Customer Reviews

Street Fight (aka "Coonskin") [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A fan of Bakshi's work I was ecstatic when I finally found this under its original title of Coonskin after an eight or nine year search. WHOA MOMMA!! Bakshi translates the tales of Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby to Urban Decay USA and lets rip against the greedy, liars, cheats and creeps of society, by combining all the elements from his previous two films into one angry melting pot.

Recycling the live action element, human characters and personal recollections from his second film "Heavy Traffic" and the political, animal character fantasies of his interpretation of "Fritz the Cat", in this Blaxpoitation inspired tale of three friends who attempt to knock the Godfather out of Harlem, Bakshi has created some of the most unbelievable and disturbing animation ever. Bear witness to phony evangalists, pimps, corrupt cops, criminals and revolutionary ideas that flow through the film like some hullucinogenic nightmare. When the film was released in 1975, it was pulled within a week of its release due to vehement protests by the political group CORE against what they perceived to be blatant racism against African-Americans. Certainly most of the blacks in the film are portrayed in an ugly light, but who in this film is not?! Black, White, Italian or Jew no-one comes out of this film untouched and ultimately (at least to me) it did not seem racist to anyone group, just very angry towards the corruption, greed and dishonesty that perpetrates itself at any level of society. Bakshi uses live action on its own (to set up and complete the story) and a mix of live-action and animation in the story itself (live backgrounds with animated characters). While most of the solely live-action bits are pretty weak (despite having the immensely talented Scatman Crothers in them), and some of the animation looks cheap, when the mix is right the film SOARS! This film contains some of the most unbelievable scenes I have ever seen! The aforementioned phony evangilist, a very funny funeral sequence and the absolute highlight of an LSD trip that wrenches out all the bad thoughts and ideas of its victim and gives him a suitable comeuppance.HEAVY HEAVY STUFF. I especially liked the way he introduced the chracters against a Warner Bros animation background.

Despite the somewhat abrupt and confusing ending and the fact that I wished there was more animation than there was, I admire Bakshi very much for having the guts to do this. Powerful, heartfelt, funny, surrealistic, and exceedingly angry and confronting this is not a film for all tastes. However, it is obviously recommended for fans of Bakshi and people with open minds who know that films like this do not get made today and that if they did Barry White would not be starring in them.

Ever Since the ultra- notorious 'X-rated and animated' cult classic 'Fritz The Cat' hit the screens of 1972 , animation auteur Ralph Bakshi , in only four pictures ("Fritz The Cat" , "Heavy Traffic , "Street Fight" and "American Pop")shook up American animation like Fellini shook up live action. The most conterversiol of the foursome was "Coonskin" now retitled "Street Fight" , this film is not only Bakshi's masterpiece but arguably the greatest piece of animation ever created , written and directed by Bakshi the film is a brilliant acid satire of pop culture , this film manages to be super offenive about EVERYTHING , from Disney musicals to buxom blondes , "Street Fight" is a masterpiece , this film needs to be on DVD.

I'll admit this: this is probably one of my favorite animated films. Some think it should have never been made, but I think it is perhaps one of the greatest films to come out of American animation. Bakshi was definately a magician in his day through his early films that gave social satire while still making you laugh some how.

Now, some black people who see this film will most likely be offended. And they have every right to, after all the black people in this movie are portrayed in a bit of a 1930's stereotype portrayel. However, one thing every one can understand is that the stereotyping or demoting of the black population was never the intention in this film. In fact, the film makes fun of racism and the exploitation of black Americans via the government, Hollywood, and society in general. In fact, one thing few people realized was that Bakshi actually went into Harlem with a tape recorder and asked people: "OK, tell me what its like being Black." That explains why much of this film is done through character monologues.

Any way, most of the white people in this film are portrayed as gay, racist, idiots. Should I be offended? Well I'm not. Italian-Americans are REALLY mocked too, and I'm not offended by that either.

In summary, this is Bakshi's greatest film. It was controversial then and still is today, but it still holds true to its ideals and how it views society.

...I must say that the first time I saw this movie I felt sick to my stomach. Being African American I was offended by the characitures of the black characters though Bakshi was sending a message aimed at not only at a black audience but everybody about the hardships of African American life but then which I guess was in the early seventies. In the beginning you Scatman Crothers little catchy song which makes sense if you'd read some Richard Wright in your time. But people who aren't familar with Bakshi's films may immediately take offense especially African Americans but the movie sends a message without being too preachy. Check it out. You may like it.

You know its going to be offensive. But its funny and disturbing at the same time to see an uncle tom tap-dancing and singing about his freedom that miss america will never get the best of him and his pride, and miss america looks him dead in the eye and says "help! rape!", and the guy is immediately hung. Still. Wish I could find the original poster for the movie or some news articles.

Coonskin (AKA - Streetfight) is one of those films that really peels the veneer of sweetness as in Disney's Song of the South right off and kicks all barriers down. Coming off of the success of Fritz and Heavy Traffic, Bakshi recruited some of the hottest black animators to make a true-to-life and gritty portrait of black life in Harlem. What Bakshi serves up is an icicle to brain. The imagery is fantastic - the black "Jesus" (how's my teeth?), the shefiff, the Godfather (oh, so foul, bloated, festering - a very different version than seen in HT) and his sons (what a riot), Miss America, and our heroes. The Voices are great choices for the parts - Charles Gordone as the Preacher Fox, the smooth Barry White as Samson the Bear, Philip Michael Thomas (a good decade before Miami Vice) as Brother Rabbit, and the always enjoyable Scatman Crothers as the Old Man.

Not the best Bakshi film (it feels a little sloppy and rushed at the end - esp. the boxing match) out there but one of the better - far superior to Hey Good Lookin' which was made at the same time but not released till '81. As usual Bakshi captures the feel of the time and anyone that was there can attest to this. Bakshi is a man of magic - he may not be to everyone's taste but he is worth checking out. His films are like none other - and as always Not For Children - this ain't Disney's Uncle Remus telling you a story instead of "Zippity Do Da" you get "Papa needs a new pair of shoes".

Okay, I don't want to hear anymore complaints about racism. I know five black people who loved this movie. My friend Jovan said "It's about time someone understood the hate we had to live through". Okay, that said, when I first saw this movie I was 8 (I know, I know, but seeing a cartoon with an "R" rating grabbed my attention) and did not understand anything that happend. Now I get it. Why the hell did my dad let me sit through that. In short, only watch it if you have an open mind and make sure that your children are at least 500 feet away from the television.

The early works of Ralph Bakshi remain his strongest. It is in the mean streets of New York where his voice resonates. I heard about this film (originally titled "Coonskin") decades ago when Ralph Bakshi was a guest on the Tomorrow show with Tom Snyder. Subsequently I never heard of it since. Then I saw "Wizards" and remembered "This is that 'Coonskin' director!" Shortly thereafter he made "Lord of the Rings", a departure from his asphalt roots. Along with "Heavy Traffic" and "Hey Good Lookin'", "Streetfight" is a brutally honest look at life among folks Disney wouldn't touch with a ten-meter Mouse prod! It's mix of animated characters against live action backgrounds add grittiness to his cartoon satire, giving a crude grafittiesque flavor to a film that aptly covered much of the ground it's taken Spike Lee several films to cover--and this is back when the Spikester was still in junior high! Buy this movie sight unseen, and you'll ask yourself, "Why doesn't Ralph do more work like this?"

Very good movie... anyone who's seen Bakshi films knows his "different" directing and story telling style, which this one holds true to just as Wizards, Heavy Traffic, and any other Bakshi film. The animation in this one, though, I thought was some of his best work ever... many people may site Lord of the Rings, or possibly Wizards or Fire and Ice... but this is rarely rotoscoped and always looks excellent. The character designs are varied and offensive, the motion is incredible. If you thought Bakshi was "cheap" with his animation, this will change your mind. It looks amazing. The combination live action and animation too works better here than most of his other peices, including the scenes that are all cartoon except for live backgrounds or cars. Excellent buy, though not for everyones liking in narrative style and humor. Oh, and its not racist, just in your face race conscious. This is the highlight of the anti-Disney's career.

I have seen this movie a number of times, and every time it keeps me laughing. Some people might not like it because of it's content, (it might be a little too truthful for there taste). I feel this is a true masterpiece! : )