Shaft is a 1971 American blaxploitation film directed by famed photographer, writer and musician Gordon Parks, and starring Richard Roundtree as John Shaft.

Parks became Hollywood’s first major African American director after filming the 1969 adaptation of his autobiographical novel, The Learning Tree (1969), for which he wrote the screenplay and composed the musical score. His photographic feel for settings was evident throughout the film Shaft, and also directed the sequel, Shafts Big Score (1972), The Super Cops (1974) and Leadbelly (1976).

According to Melvin Van Peebles, the originally idea behind the "Shaft" production was a “white” detective story. With the success of Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, the script was scrapped in favor of an adaption of Ernest Tidyman’s 1970 novel Shaft, that focused on a black detective. Tidyman, a white man, was an editor at The New York Times prior to becoming a novelist.

Most notable about the movie is its soundtrack written and performed by songwriter, actor and producer Isaac Hayes. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records. Amongst his hits are soul albums, Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971).

Isaac Hayes won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1972 for Theme from Shaft becoming the third African American after Sidney Poitier and Hattie McDaniel to win an Oscar. He also received a Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album from a Motion Picture, and a second Grammy shared with Johnny Allen for Best Instrumental Arrangement.

Shaft was one of only three profitable movies for MGM in 1971, grossing $13 million on a budget of only $500,000.

Shaft was selected in 2000 for preservation in the United States Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”