The only witness, an Italian-American waitress, is terrified to testify because the suspect, Walter Wade, threatens to kill her. Wade is arrested by Shaft while trying to sneak back into the country, and both Wade and Hernandez wind up in the same jail holding cell. Detective Vasquez knowingly puts herself in danger to save Shaft s life. The waitresses brothers risk death to save their sister. The opening credit sequence features a nude male and female, obviously engaged in sex, but it s shot in a highly stylized way that makes it difficult to tell just what s going on.
Shaft is referred to as a sex machine.
He engages in sexual banter with a bartender using crude euphemisms. Uncle John is seen leaving a restaurant with a beautiful woman on each arm. Women wear scanty underwear and breathing masks as they work in a drug lab. The mildest is a vicious punch in the face. A lot of gun play, with splattering brains and blood.