THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR — CLASSIC FILM PICK

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This rarely seen classic of blaxploitation cinema is director Ivan Dixon’s 1973 incendiary filmic rendering of Sam Greenlee’s novel about a black former CIA agent who turns the government’s methods against itself while leading a group of “freedom fighters” through the streets of Chicago.

Larry Cook plays soul brother Dan Freeman with all the revolutionary charisma and spark of a man consumed with bringing justice and equality to his people.

This is one badass muthafucka. 

Pulled from cinemas by the FBI weeks after it opened to sell-out crowds, “The Spook Who Sat By The Door” is a blistering document of social revolt that still bristles with a timely, and timeless, impression of righteousness and intelligence.

Ivan Dixon’s guerrilla filmmaking tactics give this film a rare brand of immediacy that rings like the Liberty Bell. "The Spook Who Sat By The Door" is a crucial addition of the blaxploitation cannon. Get your hands on this cinematic hand grenade and watch it twice like a "double-tap kill shot."

Fuck Hollywood; this is the real shit. 

Rated PG. 102 mins.