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Wonderfully offbeat film!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I can see why this was controversial, and no doubt it would be if it were released now (2013). It's stunningly unlike Gone with the Wind. The style is extreme Southern Gothic, (not to be confused with camp). Some shades of Tennessee Williams but goes beyond where he dared. The dialogue is a bit difficult, and DVD has no English subtitles, but you'll be rewarded if you stick with it. (No need to understand every word). I agree that Tarantino was influenced by it but his approach to the subject matter is very different. Mandingo stands on its own as a major work of the 1970s and it's certainly a film that deserves to be better known. Striking photography and music throughout. This film panders to no one, nor does it simplistically tell the viewer what to think about anything. We have the feeling we're on our own with this. Maybe it's no accident that that feels liberating. Fasten your seat belts and see it.

It's very easy to see why this film wouldn't sit well with some people, black and white alike. Its vision of an ugly, vile, racist South is pretty hard hitting and memorable. It seems there is no depth to which it won't sink. The critics were plenty vocal about their dislike, while in actuality the film became an unlikely box office success. Nowadays it's seen by some as a camp classic, which is understandable given how theatrical it gets. It's essentially a period soap opera that happens to wallow in a lot of trash - there's violence, sex, and nudity, both male and female. It's based on a novel, by Kyle Onstott, and a subsequent play, by Jack Kirkland. The hilariously cast James Mason drawls his way through the role of a bigoted plantation patriarch in 1840s Louisiana, with Perry King playing his son. Among the story threads are the hideous envy that Kings' lowly wife (an over the top Susan George) shows towards the "wench" (Brenda Sykes), whom King is rather sweet on, and Kings' acquisition of a slave (the appropriately cast Ken Norton) whom he hopes will achieve tremendous success as a fighter. It's simply a hoot to see this cast - also including Richard Ward, Lillian Hayman, Roy Poole, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Paul Benedict, and Ben Masters - sink their teeth into this melodramatic material, given unflinching and straightforward filming by Richard Fleischer and shot by Richard H. Kline with an accent on the unglamourous. Maurice Jarres' score is extremely flavourful and adding to the appeal of the soundtrack is the presence of the great Muddy Waters, singing "Born in This Time". The pacing is very unhurried, allowing us to really feel the discomfort of such scenes as slaves being stripped naked and whipped on the behind, or the sight of Mason resting his legs on a young slave boy hoping that the kid will absorb the rheumatism out of his body. One thing is for sure, and that's that "Mandingo" is the kind of experience you don't soon forget. One way or another, it affects you, and if anything it deserves some respect for not whitewashing the attitude of the times, revealing every sordid aspect of slavery and also giving its victimized characters a measure of dignity, and hope, in the face of total domination. The actors certainly play this for all that it's worth; Norton, in the central role, may not possess much in the way of acting chops, but he still has a quietly powerful physical presence. All in all, audiences should find it...interesting, to say the least. Followed a year later by another Onstott adaptation, "Drum". Eight out of 10.

Political Correctness, the fascist-like suppression of Freedom of Speech is everywhere these days, and Hollywood is hopelessly confused about the "slavery issue." Thus we have movies like Walt Disney's wonderful and upbeat "Song of the South" out of sight since 1980 -- a movie not about slavery but about a former slave. Dozens of others also banished such as "Mississippi Gambler" which has a few presumed slaves in the background. Slavery was just fine in Steven Spielberg's super liberal (and false) slave movie. In 2010 the use of the N-word is the worst crime any person can commit, yet here we have "MANDINGO" readily available in VHS or DVD and listed on Netflix."Mandingo" focuses on slavery in Louisiana and the story involves just about everything from inter-racial sex, to slave trading, to intense and torturous discipline -- anything and everything. The dreaded N-word is "liberally" used throughout the movie. What sets this movie apart, besides the A+ production values and excellent story, is how level headed it is in terms of the characters portrayed. Neither masters nor slaves are stereotyped into being all good or all bad. The main character (Perry King) proves himself a decent guy in many ways, but he also does things that make you cringe.Many white people will watch with misplaced "white guilt." How silly! I, for example, never owned and never abused a slave. Did you? But what about black moviegoers? In 1975 I worked in an office in the Treasury Department where 75% of the employees were black females. I remember how anxious they were to see "Mandingo" and 4 of them on my branch arranged in advance for annual leave so they could see it at the 11:00 AM show at Loew's Palace on opening day. With "Mandingo" and with the sequel "Drum" in 1976, they loved these two movies. I think they's have told the PC Police to stuff it, if there were any PC Police in 1975.

If you can imagine Kenneth Williams in the James Mason role and Jim Dale as his son,Liz Fraser as the daughter in law you may get some idea where I'm coming from.The idea that this preposterous trash was ever meant to be anything other than exploitative semi - porn is absolutely ludicrous. The employment of ex - boxer Ken Norton in the title role should give you a clue.He's big and he's black..........er,that's about it really.There were many excellent black actors the producers could have chosen if "Mandingo" was supposed to be a serious exploration of the horrors of slavery,why,in heaven's name pick a man whose only attribute is his size? I remember seeing the book on display at W.H.Smith,a well - muscled bare chested black man on the cover,his arm round a pouting blonde with a strategically torn silk blouse inadequately covering her large breasts....clearly a serious work of scholarship.................. It is fruitless for the makers of this movie to deny its leering voyeuristic racist heart.With the benefit of many years hindsight,they have claimed some absurd post -modern interpretation for their piece of smutty trash.It is - so they say - presenting a "warts and all" picture of life in the South before the Civil War.Yeah,right.There was a place for movies like "Mandingo" in the fly - blown windows of dingy back street shops selling surgical appliances and something for the weekend 30 years ago.There isn't any more,and everybody concerned with making should keep very quiet about it and hope that eventually it will be forgotten.