los Angeles - those are some sweet takes - like drivin' thru my childhood, hulkin' 'Merikin automobiles cruisin' along.

So if yer up for some majorly jigglin' action, clad in some stylin' 1973 attire... get this Fox in your Box...

clumsy filmmaking, but not without their prurient charms.......2007-01-18

Blaxploitation generally makes me uncomfortable, probably because I'm a white guy - blaxploitation is not really made for me. The granddaddy of them all, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (a film I can't help believing is awful even as my white guilt demands I think otherwise), begins with a rather unsubtle pronouncement of purpose: "Dedicated to all the Brothers and Sisters who had enough of the Man." But what if you are the Man?

The genre is also so difficult to critique is because it walks a very precarious tight rope; how much of blaxploitation is exploitation for blacks and how much of it is exploitation of blacks? Sweetback is important, historically-speaking, for having been written, directed, and produced by a black man, making money, and bringing black issues further into the national debate. It's also shoddily-constructed, trades on racial stereotypes (principally those that involve black sexual potency), and opened the door for cynical, money-grabbing garbage even worse than it was, pictures that glorified pimps, drug dealers, beating women, and killing people.

Coffy and Foxy Brown only glorify killing people (as long as you do it in an interesting way, like with the prop of a single-engine airplane or driving your car into their living room), so they're considerably more innocuous than their blaxploitation contemporaries. Between the two, there are some superficial differences in plot (Foxy Brown was actually developed as a sequel to the earlier film), with Coffy being the more subversive (and better) picture, but they are essentially the same movie.

In each, Pam Grier stars as a woman wronged, seeking vengeance on a criminal syndicate she deems responsible for the death/hospitalization of a loved one. Using her wits and shapely form, Grier goes undercover as a prostitute to gain access to the bad guys, ultimately delivering Biblical justice and leaving a trail of bloody bodies behind her.

Once you get past the graphic violence and bare bosoms, they are also peculiarly conservative (not that there is anything intrinsically anti-conservative about violence or bosoms). In marked contrast to films like Super Fly and Dolemite, the pushers and pimps are the villains of the piece, jackals who prey on the black neighborhoods, undermining them from within. There is a strong distrust of government and traditional authority figures, like police officers, politicians, and even civil rights leaders (in Coffy, a black politician uses racial issues to cynically advance his career and line his own pockets); Coffy/Foxy Brown instead advocates personal responsibility, even vigilantism for the betterment of one's life and community. Sexual predators suffer cruel death and literal/figurative castration at Grier's hands - no fancy trial by jury required here.

Coffy/Foxy Brown are not without their prurient charms. Grier's voluptuous assets are on frequent, extrinsic display (more so in Coffy if that's what you're interested in); one doesn't so much leer as marvel at her unique proportions. Action set-pieces are generally entertaining with the villains (such as the hillbillies of Foxy Brown's "ranch") carrying a genuine sense of violent menace.

But let's not get carried away. Quentin Tarantino once called Jack Hill "the greatest living American director," which is a fairly silly thing to say as nothing truly complex is attempted, much less conveyed in any of his pictures. Others have labeled Coffy/Foxy Brown as some form of revolutionary piece of feminism; that kind of praise is likewise misplaced. Lesbians are treated with a dated, reactionary gusto - they are coercive (even rapists) with large thighs and should be avoided (Hill and Grier treated the subject of sapphic love with equal sensitivity in The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage, and Black Mama, White Mama). Even if Pam Grier is capable with a gun, she is still a sex object along with every other woman in both films. Like Russ Meyer, Hill doesn't empower women so much as act out his fantasies about large-chested women who can beat him up. Pam Grier in the cathouse, wrestling with the other whores and tearing off their clothes is hard to call erotic; rather, it possesses the absurd existential dilemma of your grandfather's porn. People masturbated to this?

Interesting footnote: Jack Hill was a USC classmate of Francis Ford Coppola - the two worked together as apprentices under Roger Corman on 1963's The Terror. Shot in only four days, the picture also marked an early screen appearance by Jack Nicholson. Hill admits he thought Jack was a terrible actor at the time.

at least the price is right.......2005-12-01

Well the best part about this set is that you can get Coffy and Foxy Brown cheaper than buying the single DVDs. Sheba Baby isn't that great of a film. It's a shame they didn't include Bucktown which while Pam is a supporting actor (as The Hammer's love interest), it's a great film. Or even complete the Pam on MGM DVDs with Friday Foster. What's wrong with giving the complete Fox in the box?

The bonus DVD is pretty forgettable. It doesn't include Pam talking about her early days. Just modern rappers doing a VH1 bit of jabbering.

But if you're curious about Pam and you want a deal, this box is for you.

A trio of fun exploitation flicks from the Queen of the genre.......2005-11-28

This could be subtitled "Pam in a Jam". These three black exploitation films from the 70's feature Pam Grier in top form and probably provided erotic dreams and inspiration for Quentin Tarrantino. The first of the set "Coffy" features Grier as kind of a superhero without the costume. She's an a nurse during the day time but at night turns puts people into the hospital. When Coffy discovers that her sister has been fed drugs by a local drug pusher, Coffy goes in for revenge only starting with the pusher. Ultimately she plans on going to the top and taking out the guy that heads the drug syndicate himself! Coffy quickly discovers that enemies are interchangeable with friends in this fun and often funny action adventure flick.

"Foxy Brown" was originally conceived as a sequel to "Coffy" but when the director/writer Jack Hill realized he couldn't get the funds for a sequel he rewrote the film changing minor elements of the plot and characters names. Once again Grier stars (she could be playing Coffy instead of Foxy in this film and it wouldn't matter). Foxy (Grier) thinks she's found the man of her dreams when she falls in love with an undercover narcotics cop. When he's murdered she goes out for justice and swears she'll take down the crime syndicate that assassinated him. Foxy goes undercover playing the role of a high priced call girl to find out who was behind the murder of her boyfriend and exact revenge!

"Sheba Baby" features Grier as the title character Sheba Shayne a private eye who runs to aid her father. It seems he's being muscled by the mob and they are trying to take over his loan business. When the mob try and take her out with a car bomb, Sheba is out for mob blood. Packing a colorful array of guns, she takes them out one by one. The mob though has plans of their own for Sheba and she may go down before she finishes exacting her revenge! It doesn't quite hold up as well as "Coffy" or even "Foxy Brown" but it's an enjoyable guilty pleasure.

These three Pam Grier classics have been available from MGM before. These editions appear to be gussied up editions for this boxed set. The print used is extremely clean and while there is grain during some of the dark sequences, it's probably due to the film source itself and not due to the digital transfer. The mono sound track comes across with nice clarity and the music although occasionally a bit compressed sounding has nice presence. Overall, the sound track for all three films sound quite good.

"Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" feature a extremely good informative commentary from director Jack Hill. In "Foxy Brown" Hill discusses how he originally had intended that movie to be sequel to "Coffy" but couldn't get the financing. Hill also discusses his involvement in writing and directing a number of blaxploitation films and some of the issues they ran into in making these action/adventure flicks. There's a bonus disc featuring interviews with rappers, etc. that is tied into VIBE Magazine. It's not bad just not essential. Why additional extras for these fine exploitation flicks was not included is beyond me.

A nice collection which features enough action and Pam Grier to entice fans to buy it, "Fox in a Box" is an inexpensive way to pick up three classic B movies in one package. The commentary tracks are quite a bit of fun providing quite a bit of background on the production of each film. So if you're a fan cozy up with Pam in front of a fire and let her do her thing!

The Big Bird Cage (1972) [Special Edition]

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The Big Bird Cage (1972) [Special Edition]

Manufacturer: new concorde
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0009IT1JO

Product Description

SPECIAL FEATURES: Feature length commentary by Director Jack Hill, Digitally Remastered, Original Trailer, Cast Biographies, Scene Index, Interactive Menus, Preview Attractions

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