According to Variety, it demonstrated to Hollywood that films which portrayed "militant" Blacks could be highly profitable, leading to the creation of the blaxploitation genre, although critic Roger Ebert did not consider this example of Van Peebles' work to be an exploitation film. Newton celebrated and welcomed the film's revolutionary implications, and Sweetback became required viewing for members of the Black Panther Party. It went on to gross $15.2 million at the box office. Initially, the film was screened in only two theaters in the United States (in Atlanta and Detroit). Van Peebles did not have money for traditional advertising methods, so he released the soundtrack album prior to the film's release in order to generate publicity. ![]() The musical score of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was performed by Earth, Wind & Fire. However, it has left a lasting impression on American cinema. The picture was censored in some markets, and received mixed reviews. The film's fast-paced montages and jump-cuts were unique features in American cinema at the time. He received a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby to complete the project. No studio would finance the film, so Van Peebles funded it himself, shooting it independently over 19 days, performing all of his own stunts and appearing in several sex scenes, some reportedly unsimulated. Van Peebles began to develop the film after being offered a three-picture contract for Columbia Pictures. The film tells the picaresque story of a poor black man fleeing from the white police authorities. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character as a young boy. ![]() ![]() Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a 1971 American blaxploitation film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles.
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