Mandingo (film)
Encyclopedia
Mandingo is a 1975 film, based on the novel Mandingo by Kyle Onstott
and upon the play based thereon by Jack Kirkland
. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer
and featured James Mason
, Susan George
, Perry King
, Lillian Hayman
, boxer
-turned-actor Ken Norton
, and bodybuilder and pro wrestler-turned-actor Earl Maynard
.
) and his son Hammond (Perry King
), a 'Mandingo
' slave Ganymede, or Mede (Ken Norton
), is trained to fight other slaves. Hammond neglects his wife Blanche (Susan George
), whom he rejects on their wedding night after discovering she was not a virgin. Hammond instead ravishes his slave Ellen (Brenda Sykes
), while Blanche seduces Mede. These various, conflicting affairs all eventually come together causing the film to end tragically.
despised the film and gave it a "zero star" rating. Richard Schickel
of TIME
found the film boring and cliche-ridden.The movie critic Robin Wood
was enthusiatic about the film, calling it “the greatest film about race ever made in Hollywood”. Quentin Tarantino
has cited Mandingo as one of only two instances "in the last twenty years [that] a major studio made a full-on, gigantic, big-budget exploitation movie
", comparing it to Showgirls
.
In Leonard Maltin's annual publication "TV Movies," the film is ranked as a "BOMB" and dismissed with the word "Stinko!"
licensed the film to Legend Films
for its first official DVD release. The DVD was released on June 3, 2008, in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen
version without any extras.
Some prominent critics hailed the release of the DVD, including the New York Times columnist Dave Kehr
.
Kyle Onstott
Kyle Onstott was an American novelist, best-remembered for his best-selling novel Mandingo , which deals with slavery on an Alabama plantation in the 1830s.- References :Contemporary Authors: Biography - Onstott, Kyle...
and upon the play based thereon by Jack Kirkland
Jack Kirkland
Jack Kirkland was an American playwright, producer, director and screenwriter. His greatest success was the play Tobacco Road, adapted from the Erskine Caldwell novel. His other plays included Frankie and Johnnie , Tortilla Flats , Suds in your Eye, Mr...
. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer
Richard Fleischer
-Early life:Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie and animator/producer Max Fleischer. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman series.His live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO...
and featured James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
, Susan George
Susan George (actress)
Susan Melody George is an English film and television actress, and film producer.-Career:She trained at the Stage School, Corona Theatre School and has acted since the age of four, appearing on both television and film...
, Perry King
Perry King
Perry Firestone King is an American television and film actor. King played the role of Cody Allen on the detective series Riptide from 1983 to 1986.-Early life:...
, Lillian Hayman
Lillian Hayman
Lillian Irene Hayman was a Tony Award-winning African American actress and singer.-Career:Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Hayman graduated from Wilberforce University with a BA before she began her career in the Broadway theatre...
, boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
-turned-actor Ken Norton
Ken Norton
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. is a former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for his 12-round victory over a peak Muhammad Ali where he famously broke Ali's jaw, on March 31, 1973, becoming only the second man to defeat Ali as a professional .He and Ali...
, and bodybuilder and pro wrestler-turned-actor Earl Maynard
Earl Maynard
Earl Maynard is a bodybuilder and professional wrestler as well as a film actor, producer and director from Barbados.-Bodybuilding:Maynard won the 1964 Universe - Pro - NABBA bodybuilding competition - part of the Universe Championships, the 1965 Universe - IFBB - now the World Amateur Bodybuilding...
.
Synopsis
On Falconhurst, a run-down plantation owned by the widowed Warren Maxwell (James MasonJames Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
) and his son Hammond (Perry King
Perry King
Perry Firestone King is an American television and film actor. King played the role of Cody Allen on the detective series Riptide from 1983 to 1986.-Early life:...
), a 'Mandingo
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
' slave Ganymede, or Mede (Ken Norton
Ken Norton
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. is a former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for his 12-round victory over a peak Muhammad Ali where he famously broke Ali's jaw, on March 31, 1973, becoming only the second man to defeat Ali as a professional .He and Ali...
), is trained to fight other slaves. Hammond neglects his wife Blanche (Susan George
Susan George (actress)
Susan Melody George is an English film and television actress, and film producer.-Career:She trained at the Stage School, Corona Theatre School and has acted since the age of four, appearing on both television and film...
), whom he rejects on their wedding night after discovering she was not a virgin. Hammond instead ravishes his slave Ellen (Brenda Sykes
Brenda Sykes
Brenda Sykes is an African-American actress who made a number of films and appeared in television series in the 1970s. She was discovered on The Dating Game.- Biographical details :...
), while Blanche seduces Mede. These various, conflicting affairs all eventually come together causing the film to end tragically.
Reception
Upon its release in 1975, critical response was mixed although box office was strong. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
despised the film and gave it a "zero star" rating. Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
of TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
found the film boring and cliche-ridden.The movie critic Robin Wood
Robin Wood (critic)
Robert Paul "Robin" Wood was a Canada-based film critic and educator. He wrote books on Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, Ingmar Bergman, and Arthur Penn and was a member, until 2007, of the editorial collective that publishes the magazine CineACTION!, a film theory collective founded by Wood and...
was enthusiatic about the film, calling it “the greatest film about race ever made in Hollywood”. Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
has cited Mandingo as one of only two instances "in the last twenty years [that] a major studio made a full-on, gigantic, big-budget exploitation movie
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
", comparing it to Showgirls
Showgirls
Showgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
.
In Leonard Maltin's annual publication "TV Movies," the film is ranked as a "BOMB" and dismissed with the word "Stinko!"
DVD release
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
licensed the film to Legend Films
Legend Films
Legend Films, a San Diego-based company, was founded in August 2001. The company specializes in the conversion of feature films, both new release and catalog titles, and commercials from their native 2D format into 3-D film format utilizing proprietary technology and software...
for its first official DVD release. The DVD was released on June 3, 2008, in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen, when applied to DVD manufacture, is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen...
version without any extras.
Some prominent critics hailed the release of the DVD, including the New York Times columnist Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr is an American film critic. A critic at the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Tribune for many years, he writes a weekly column for The New York Times on DVD releases, in addition to contributing occasional pieces on individual films or filmmakers.-Early life and education:Dave Kehr did...
.
External links
- Trailer at Trailers From HellTrailers From HellTrailers From Hell! is a web series featuring trailers from cinema classics ranging from silent comedy to the splatter flicks of the 1980s, with a particular focus on horror and exploitation films. Trailers are accompanied by commentaries from Hollywood screenwriters, producers and directors...