It's hard to believe that a half-century has gone by since the opening of director Gordon Parks' "Shaft" starring newcomer Richard Roundtree. The film's impact on the industry, pop culture and society was felt immediately and ushered in the era of the so-called Blaxploitation movies. Writing on the Digital Bits web site, Michael Coate provides a 4-page tribute to the film that contains some fascinating information and culminates on page 4 with a round table format discussion of the film's legacy with Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer, author Josiah Howard and Chris Utley, who provides the viewpoint of a "Shaft" superfan. Click here to read.