Reviews (37)

An Interesting Movie to Watch
I rather liked this movie. Despite some animation/real life scenes where both sides mixed and just didn't fit, it is a good movie to watch. I think it is equal, if not better than Roger Rabbit. Cool World is a twisted, Toon Town where chaos happens all around and an eyelid is never battered. A good escape from reality.
The animation is fantastic, and Brad Pitt does very well considering he was acting on his own most of the time.
Kim Basinger spoils the climax with her poor acting as a human. She's better left as a cartoon.
The music is fantastic and suits the scenes well. Cool World is in a category of its own and a much different movie to watch then most would expect.

5 stars for the animation and sound track. Minus a star for allowing Kim Basinger a role in the movie.

Bakshi makes another liveactionanimation film, of vapidness
I've seen his live-action/animation film "Coonskin", and that was great. Now that I saw "Cool World", I'm dissapointed. This film is the worst 4/10 film I ever rated. I don't call it a Roger Rabbit rip-off (I'm wondering why people are, but it's not, just because it is also live-action and animated doesn't mean we call it a rip-off [did we call Roger Rabbit a rip-off of Coonskin or other live-action/animated films before RR...hmmm!!??]) The artwork is nice and bizzare, but that is one of the few merits this film has, but the animation bleeds together horribly with the live-action (for example, when Brad Pitt put his arm around Lonnete, he looked as though he put his arm around a living card-board cut-out.) The soundtrack has a 4/5 merit, but that's the only other merit. The plot is horrible, I dunno why certain people actually like this plot. This film deserved to flop in the Box-Office. The dialoge is fairly weak as well. If you are going to buy this film, DON'T. Don't even rent it! Just buy the soundtrack and you'll live happily ever after away from this film.

Bakshi's worst movie
The movie is poorly written not to mention the lame special effects. Its a completly souless film. If you liked Fritz the Cat,Wizards,American Pop, or other films by Ralph Bakshi, than stay away from this, because its embarassing.

ADULT ANIMATION, NOT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
The dvd has Great Quality Sound and Video with lots of vivid colors and many sexual inuendos. There is a Great story line as long as you can follow a plot that suggests that there is more to life than just living on "earth" such as going back and forth to alternate universes. If you have seen and liked "MEET THE FEEBLES" You'll like this one too - this one does not have any bloody scenes or explicit sexual scenes, much is left up to the imagination. I think that Many people need to Learn to use their imagination more and not be so closed-minded.

Holly Wood If She Could
Cool World is a more mainstream effort from Ralph Bakshi (Lord of the Rings, Wizards, American Pop) than some of his other works but it still shows his genius.

There exists a two-dimensional world called Cool World. Sometimes our worlds overlap. In Cool World, humans are Noids and cartoons are Doodles. Brad Pitt is a Noid who has been stuck there for years and has been acting as a detective.

The villain (if you want to call her that) is Holli Would, a sexy, talented and smart doodle who wants to get to the Noid world. She plans to do this by having sex with a cartoonist who thinks he created Cool World for a comic book.

Pitt works to prevent this from happening as the results could cause the destruction of both worlds. But Pitt has his hands full as Holli is no mere brainless bimbo.

The effects are wonderful as cartoon scenery goes from drawing to prop seamlessly. While Cool World looks a little like Toon Town (Roger Rabbit) with its faces on buildings and twisted landscape, but these are not cute toons (although the Tex Avery-style wolves do make an appearance).

A fun movie with adult themes and unique imagery. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Nominally,Allegro Non Troppo is an Italian spoof of Disney's classic Fantasia, and with its commentary on the human condition and its consequences, the film goes in thematic directions Disney would never have touched.Interspersed with the animation are black-and-white segments that involve a dictatorial conductor, a mousy animator, an orchestra full of old ladies, and a blowhard director.The animator is Italian comic Maurizio Nichetti, and the style is broad slapstick humor that stands in sharp contrast to the animated parts.Synced to Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a vignette involving a satyr and his efforts to attract nymphs while fighting the effects of age, set perfectly to the mood of the piece. "Valse Triste" is set to the story of an abandoned cat as he wanders a derelict (war-torn?) building and remembers how things were when he had a more comfortable life.An incredibly imaginative segment is set to Ravel's "Bolero"; astronauts drop a Coke bottle on a planet and the story of evolution is traced, beginning in the bottle.A piece set to Stravinsky's The Firebird begs the question: what if it were a perfect world and Adam and Eve had resisted the temptation of the apple in the Garden of Eden? The style of the animation calls to mind late-'60s pop-art icon Peter Max, Yellow Submarine, and even the paintings of Bosch; what Allegro Non Troppo lacks in the visual detail of the Disney film, it makes up forin inventiveness, emotional depth, and wit. Be advised, though, that manysegments are more adult in theme and not very suitable for kids.The pratfalls and gags of the live-action interludes seem out of place until they provide some relief from the pathos of some of the animation (like "Valse Triste," a real tear-jerker). This is an important animated film that has been somewhat neglected after its popularity in the '70s, and a must-see for animation fans.--Jerry Renshaw ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Finally,..to be released on DVD
I have the laserdisc of Allegro Non Troppo, and it's good to see that it's finally going to be released on DVD. As most readers of this already know, ANT is Bruno Bozzetto's Fantasia-styled movie. ANT has a beautiful sense of humor that no Disney animated movie has had. Some of the animation in some of the scenes is "primitive" compared to Fantasia, but the simple animation works very well with the humorous scenes. My favorite animated scenes? Slavonic Dance and the Finale. Very funny stuff (and very simply drawn, too.) This is a great movie and I hope it gets proper treatment for DVD. One thing that appears to be missing from the DVD is the English-dubbed track for the live-action scenes between the animated scenes. It will be nice to hear the original Italian dialog, but I will not be able to understand it and have to rely on the subtitles. It's sad that the English dubbing has not been included. (Why hasn't it been included?) Especially in comedies like ANT, dubbing into other languages can be used for comedic effect. (An extreme example of this is What's Up, Tiger Lily?) For this reason, I'm giving 4 stars for the DVD. Despite the lack of the English track, I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD's release...but I will still hang on to my laserdisc.

Brilliant animation, pretty good satire
It's okay to like Fantasia and Allegro non troppo too. But they're not the same, which makes the satire of Disney so funny, especially after 20 years of massive Disney expansionism.

Animating music, which is inherently abstract, is always a risk. However, if you aren't too worried about everything being pretty (like in Fantasia), this film will work for you. How can you tell? If you're still dry-eyed after watching the Sibelius Walse triste sequence, there's something wrong with you.

Highly Entertaining
I'd seen this in college (about 1979?) as required for a music course. There were no Italian translations, and I mostly found it confusing. The DVD release has subtitles, and is most enjoyable. I especially found the "Best of" additional short works funny and mildly political (love/peace/green earth hippie ideals of the 1960's and 1970's). There's enough sexual content and mild nudity that I'd would suggest not for younger than 10 year olds.

Superb!
This really is a wonder to behold. The animation is breath taking and the stories are straight from the heart. Much better than Fantasia. Also, the bonus footage on the DVD is wonderful. Buy this DVD!

Video for Music Class
Allegro Non Troppo is the best animated feature I have ever seen. All the humor and pathos of music are creatively expressed in each segment. I saw this feature in college and have never forgotten it. My favorite part is the "Sad Waltz" (Valse Triste) by Sibelius. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! I will be using parts of the movie in my music classes. The kids need something new and fresh. ... Read more

Description

Animated feature centered upon street gangs in 1950's Brooklyn. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

One of Bakshi's best!
Having first seen "Hey Good Lookin'" at the movies in 1982, the year I was seventeen, I have always considered this a film that connects me directly to my past. I was involved with my first "real" girlfriend at the time, and this is one of the first films that we saw together. That aside, having seen this movie countless times since then I have been struck by it's completeness, and excellence as a film. Bakshi's only film to featured a completely original, and brilliant, yet unreleased, musical soundtrack by Ric Sandler, "Hey Good Lookin'" gives a good look into what it meant to be a guy growing up in 1950's Brooklyn and the role you needed to play in order to get respect, get along with your friends, and what was necessary to get the girl. From the leather motorcycle jackets, the slicked back DA's and the rumbles, Ralph Bakshi gives us a window into which we might look into a past where male / female roles were clearly defined, and a man could still be a man. Oh yeah... and the animation is PHENOMENAL as well. This is one of Bakshi's best!

Hey Don't Buy It!
Now, I liked this movie. I watched it religiously while I was in college and really it's not that good in the vein of Bakshi films though it's better than Street Fight which actually made me nauseated but besides the novelty of cussing, perverted toons it's not that spectacular of a film. Me and my college buddies would go around campus quoting the characters from movie like Vinny, Crazy Shapiro and that lady that moons this black dude from the passenger seat window of her boyfriends car. Get this movie if you're into collecting wierd cinema. Otherwise stay far away from it.

Bakshi's worse
This is the worst Bakshi film next to Cool World. The premise is good idea of 50's greaser gangs but it fails to capture the raw black humor of Fritz The Cat and the bleak urban settings of Heavy Traffic. This one is just boring and stupid , and not very interesting. It does however have some good qualities ..the animation and imagry is alot better mostly because it wasn't rotoscoped but other than that it's not that great....

It's no "Happy Days"
Did you like "Happy Days?" It centered around the 50's, like Bakshi's, "Hey Good Looking." Although Bakshi's movie is in the same time period as "Happy Days", you won't find The Fonz or Ralph Mouth here. What you will find is side splitting laughter, especially in the first half of the film. Greasers hanging out on the corner with their girlfriends making out, while one girl crys out, "is it in yet?" Or when their at a party, and a fellow drunk greaser farts and holds a lighter to his butt, making the flame spread across the room. A standout is this trippy type image throughout the film, (especially the beach scene). When th background characters seem to move in slow motion. Not like Bakshi's earlier work, like "Lord of The Rings" or "Heavy Traffic" where some parts were traced from live action, and live actors. This is a full animated film that brings back the good old days. Certainly worth a look for animation fans. A must see for Bakshi fans. Not the best of Bakshi's film's, but you will enjoy yourself.

Lookin good for a long time
This is one of the best movies that,"Bakshi"has done. It's cool how they view the 50's in this movie,we need more "good lookin" movies like this. ... Read more

Description

All the magical adventure of J.R.R. Tolkien's thrilling Lord of the Rings trilogy comes to life in this brilliantly animated tale of the enchanted land of Middle Earth - and the brave band of hobbits, heroes and wizards who set out to save it! ... Read more

Reviews (306)

Ok in the beginning....bomb at the end....
Ok, I give this 3 stars, just for dignity, otherwise, I would of given it two. This video made my sister and I laugh at first, the beginning is with actors behind this red sheet! Or thats what it looked like. The animation was very well detailed, but I was confused at times when at Bree or at fights with Orcs and warriors, there were real people!! It just kind of ruined it. And SAM!! That has NO excuse to be soooo horrible!! Sam is my favorite and they make him this extremely fat, space-toothed loser with a Goofy voice! I was just about to turn it off when he got on! The songs were...ok, not that bad. The Ringwraiths reminded me of demented grandmas sniffing like bloodhounds, and whats with the Saruman being called Aruman or whatever?
I think I actually kept watching this film because of Frodo, and to see what the characters and story plot would look and be like. Frodo I though was pretty adorible, especially when he sees Gandalf after 17 years (look for that). Bilbo and the party was good...Merry and Pippin were cute, and Aragorn? Is he Navajo? Anyways, Legolas, ehhh...Orlando Bloom is definately better! ;) But the plot at the end was lame, and slow and boring, and actaully very blunt at the end. Please, only see this film if you just want to appectiate how wonderful Peter Jackson's film trilogy is.
Last Summary: Animation: 3 out of 5
Arrangment of Plot: 2 1/2 out of 5
Pace of Film: Well paced at first, then after that I was fast forwarding....especially the battle parts...zzzzz
All together: Barely a 3.

Talk About the Soundtrack, NOT the Movie
All of the reviews I read on the page about the Soundtrack reviewed the MOVIE, instead! At least, the ones I bothered to read.
Concerning the SOUNDTRACK, Rosenman's score compares VERY favorably to Howard Shore's scores for Peter Jackson's films. I actually prefer Rosenman's score over Shore's for one simple reason ... there are tracks on THIS soundtrack that I can hum along with. They're MEMORABLE, compared to Shore's.
Now, don't get me wrong ... I LIKE Shore's three soundtracks ... just not as much as I like Rosenman's. It's just that there are few tracks on all three of Shore's works that I think to myself, "You know, I'd really like to hear such-and-such track (May It Be, Gollum's Song, and Into The West being notable exceptions)." Very few of the tracks evoke a memory or an emotional response from me, by which I gauge an exceptional soundtrack. Rosenman's soundtrack DOES!
Best Tracks being: Mines of Moria, The Battle In The Mines: The Balrog, Riders of Rohan, Helm's Deep, Dawn Battle; Theoden's Victory, and Mithrandir.
Shore's LotR Soundtracks would get 4 stars each. Rosenman's, 5 stars.
Just my take on the matter. I hope it helps.

Good Story, Bad Art
This movie would've been fabulous, but the art and animation were terrible. Combinig rotoscope with cel animation was a bad descision: The Nazgul, orcs, and Balrog looked very out of place with the animated backgrounds and Fellowship. Also the character designs were dissapointing: Saruman had vibrant red robes! Also, the beginning looked very fake: the shadow-behind-the-red-curtain looked cramped and poorly done. The story, however was very good: It stayed true to the book, save for some character parts, namely Legolas repalcing Glorfindel. If this movie were made nowadays, though, PJ's LOTR trilogy might've been smoked. This movie would've been good with decent special effects.

Sloppy, awkward and without depth or detail
Even without the comparisons to the extraordinary Peter Jackson-directed epics this 1978 animated adaptation of Tolkien's LOTR book trilogy falls completely flat on it's face.

The animation is absolutely ridiculous even when taking into account that it was made in 1978 and that technology was extremely primitive back in those days but even then, the animation is absolutely atrocious. Even worse are how the characters look. The Hobbits in here made me burst with excruciating laughter because they looked more like giant oranges with chipmunk teeth. Gandalf and his nemesis Saruman both looked like scrapped Santa Claus cartoon shots and what's up with renaming Saruman, Auruman? Was it to avoid the confusion with the name Sauron? Beats me. Boromir looks like some crazed viking drunk than an actual warrior.

So much else completel fails on this animated movie. I really love the books so much because of their rich detail, incredible characters, and imaginative scope of the various languages, races of beings, and much, much more but none of the greatness of the books is present on this animated movie and everything that is great about the books gets badly soiled and reduced to complete dust.

Ralph Bakshi really drops the ball on this one and his directing is really sloppy and the movie is literrally cut off at the end where it starts with Bilbo's 111th birthday as usual but ending suddenly with the Battle of Helm's Deep and never going any further. No wonder this movie flopped. It's really bad and is unworthy of one's time.

Unless one's a Tolkien completist or extreme zealot, this animated version of LOTR is just a waste of time. I'm not saying that this deserves to necessarily be thrown in a magnesium fire necessarily but this movie could really have been a great animated movie but they completely blew their chance at it.

Worth a Second Look
OK let's start by saying that this is NO comparison to the fantastic recent trilogy of movies by Peter Jackson, and it is animated (I'll come back to that) but it is still a good movie. Considering the year of production for a second, director Ralph Bakshi had a vision, and the same kind of idea as Jackson, but without the backing, the money, or the technology to carry it off. The film follows the book very closely, and those having watched the new movies will see and hear identical scenes in this version, lifted straight from Tolkeins pages. The idea was to make TWO movies (but not simultaneously) which means this is a little muddled in mixing books 1&2, made with the obvious expectation of a sequel.The animation is mixed with a process called rotoscoping (traced over live action integrated into cell animation)in a surreal fashion in places which adds much in the way of atmosphere, and certainly makes the dark armies appear more menacing. This idea of animation was more than a little groundbreaking at the time, even though it was done chiefly to save money, and annoyed more than a few puritans in the business. Sadly this movie went down like a lead parachute at the box office, and with it went Bakshi's backing for the second film, and knowing this means you are expecting an anti climax of sorts. The DVD has little in the way of extra's, but the budget price certainly makes it worth owning. Repeated viewing does get you inside the directors vision, and obvious love of the material, and one could argue that had this been made 20 years later, Peter Jackson & Co may have been out of work, Enjoy this Cult and Collectible Classic at a great price. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Animator-director-screenwriter Ralph Bakshi audaciously tries to chronicle the history of 20th-century American popular music, while also placing each period into historical and social context--all in 97 minutes! Its animated, episodic narrative follows four generations of Jewish-American musicians as each painfully seeks fame through changing musical eras. Starting at the turn of the century with a piano-playing immigrant in New York, the film moves swiftly, following his offspring through such movements as Gershwin-era pop, jazz, folk music, '60s psychedelia, and punk--and only pauses for elaborate, energized musical numbers designed to showcase the work of Benny Goodman, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Lou Reed, the Jefferson Airplane, and numerous others. However, these electric set pieces provide brief dynamism in a relatively bleak film filled with hard-luck protagonists suffering through clichéd drug addiction, death, and alienation. While the film's scope is admirably ambitious, and Bakshi's stylized use of rotoscoping (tracing animation from live action) makes for fluid and often eye-popping visuals, his treatment also feels heavy handed and cuts numerous corners. And, when Baskshi ends his epic by mocking punk, and celebrating the future of rock & roll through the music of Bob Seger, one wonders whether or not he a knowledgeable grasp of his topic at all. The DVD version presents the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. --Dave McCoy ... Read more

Reviews (23)

OK animation, iffy movie
The animation is good, especially considering when it was made, but "American Pop" is never quite successful. Once again Bakshi probes the sordid underbelly of his subject, in this case pop music, but nothing here ever comes off quite convincing enough. And his dismissal of punk and rush to embrace the bland beardo post-hippie commercial rock of Bob Seger and Heart betrays Bakshi's age, and maybe a lack of good taste as well. It comes off a bit old-fogeyish.

Like a lot of Bakshi's work, this has to be taken as it is, and the viewer has to bear in mind when and how it was made. Computer animation was in its infancy, and animation was at a low point in the United States, so the fact that this was made and distributed in mainstream theaters at all was a minor miracle at the time.

In short, the musical spots provide the bright moments, but the plot is labored and the characters, particularly the ridiculous "rock star" he invents at the end of the film, are unconvincing. As a historical document of where animation was in the United States at the time, it's viewable; as entertainment, well, it's better than "Heavy Traffic" but certainly not any kind of a classic animated film. See it if you want, but it's not indispensable.

One of My Favorite Movies of All Time
I watched American Pop for the first time after seeing a promo for it on the Anniversary Edition DVD of Heavy Metal. I loved Heavy Metal so I figured why not try this one out since it seems to be of a similar genre. Boy was I glad I did...

Not only did I have no clue the movie was made in the early 80's wheh I watched it in 1999, but I was absolutely floored by the fluid animation that was produced by Bakshi's technique of Rotoscoping that was also used in Heavy Metal, Wizards, and Lord of the Rings...

The animation and story line were some of the best I have seen...in any movie!! I never watch many dvd's more than once but this one I have gotten through at least 5 times. It is an absolute masterpiece in animation and Bakshi's best work to date.

Rotoscoping animation is largely misunderstood and doesn't get enough credit. If more animation was done this way, adults would probably enjoy more non-Disneyesque type features geared towards older audiences.

Don't miss this flick if you are a fan of excellent animation...

Hubby Loved It & Hates Animation; I Loved It Period
I usually like animation, especially when it has an art house spin to it like Bashki's work does. I've never been able to convert hubby to it though, with only a few exceptions. This was the first animation that I ever screened for him that he enjoyed from beginning to end. In fact, he watched it twice. Since it came out (many years ago), the only animation he's liked as well is "Waking Life." Bashki does an incredible job of covering the rock world and its stars, although he never explicitly names anyone. The story flows effortlessly (it seems) and takes us for a kaleidescopic ride along the development of rock and roll set in the USA. The art and music are outstanding. Well worth buying since you will want to watch it more than once. It will appeal to a wide variety of ages too.

A Brilliant underrated masterpiece.
From Ralph Bakshi ( Director of "Lord of the Rings" 1978 version, "Fritz The Cat" and "Wizards) has crafted a highly entertaining and moving animated feature using Rotoscopic technics and great script too.

This tells four stories of four generations of one family under the influence of American music, from Vaudeville era to the 80's, it's a animated flick that is serious for once without no goofy sidekicks but does entertain and is quite a fun flick, if you like " Heavy Metal", "Secret of NIMH", "Flight of Dragons" and "Last Unicorn" then check out this movie.

Still a classic!
This movie was released when I was 19. I watched it over and over again. Something hard to do before VCRs or DVDs were popular. I was worried that it would stand the test of time. Well, this evening I showed it to my 18-year-old niece who has a scholarship to the animation track at the Art Institute of San Francisco. I was worried she would find it too dated. She really loved it. And I still enjoyed it too! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland mixes animation and live action to create a dreamlike world, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's simply a kid's film. Young Alice (Kristyna Kohoutová, spoken by Camilla Power) watches a stuffed and mounted rabbit come to life in her playroom and follows it through a magical drawer into a strange world that resembles a 19th-century toy store come to life, with a few specimens from a natural history museum thrown in. Czech animator Jan Svankmajer retains the familiar story elements but tweaks them with bizarre imagery brought to herky-jerky life with his spasmodic style of stop-motion animation. The caterpillar becomes a sock puppet with dentures, while other crazy creatures materialize as creepy skull-headed beings that bleed sawdust. Throughout the tale Svankmajer returns to punctuating close-ups of Alice's lips telling the story, just to remind us that this is a tale told. In the best surrealist tradition Svankmajer uses familiar objects in unfamiliar ways, giving a fantasy quality to the banal (and the not so banal) while tipping the dream logic to the edge of nightmare. While the imagery remains more unsettling than genuinely disturbing, younger children will certainly be happier with Disney's brightly colored animated classic Alice in Wonderland. Older children and adults will better appreciate Svankmajer's sly visual wit and unusual animation style. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (32)

A decent Alice...sadly, a little known one.
This is doubtlessly the most bizarre film I have ever seen. Since it is a version of ALICE, that's okay. It holds a sort of hallucinatory shadow over the story from which it was inspired: it is a frightening look into the very desolation that comes with age. Alice herself is lost in Wonderland, perhaps an embodiment of the corruption and decay that follows the subversion of childhood. The characters of the book have been reduced to dead, mindless things here: the White Rabbit is a taxidermist's expirament; the Mad Hatter is a marionette; the March Hare is a stuffed animal. These characters, void of life and thought, seem to represent the dull world of adulthood, where the repetitive events of every day are hammered out endlessly, and seen without the color or whimsy they hold when seen through the eyes of a child. The movie is doubtlessly symbolic of many things, however they are so cryptically presented that I cannot figure any of them out for myself. The movie itself is not fun to watch, it is rather tedious, in fact: but it holds a subconscious power over the viewer, he sees with astonished eyes Alice moving through the doorways and drawerways of the decaying realm. The viewer becomes part of a different sphere of consciousness: he lingers with Alice in a perpetual dream-state, or, a nightmare from which he cannot awake, until the last scant bit of dilogue is recited, and the final credits roll. Svankmajere (or however you spell it) has a fine taste for the macabre, and by moving as far from Carroll's story as possible, he does it ironic justice. By moulding the plot to form his own tightly-knit fantasy, he does not sabotage the feel of the book, but intensifies it. For this he deserves praise. With Alice we feel every bit of menace and curiosity, a trait rarely found in films. This one touches profoundly and unexplainably with the child inside us, and for the lapse of its running time we become part of another world, one which we are anxious to escape while we linger in it, but feel obsessively drawn back to after the return to our conscious states.

Svankmajer's hugely influential chef d'oeuvre
The influence of Jan Svankmajer's 1988 ALICE on the art and film and deisgn of the 1990s and beyond is enormous: you can see it almost evidently in the films of the Brothers Quay and David Fincher as well as in every beautifully designed magazine you open today. Svankmajer took the Lewis Carroll story and transposed it to a world which seems totalitarian in nature, and beautifully shabby and eroded in look, where everything is chappied and falling to pieces. The white rabbit is a terrifying taxidermic model, with huge teeth and glass eyes; it pulls itself from its mounting pins and bleeds sawdust when opened. The fall down the rabbit hole is a dark descent by elevator down through what seems to be a beautifully decrepit storage warehouse: the small animals Alice encounters are skull-headed toys.

All this is beautiful, and creates a stunningly original aesthetic. It's also sometimes a bit creepy, and (worse) at times exceptionally tedious. (You think if you get one more extreme close-up of Alice's lips telling the tale you'll scream.) It's something to pore over shot by shot or sequence by sequence, but it's not particularly entertaining by any means. But it is something that still deserves to be seen again and again.

"Said the Queen of Hearts"
There are only two negatives to this film that I felt were mostly unnecessary elements. One was the frequent edit to a close-up of Alice's, excuse me "Alenka's," tiny mouth and stained yellow teeth saying things like "Said the White Rabbit" or "Said the Queen of Hearts." By the time this monotony reached the double-digits I was getting annoyed. I knew which character said what, and I didn't need a constant reminder. The other negative, and this is up for debate, is that I don't like foreign films that are dubbed in English. Call me crazy, but I prefer subtitles. There is always something lost in the translation. Well, enough of my negativity. There is plenty here worth seeing, and if you are a genuine nut-case for stop-motion filmmaking than you should thoroughly enjoy this movie. This is not a children's film! There are way too many unnerving and nightmarish sequences. In fact, this film feels like a surreal nightmare! There's a slab of meat that squirms into a pot, there are little rat skulls breaking out of egg shells, and my favorite moment of the film comes when Alice is being chased by the White Rabbit and his grotesque friends. Alice slams the door and bars the smaller door at the base. Suddenly, an axe-head bursts through the tiny door repeatedly until it is completely splintered. The axe withdraws and the head of the White Rabbit(a stuffed rabbit with sawdust for entrails) pokes through and he seems to stare at Alice with an evil glare from his glassy white eyes. I expected him to say "Heeeere's Thumper!" That was the creepiest moment for me, but there are others. There are also some wrenching sound effects that add some excellent flavor to the nightmarish proceedings. If it wasn't for the extremely annoying and frequent cutaways to Alice's slimy mouth I may have given this film a higher rating. That, and she has a gross habit of puting everything she finds into her mouth. One thing she tries is a key she finds inside a sardine tin filled with oil. Instead of wiping the key clean on her dress she gives it one good, long slurp. Yuck! Even she grimaced, much to my delight. "Overall, this is a good movie with plenty of jarring scenes and dream-like sequences that are haunting me to this day," said the Amazon.com reviewer. There is also a short stop-motion film on this DVD that is "definitely" not for children, but it does have some humorous moments. Take it easy.

very drugged
While I have never been on acid, I believe that watching this movie is a lot like taking some sort of hallucinogen. It's tweak.

Probably Svankmajer's best movie
If you are unfamiliar with Svankmajer, it may be best to start with Alice. It is his most stylish and least morbid and grotesque long feature.

Sounds appealing? Actually it is a masterpiece. Like his other movies it is not for everyone, but it promises a unique movie experience. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Sub Mariner The King of the Seas
This is some old classic Marvel cartoons with the primative animation. I only wish they would release a complete set with all the episodes. I am sure they are in an archive somewhere. Why is it that Marvel fans are not asking for more of these classic masterpieces of animation. I loved some of the old comics converted into limited animation in this one. The voices are just right. Subby himself was voiced by a prominent actor who I don't remember here. All in all it's a treat for those who forgot these things existed so long ago.

Another Classic from Marvel.
Classic artwork and subtle animation help to make this another must have in the Marvel comic lover's collection. Features two episodes from the 1960s series of the title character. Somewhat cheesy, but a lot of fun. The big fans of Marvel comics will appreciate the most. Its the only Sub Mariner cartoon available so enjoy.

Better than I thought
I watched sub-mariner when I was 8 years old. The animation was better then what I remembered. If your a cartoon buff you will enjoy the video. It's a little corny but still interesting. The villians were good to.

Subby doesn't float
I've seen two of the "classic" Marvel cartoons: Hulk and Subby. Hulk's better (and I'm not saying that just because I'm biased). These cartoons are boring. The only funny thing about them is that, unlike the comic book, the animators tried to make the atmosphere more watery: air bubbles constantly being emitted every time a character speaks and dorky 3rd grade schooler fish which cut across the screen at the most dramatic moments. This is not good storytelling, not good presenting, not good animation. But if you like water, I mean really like water, you might like this. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Far from the masterful treatment that groundbreaking animator RalphBakshi gave the similarly themed The Lord of the Rings just a year later, Wizards feels amateurish. A simplistic distillation of fantasy tropes, the scenario is millions of years after nuclear war wipes out civilization. Middle Earth fairies, elves, and magic emerge from the "good lands," while dimwitted mutants with poor comic timing emerge from the nuclear wastes. In the ultimate confrontation between good and evil, a hippie-ish wizard named Avatar defends his utopia against the technological and neo-Nazi revival of his bad-seed twin, Blackwolf. With volleys of jokes that couldn't hit a barn door, elves with Brooklyn accents, and the dubious climax that sees the kindly old wizard using one of the hated machines of war to triumph over evil, Wizards is one of fantasy animation's least successful examples. --Alan E. Rapp ... Read more

Reviews (105)

Ralph Bakshi's Wizards
While it is certainly not for young children, older teens and adults will get a real kick out of "Wizards". Set in a post-apocalyptic world wrought by radiation due to a nuclear holocaust, most humans have died, and the population consists mainly of elves, fairies, dwarves, and then the mutants. The world is in danger from the threat of technology, brought upon by the evil wizard, Blackwolf. It is up to his brother, the comical, yet good hearted wizard, Avatar, to stop him. Joining Avatar in his quest are Weehawk, chief of a tribe of warrior elves, Elenor, fairy princess of the land of Montagar, and Peace, a former assassin of Blackwolf's (formerly known as Necron 99) who changes his ways and fights against the threat of technology. The WWII references abound, and there are many more adult-oriented references throughout. It dares to go where cartoons usually do not, making allusions to sex, prostitution, religion, and there's even a rather racist Vietnam reference if you can catch it. However, I still highly recommend "Wizards", because in all it's brashness, it deserves to be seen. What the animation lacks in quality, it more than makes up for in imagination. It's quite funny, and it also delivers some unexpected twists. I personally really like the way it was done. The music really seems to fit the overall style of it, and the wonderful character designs and voice acting really pulls it all together. I definetely recommend it to anyone searching for something creative and different, and I'm sure any fan of cult classics will definetely want to check it out. However, I stress the importance of having an open mind. I think those who are more open to controversial subject matter will be able to better enjoy it, with all it's dark humor and it's alternative-type feel. I think it is something that everyone should see at least once. It deserves more credit than it has been given, and I think that it will really make people stop and think about our world, and about themselves.

Bakshi's masterpiece finally on DVD!!!!
This 1977 Ralph Bakshi made animated sci-fi fantasy is set in the post-apocalyptic future where mutants, monsters, fairies, elves, dwarves, and magical creatures roam. An evil wizard named "Blackwolf" plans on taking over the world with his mutant army using old Nazi propaganda films while a kind and powerful wizard named "Avatar" with a hot fairy chick named " Ellinor" and a brave elf named "Weehawk" including a robot named "Peace" join forces together to go to a place called "Scorch" then stop Blackwolf, the war and prevent the end of the world.

A unique, kadeldoscopic and entertaining animated fantasy from the director of "Fritz The Cat", " Animated Lord of the Rings" and "American Pop". The animation is quite good, it does have Mark Hamil's voice debut before he was in "Star Wars" of the same year this movie was released, a superhot fairy chick guaranteed to make guys smile and it's a good fun flick for the whole family even though it's rated PG due to some graphic animated violence, battle scenes, some language and some mild nudity.

The DVD is excellent, the extras include TV Spot, Trailers, a documentary on how Ralph Bakshi created this movie, still gallery and a audio commentary by Ralph Bakshi. So if you love fun fantasy, sci-fi and animated flicks then pick this up for your animation DVD collection.

Also recommended: " Terminator 2: Judgment Day", " Fist of the North Star" ( Anime version), " Braveheart", " Gladiator", " Mad Max", " The Last Unicorn", " The Secret of NIMH", " Rock & Rule", " The Dark Crystal", " The Princess Bride", " Star Wars", " Gettysburg", " Starship Troopers", " Total Recall", " Heavy Metal", " The Fifth Element", " Mulan", "Antz".

classic you will either hate or love
This is one of those rare movies that doesn't try to hide its flaws, and actually benefits from them giving the entire movie a campy feel to it. The accents are mixed up, the animation crude and often using recycled sequences, the movement is jerky, scenes are often using war footage that was animated over, and the jokes are often crude and dark natured. But the film in a whole works.

Though it is a bit preachy in its ways, this movie makes you interested in the characters. It also brings up some intersting and satirical ideas.

the world was destroyed in war, humans are few and most have mutated and live in badlands. Elves, faeries and dwarves, have returned and taken over the good lands, but nothing seems different. The factions are divided and uncooperative with each other. When the badlands mutants gets a powerful leader, they ignore it until it is too late. When the push is made for the mutants to take over the goodlands the enemy seemingly has too much up his sleeve.

The cartoon has a definite seventies feel to it. The humor is dark, twisted, and often times has a distinct feel of juxtoposition. It is a fantasy futuristic world that has the attitude and feeling of New York. There are fairy hookers, dirty streets with bums lying around, and bitter old men with brooklyn accents. The evil army has a strong Nazi theme to it, as well as their secret weapons.

It is also very violent, showing elves and fairies being killed by the hundreds, pow's being executed, and prisoners being forced to entertain soldiers any way they want.

This is a very warped movie that shouldn't work, but does. A classic from the 70's that had enough of a cult following to bring it to dvd today. watch it for the spectacle and you will either love it or hate it.

A Lost Masterpiece!
I remember seeing this film as young kid though I really wasn't supposed too. I saw it with the film LIGHT YEARS another film that I hope will come to dvd in the very near future. This film is basically about a centuries old battle between two brothers. One on the side of magic, the other on the side of Technology. It's basic good versus evil with a bit of social commentary in between. The animation may not be what people are used to now, but it serves it's purpose. I personally like the rendition of the elves. They look more like elves from say ELF QUEST and not the overly tall elves of D&D fame. Pretty good film. Check it out for nostalgia if anything else.

Finally a beautiful Bakshi release on DVD
Ralph Bakshi has his admirers and his detractors, as any good filmmaker should. Wizards is an important film for many reasons, but mostly, in my opinion, because it really began the experimentation of melding of rotoscope, traditional animation and live action. Bakshi masterfully mixes the three techniques in ways never before done, and seldom since. His powerful use of Nazi propaganda films melds perfectly with high contrast rotoscoping of Eisenstein's Alexander Nevski to give birth to a new and disturbing world. His use of traditional animation techniques then colors the fairy lands in another light and we see the contrast between these two worlds brought together in a terrifying realization. The melding of various methods of filmmaking might be too much for some who have become accustomed to Disney animation, Saturday morning cartoons and anime, but it gives us a rare glimpse into what might have been in an artform which never fully developed into its own right.

Finally, we have DVD which treats master filmmaker, Ralph Bakshi, with the respect he deserves. After the atrociously inadequate release of Bakshi's Lord of the Rings Part One a few years ago, with it's incredible lack of special features and horrific overdub in the middle of the closing score (though thankfully finally released in widescreen format), I couldn't be happier with the treatment Fox has given to this film. The transfer is gorgeous and the colors are far more vivid than I have ever seen before - an element that is critical to the film.

The real treat, however, is the feature length commentary by Mr. Bakshi as well as the "documentary" on him and his work. I would have liked to have him chat a bit more about Lord of the Rings since we were robbed of a commentary in that DVD release, but he does give a bit of insight into the film, which was welcome.

All in all, a fantastic DVD release of a groundbreaking film. Bravo Fox and Mr. Bakshi! I hope Fire and Ice, Hey Good Lookin', Coonskin and someday a re-release of Lord of the Rings, will receive a similar treatment.

David ... Read more

Amazon.com

There was some amazing, classic animation done for superhero cartoonsdone as far back as Max & Dave Fleisher's Superman series of the early 1940s (echoes of which can be found in Batman: The Animated Series). Those were done for the big screen; by the mid-1960s, superhero cartoons were being brought to television, and some of Marvel Comics' biggest heroes--Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor, and the Incredible Hulk--were the stars. Unfortunately, television didn't have much in terms of cachet--or production values--at the time, and all four heroes suffer for it.

Spider-Man comes across the best of the four, though part of that might be because Spidey's geeky alter ego, Peter Parker, looks and sounds remarkably like Bill Gates. On the two episodes here--"The Kilowatt Kaper," a run in with Electro, and the self-explanatory "The Origin of Spider-Man"--the animation is minimal. It looks as if only a couple dozen pictures of the main characters were drawn; for the most part, this is a series of stationary illustrations with voiceovers and plenty of narration. --Randy Silver ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Old-school Marvels
Except for THE THING, SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED, and X-MEN: EVOLUTION, Marvel Comics animation from the late-1970's (THE FANTASTIC FOUR) to the present (THE AVENGERS) ranged from fairly good to really great. However, the best shows always lie in the Silver Age. My (20th Century) Fox home video picks are THE INCREDIBLE HULK, IRON MAN, THE MIGHTY THOR, and---still my all-time favorite---SPIDER-MAN from Grantray-Lawrence and Krantz Animations. Speaking of Spidey's first series, "The Origin..." was the true, classic adaptation of his first appearance in AMAZING FANTASY # 15 that could put that SPIDER-MAN: CHAPTER ONE "revamp" to pitiful shame, and "..Kaper" was a lightning-fast, "Electro-fying" battle with his archfoe ever seen. I definitely recommend the video collection to every Marvel-ite out there because---hey, let's face it---the old school's the true school. Now, how cool would it be be if the Fantastic Four's first series from Hanna-Barbera Productions was released on Warner Home Video? 'Nuff said, true believers!

Animation better than other 60s' Marvel cartoons
Of all the Marvel cartoons of the 1960s' obviously most of the effort was put into Spider-Man. The other Marvel cartoons; Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, etc. were lifted from now classic silver age comics. The animation of these cartoons is crude to say the least, but the story, dialogue and voice talent is top notch. Spider-Man's stories are all original animation adapted loosely from the comic stories. The story telling comes across as slightly 'hipper' (by late 60s' standards), and there is a lot of filler in the origin story. After all Spidey's origin in Amazing Fantasy #15, did not take-up the entire issue. Although Fox could have fit more than 2 episodes on a VHS tape, I would still recommend this video to anyone who is a comic book fan or Saturday morning cartoon buff.

Classic Spidey
From 1967 an animator named Ralph Baski did the first few entries in this series. More than any other cartoon at the time; with the exception of Hanna Barbera's Fantastic Four cartoon, these cartoons followed the comics more than not. I love the scenes where Spidey swings through New York City. It is primative by today's standards but brings back lots of memories for me because I loved those cartoons. I can only wish that Marvel makes a complete DVD set of this classic. Only thing is I don't believe so because no one is interested. This one was ahead of its time because it tapped into the superhero in all of us.

Spidey Rules!
Not really being a big fan of cartoons, Spiderman is a rare exception. Even though the animation isn't "Walt Disney" quality, it is still very enjoyable to watch. The only criticism, which has been mentioned before in other reviews, is that the tape is too short. It would have been nice to have 8 episodes on a 2 hr tape instead of just 2 episodes making it only have a runtime of 35 minutes. 20th Century did a nice job on the clamshell case and the artwork. Also, offering it in SP mode, and not in EP, like most of the tapes of TV shows seem to be recorded in, was nice too. Even though the tape isn't that long, it's still worth the money to have as a keepsake for fans of Spiderman.

The TRUE Spider-man
It has become increasingly rare when a movie or television version of a character of literary descent (particularly of comic book origins) remains even remotely faithful to its source material. This video is a rare exception to that trend. If you are a lover of the Stan Lee/ Steve Ditko comics that established the entire Spider-Man world this is a real treat of a video. Despite some limited animation (it was the sixties remember), this video compilation shows what Spider-man is all about. Watching the origin episode made me wonder why the whole "with great powers comes great responsibility" angle was removed from all the subsequent screenings of this tragic hero. I would like to see some follow-ups to this release. The theme song alone brands it as a classic. My only reservation on this video is its short length, only two episodes. otherwise five stars ... Read more

Book Description

Illus. in full color. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Butter Battle Book Review
The Butter Battle Book, written by Dr. Seuss is an exellent display of his own thoughts on the nuclear war. This book helps inform young audiences about our nation's history in a way that they can understand. Although this is a childen's book, it is great reading for all agaes, and really hits home for those who have memories of the Cold War. The disagreement between the Yooks and the Zooks expresses how they both think bread should be buttered. One "butter-side up" and the other "butter-side down." The controversey, turning into a battle shows Dr. Seuss' dislike for generic disputes. The Yooks and the Zooks hurry to develop more powerful weapons, until; both groups take it to an extreme. The underlying theme to the book is the absuridity of battle. Dr. Seuss tries to convey that people must overcome their pride to live in peace. Memories of the Cold War like the wall dividing the Yooks and Zooks add to the realistic element to The Butter Battle Book.

Spreading peace and not putting it on so "thick"
Unlike any of his other books, Dr. Suess's "The Butter Battle Book" is as close to an anti-war book as any children's text could be. It tells of two warring countries divided by a great wall. The similarity between the East and the West of pre-fall of the Berlin Wall is evident to the plot.

The Zooks on one side of the wall eat their bread with the butter side down; the Yooks on the side eat their bread with the butter side up. This is the reason for the conflict. Each side feels that theirs is the correct manner for eating bread. Becoming suspicious of each other, they construct this wall and devise military means to defend themselves from any attack from the other side. Humorously, the author portrays military strategists as obsessive little men that endlessly work in backrooms creating greater weapons of destruction.

The story ends with the two opposing generals facing each other with the ultimate bomb that will destroy the enemy's land. The grandson of one general asks the question, "Who's going to drop it?" The reply is, "Be patient...we will see."
A powerful statement is this for it raises questions about our own relationship in the World Order. Dr. Suess, known for his whimsical excursion into fantasy and lyrical rhyme, has not abandoned these elements. He has just expanded his horizons by writing a children's book for adults. This work should be required reading for military and government leaders worldwide!

The theme of acceptance of differences is the key to this story. When one realizes this, then peace truly will exist on this planet.

How necessary is this since the event of 9/11!

Something to think about
Before I get into my review, let me start by saying I missed the Cold War, except for in school history books. That being said, this is an excellent and thought-provoking book for 'kids' of all ages.

This book is about 2 groups, the Yooks and the Zooks, who live separated only by a wall, and are very similar except for the way they butter their bread. This leads to a battle involving constantly bigger weapons, until they come up with the 'big-boy boomeroo', capable of destroying each other's lands. Of course, the book ends before the story does, leaving you guessing on exactly what would happen.

I went through a few stages with this book, making it even better to think about. The first time I heard it, I was about 5, and upset that there was no 'ending'. After a few more times, I decided to use my imagination to create my own ending, which is what many children will do if encouraged by a parent reading with them. As I got older, I realized there was no ending because if it was real, you really wouldn't know how it ended until it happened. This book also made me think about how small differences in people can cause such big problems if you are not open minded. (That was after a few years - in the beginning I wondered why the Zooks didn't just turn their bread upside down and everyone would be the same).

The Butter Battle Book is a wonderful lesson, written in a way that even a child could understand the concept of war, see how differences in people can cause foolish problems, and use their imaginations. I would recommend it to anyone.

Trivializes a serious matter
While I love Dr. Seuss, I cannot believe that he trivializes the Cold War in the way that he does with this book. The much hated "arms race" was a race to protect ourselves and was a race that we not only won, but a race that also brought down the Soviet Union. Ironically, we won it because we outspent the Soviets. We outspent the Soviets because capitalism creates wealth. The fight between capitalism, which allows freedom, and the crushing weight of communism, which ideology has systematically killed more humans than any other in the last century, is not boiled down to something as simple as butter on bread. Buy one of his other books-the non-political type.

Dr. Suess: Political Visionary?
When I first read this book to my 3 year old nephew, I ended up staying on the couch, completely engrossed, while he went off in sheer boredom. This book, in at least one way, changed my perspective on the tragedy of a world we've singlehandedly created( or destroyed, whatever your opinion be). Geisel accurately portrays the futility of hostile exchanges(in this severe degree)in a symbolic war over buttered bread. This book is, in my opinion, a must-read for all ages. Younger children will enjoy his rhyming "lyrics," and older generations will take note of the significant importance of Yook's and Zook's struggle for supremacy. But don't be mistaken, Suess's use of a "butter battle" is not "dumbed-down" or superficial; on the contrary, it is the perfect example, and conveys an even stronger message, than that of, say, a textbook or straight explanation. The only reason I can think of not to read this yourself, or to your children, is that you prefer to live in the dark, your perceptions shrouded by the influence of the common right or left-wing conservative, and not live by your own opinions. I'm no communist, but I believe owning your own place in the world can be further obtained by reading and reflecting on this miraculous work of "art". ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Kids video or collectors item? Stan Lee/Jack Kirby animated
This video is a "new" release of portions of the 1966 TV series "Marvel Super Heroes" and features portions of two episodes. The first episode on the tape is "Origin of Captain America" which is an animated version of "Tales of Suspense" # 63 & 64 from Mar/Apr 1965. The second episode is "Origin of the Red Skull" which includes material from "Tales of Suspense" # 66-68, June/Aug 1965. Essentially the actual panels from these comic books are crudely animated -- but the original Lee script and Kirby art remains. The voice characterizations and dialogue are top notch, but the animation is just zooms and pans of static panels with lips and limb movements animated. These videos were released twice before by Prism Entertainment in 1985 and Best Film and Video in 1992. I must point out that modern kids don't like these videos, and they are more suitable for purchase by a superhero comic book fan. Fox could have found a broader market had these videos been released in a box set with historical notes. The identities of all the voice actors are not known, but I can recognize Bernard Cowen's and Paul Soles' voices in the mix. The original tv show began with the theme song of the "Merry Marvel Marching Society" and contained a three segment serial format with recaps in parts two and three. The opening M.M.M.S. theme is missing but the Captain America theme remains ("When Captain America throws his mighty shield...") The recaps and title cards of segments two and three are edited out in this release. But at least the print is clearly transferred and the sound is crisp and clean. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

One of Bakshi's best
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.

A Masterpiece Collectable for the True Bakshionado!
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?"

Perhaps Bakshi's Best
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.

Bakshi Brilliance
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.

Nice Social Message But Disturbing Film!
...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. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Heavy Traffic is writer-director Ralph Bakshi's follow-up to Fritz the Cat, so if you're looking for a little something to watch with the kids, you might want to search elsewhere. It's an odd little movie, one that seems to both condemn and celebrate depravity at the same time. The hero is Michael, an artist who still lives with his battling parents. Michael is far too sensitive for the cruel city, though he sure seems to draw an awful lot of pictures of it. Michael hooks up with cool bartender Carole and the two of them set off to... well, they plan to do something. More engaging than the story are Bakshi's visual techniques, which include blending animated and live-action sequences and layering old film clips into cartoon backgrounds. Though interesting as a piece of animation, Heavy Traffic is difficult to recommend. There is a running thread of misogyny that makes the film off-putting, to say the least. Yes, all of the characters are unpleasant and yes, most of the violence is over-the-top enough to make a case for it being comic. It is the constant, casual misogyny that's unsettling--at one point Michael backhands Carole across the face and everyone, including Carole, seems to be fine with that. Keep an ear out for Jamie Farr and watch it for the animation, not the plot. --Ali Davis ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Another Classic Bakshi
Like Fritz the Cat and Bakshi's other works, Heavy Traffic moves into city life to show the darker side of America. Bakshi once said in an interview: "If Disney was going to animate for the middle class, I was going to animate for the guy on the street." Heavy Traffic is Bakshi accomplishing that.

The film isn't just a social statement though, it also has a lot of creativity behind that. It opens with the live action version of our main character Michael playing pinball. Michael is a cartoonist, and as he asks questions to himself he slowly dives into his world...a world similar to the one he lives in now, but a caricature of themselves. Michael deals with his crazy mother, corrupt father, a relationship with a girl, and trying to get a job - a hard task as his ideas involve events such as God getting shot in the face with a shotgun.

If you were offended or put off by the brashness of "Fritz the Cat" then you should give Heavy Traffic a try. The nudity and sex is still there, but on a toned down scale. The social satire and goofy humor is still there, and that just makes it all the more a good film.

Bakshi considered this one of the top three best films he did (next to Fritz and Streetfight). It is deservedly so.

All the world's a TOON ....
I remember very well the effect this film had on me right after leaving the theater; everywhere I looked on the drive home, people looked like cartoons. In Heavy Traffic, animation artist Ralph Bakshi presents us with a look at life in the early 70s (late 60s?), city style .... and this city is gritty, not entirely pretty ....

Michael Corleone (not the only reference to other popular films of the times) scribbles away at his drawing board while his Catholic father and Jewish mother wage Armageddon outside his door. He finds comfort and release seeing the world as an absurd, psychotic cartoon. Pretty much a loner, his main connection to the outside world is a black bargirl named Carol who works right downstairs from him and slips him drinks for his entertaining sketches. An unfortunate incident with a drag queen associate costs Carol her job, and she and Michael end up out on the streets together, since he can't seem to make ANY sort of job situation come together. They form a sort of hustling alliance, with him as her pimp, and they nosedive into dark urban realms of the quick buck and the inevitable personal compromises involved.

All this is interposed with images of live city backdrops and numerous references to a pinball game. Ralph Bakshi's animated vision is a moving work of underground pop art which, despite limitations, was a groundbreaking achievement that pushed the frontiers of American animation thousands of miles. I can see the influence of this film (and Bakshi's work in general) on the likes of Matt Groening, Don Bluth, and yes, even parts of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Heavy Traffic is dark, rude and dangerous. At times it has an almost experimental feel, moving at a stream of consciousness pace more than any conventional narrative. Its portayal of characters is raw and extreme, has an exaggerated sort of believability to it. It also has the feel of a semi-autobiography, with its portayal of a creative misfit struggling against the odds for survival, if not personal validation.

This very personal work goes places other animations of the time wouldn't even consider, was rated X at the time of its original release, and was re-released very shortly afterward in a lightly watered-down R-version. The recent DVD release appears to be a restoration of the original artwork, is a nice clean print, despite the full-frame format and mono soundtrack. It would be nice to see this touched up with a slightly refurbished soundtrack (it IS animation, after all); at the same time the compressed sound lends to the quaint sort of 70s feel to it, creating an air of nostalgia rivaling that of The Iron Giant. And these guys weren't even trying!

My appreciation for this special film has not diminished over the years; indeed, I understand it a bit more as an adult. It captures the dark, skewed out, surrealistic beauty of the urban underbelly, delivers some nasty bellylaughs, shows us the world as an oversized cartoon arcade game, and reminds us that all we can do sometimes is just keep playing that game. Even if we do end up getting our head blown off by a paraplegic midget on a skateboard. This stuff happens .......

crumb ripoff!
i started liking this movie, i thought the pinball metaphor and wild characters and lifes a cartoon shiz could have worked out, if it werent for the fact that bakshi is thinly disguising himself and his own frustration as being an unoriginal "underground" cartoonist who caught on to the scene too late...if you like the depressing, gritty, wild, fastpaced style of this movie, check out the original master ROBERT CRUMB, toward whom bakshi is obviously seething with jealousy and riding anxiously on the coattails of...this is crap in noncomformity, and dont say i "didnt get it", i just think hes being hugely self-indulgent and this whole thing is an homage gone awry, lacking the wit, psychedelia, and pornographic brillinace that crumb could create so effortlessly..

Genius
A schizophrenic journey through the dark urban world. Michael, A young writer, comes from a dysfunctional household and uses his cartoons as an outlet. Eventually he begins to delve himself into his dark toon world and the movie is beautifully animated and stuffed full of creativity, sex, bigotry, and ultimately a true grim view of society. As dark as it sounds I found parts of this movie very amusing. Housewives, pass on this one it's not 'Finding Nemo'. If you enjoy a truly stunning visual experience and dark humor/satire I'd reccomend you watch this....A true must see for the inebriated.

ONE OF BAKSHI'S BETTER ONES
In anticipation of the upcoming DVD release of Bakshi's Wizards, I ordered several of his other films on DVD. Of the ones I ordered, this is the only one I've never seen. It's also turns out to be one of his better ones (as in as good as Fritz The Cat but way better then American Pop and Streetfight [Coonskin]). An excellent addition to your animationed DVD collection. Just don't forget about Wizards. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Exquisite cacophony of images
Jan Svankmajer, whose name is almost always mentioned in the same breath as the Brothers Quay, is an animator with a deeply philosophical, psychological bent whose mode de employ is the infinite variety of the grotesque. If you appreciate Joel-Peter Whitkin's stills, you will love Svankmajers films. Objects animated are people, tubers, taxidermilogical failures, etc. Svankmayer takes a thousand separate, shocking little pieces and combines them into a sublimely shocking whole. The end product is always bafflingly surreal and so over the top as to be beatific. His filmography is made up mostly of shorts, and two other feature length films, Alice (1988) and Faust (1996), all would be worth some footwork to catch a glimpse of his intricately wrought madness.

Conspirators is a cohesive series of vignettes about obsessive-compulsive fetishists whose paths cross, in so doing sparking a series of respective erotic destinies that are fulfilled via a spiraling puzzle like path. The movie itself defines fetishism, turning the everyday object or occurrence into a meaning laden ritual; in these cases lives are compelled by a collection of huge fetish projects: the porno stand engineer who is so in love with images that he constructs a television that can be made to love him back; the mail carrier who maniacally turns loaves of bread into compact little balls that she delivers to the news anchor who feeds them to carp who live in a bucket under her desk and get her off on camera (as part of the engineer's project); her husband who hears symphonies in pursuit of junk he later constructs tools that de Sade would have cried over; and a pair of neighbors who obsess over each other's murders, whose will finds a magical way. This film is a must-see just for the exquisite detail with which the nameless protagonist constructs the piece de triumph of all fetish objects- it cannot be hinted at in less than a volume. These frames speak volumes, a wordless cacophony. Conspirators could be seen as a sort of "The Making Of" a Jan Svankmajer animation- the sympathetic voodoo magic worked by a team of discreet players so intense that genius is sparked and makes vital and gorgeous the previously inert and obscene. I'd give this film one star for each story's achievement, plus one for the opening sequence of *truly* bizarre 17th Century porno woodcuts. A must see.

Two reviewers jointly favor Czech animator.
Conspirators was spectacular in weaving its characters and their strangeness together. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. American film keeps us sadly stuck in the 1980s, bullied into accepting only computer animation because it is easy, unsupportably expensive and you can do it with a pull-down menu. Jan Svankmajer's animation is hands-on, time-intensive studio work and palpably realistic. It challenges the limitations of that generation whose imaginations were teethed on music video. Svankmajer is comical, insightful and grotesque as a children's folk tale. He is a singularly visual storyteller. If you want a taste of Svankmajer and aren't ready for an adult theme, start with Alice.

good for begginers
this one from Jan was cool,but just not quite as trippy as Faust or his collection of short film dvds,I thought.I did think it was funny though!I liked the short film "food"(included w/ the dvd)better than "conspirators of pleasure",actually-and you can get that short w/ the jan collected shorts vol. 2 dvd.I couldn't see paying $26 for this dvd, though.get alice,collected shorts 1+2,or faust before this one.those are actually more worth the money as far as I'm concerned.

Utterly brilliant . . .
This was my introduction to Svankmajer -- and I am floored, even more so because his short "Food" is on this DVD as well. Many folks assume that they have a taste for underground cinema because they (rightly) prefer "Withnail & I" to the latest Queen Latifa/Steve Martin muck, and they've seen "Man Bites Dog" a couple of times . . . but this is REALLY underground cinema. It doesn't jiggle the camera or have a shallow visual gimmick like "Waking Life" -- it is hard to exactly give the flavor of this film. None of the audio is live, it seems -- and the exaggerated foley work of hands squishing clay and rolling little balls of bread with spit and even squeezing a tube of glue all becomes decadently marvelous. As these various folk pursue their, um, completely non-traditional fetishes, no explanations are given, and no ultimate conclusion to anything. But each individual minute is precious. This isn't a film where you can say to those who dislike it, "You didn't get it." There is nothing to "get" in that sense -- but how much tactile strangeness can you delight in? I think it is a masterpiece. Give it a try. Let the rest of the public go on thinking that insipid fluff like "Lost in Translation" is independently-minded cinema. THIS is the authentic underground.

"Fringe" doesn't even begin to describe it
This movie is so weird that I don't even know what to think of it. I question whether it is a truly Surrealist film - it's certainly a very _strange_ film, but "surreal" does not mean "strange", and it's time we buried that misconception once and for all - but it will likely appeal to fans of Surrealism and other avant-garde art.

The film follows about half a dozen characters through the machinations of their utterly bizarre fetishes - a woman who gets off by stuffing bread balls up her nose, a man who delights in the texture of live fish, and - well, I'm not even going to try to describe the chicken guy. Though the characters don't always realize it, their secret pursuits are linked by a web of tangents and coincidence.

Though the characters are ostensibly pursuing _sexual_ fetishes, there is very little about this movie that seems sexual. Real fetishes usually involve playing with power or social roles, but these people just like really specific (and really strange) inanimate objects. Their perversions seem to be more about the ritual than anything else.

Though the movie is mostly live-action, there are some of Svankmajer's trademark stop-motion sequences, such as the chicken man's rampage through the forest. Also, there is zero dialogue throughout the entire film, which actually works quite well, forcing the viewer to engage the unfolding events more directly, and contributing to the overall feeling of "what the [heck]are they doing?!"

Maybe this film is just the product of sheer self-indulgence on the part of Svankmajer, but it will certainly challenge you to think. I'm giving it the median rating of 3 stars not because it's a bad film (or because it's a _good_ film), but because it doesn't even exist on that continuum. It is what it is. You'll have to see it for yourself. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Three excellent examples of late-period Svankmajer.
Jan Svankmajer is most famous for his idiosyncratic burrowing of classic Gothic and fairy tales and children's stories, but this collection atttests to the diversity of the animator's oeuvre. 'Darkness/Light/Darkness' is typical of more sculptured works like 'Dimensions Of Dialogue', in which human forms are dismantled, scattered, merged and weirdly reconstructed; the physical and tactile becomes abstract in the process, and vice versa.

'The Death Of Stalinism In Bohemia' has been called Svankmajer's most political film. This is to miss the subversion and protest underlying all his work: nevertheless, the piece is ironically subtitled 'A Work Of Agitprop' (the term used by Bolsheviks in the early days of the Russian Revolution for propagandist artworks intended to ideologically galvanise the recipient). Made in the year after the Velvet Revolution, the film is best appreciated by Czech audiences who will understand the references, although it still reveals continuity with his previous work, to which it makes playful allusion. Against a berserk collage of Soviet iconography, a photomontage of Czech communists, and a soundtrack of Socialist choral works, a plastercast of Stalin goes through a variety of mutations - giving birth in a gruesome autopsy to a Czech stooge (apparently the communist who bloodily purged the party, and instituted Stalinism in the country); being painted over
in the Czech flag; lumbering Frankenstein-like in the new Czechoslovakia, after we've seen a Golem-like assembly line of heroic clay workers. The energy and iconoclastic fury of the piece recalls the Dada satires of John Heartfield, and the fierce humour rescues the more didactic moments. The 'art' used to bolster this regime is exposed, but the connection made between the animator as moulder and creator of moving figures, and Stalin as godlike totalitarian puppetmaster, is disturbingly honest.

The masterpiece in the collection is 'Virile Games', which is very reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's 'Monty Python' animations in its use of puppetry and photo-manipulation. A man sits down with a supply of beer and shortbread to watch a football match on TV - these fragmentary domestic scenes are intercut with documentary footage of a crowd assembling at a stadium - this disparity between the individual and the mass, the private and the public, the fantastically disruptive and the violently conformist, will break down as the short continues. The soccer match itself might have been reimagined by Magritte - the cut-out players and referee are all images of the viewer. In this game, the object is not to score goals, but to physically destroy the head of your opponent, eg by gouging out his eyes with a plunger; or inflating it with a syringe until it bursts; or running a toy train through his mouth. The resulting corpses are collected by speedily efficient medics who carry them to undertakers - the sealed coffins are painted in team colours, and rejoin the match. All this against delicious Eastern bloc elevator music. When the viewer runs out of snacks, his projecting desire goes haywire: the football pitch transfers to his messy living room. The results are exhilerating, sinister, inventive, unexpected, disgusting and hilarious.

These works come from the end of the Communist era, when censorship problems no longer dogged the surrealist's work, and he could deal with his themes more openly (to the detriment, some say, of his work) - watching them after some of Svankmajer's oppressively murky earlier work is like coming up for air.

Scenes From The Surreal By Jan Svankmajer
For anyone out there interested in stop-motion claymation and in film art in general, this is the movie for you, it is filled with an essence of visceral dark humor, with political undertones. This movie among others of Jan Svankmajer is pure Genius!!!!!

Scenes From The Surreal By Jan Svankmajer
This movie encompasses several different medias rolled into one. It has live stop motion animation, human actors, and a little bit of animation. For anyone out there interested in art in general or film art, I recommend this one. It is visceral, but with a touch of dark humor that will make you yearn for more Jan Svankmajer videos. True Genius!!!!

Beautiful like a heart full of sharks
Scenes From the Surreal questions the drama of the body, tha absurdity of human kind customs and the terrorific atmosphere of governments and society. Svankmajer let us now that life is a dream we never reach, that we survive within a society full of living dead. The poetry of Svankmajer showed in this 3 videos is violent, just a like a bird eating his own wings.

Svankmajer's content and style educates while entertains
Scenes from the Surreal is composed of three seperate sections. The first dealing with creation of man making comic use of claymation, modernism, and Svanmajer's own imagination. The second section creates a morbid interpretation about the competitivness of athletics, displayed in a soccer game to the death. The third section deals with the views of the communism take-over and the patriotism of the nations. Very passionate and imaginative. Awakens the viewers to the social aspects of history and social view, while being entertained by claymation characters. To end, Svankmajer has an informative interview. I enjoyed this production thouroughly ... Read more

Amazon.com

Although Bruno Bozzetto is best known in America for Allegro Non Troppo, his animated feature spoofing Disney's Fantasia, his short films have been winning awards at international festivals for three decades. These more personal films use simple graphics, lively animation, and nonverbal soundtracks to present wry commentaries on the problems of a neurotic and wasteful society. In a live-action interview from his home in Bergamo, Italy, Bozzetto talks about his interest in using animation to make audiences laugh and think; these imaginative shorts fulfill both functions admirably. In "Self-Service," he uses silly-looking mosquitoes to satirize Prohibition and the madness of a petroleum-based economy. "Baby Story" offers a singularly absurd look at the facts of life, while the delightfully macabre "Dancing" gives new meaning to the old concept of the dance of death. "Grasshoppers" juxtaposes the rise and fall of human empires with the annual reappearance of grass and the insects that feed upon it. One image represents balance and harmony; the other, wanton cruelty and destruction. Bozzetto's early successes, "Tapum: A History of Weapons" and "Two Castles," aren't included on this tape, but it remains a delightful sampling of the talented filmmaker's work.

This unrated video is suitable for ages 14 and older for adult themes, cartoon nudity, and violence. The collection contains: 1. "Self-Service," 2. "Baeus," 3. "Drop," 4. "A Life in a Tin," 5. "Baby Story," 6. "Sigmund," 7. "Dancing," 8. "An Oscar for Mr. Rossi," 9. "Mr. Rossi Buys a Car," 10. "Ego," 11. "Big Bang," 12. "Man and His World," 13. "Pickles," 14. "Grasshoppers." --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Nice Italian Animation collection...
It's nice to have these classic Bozzetto cartoons all in one tape, but they could've left the ORIGINAL Italian titles in place instead of the cheesy English ones wizzing past the camera. I gave it four stars [instead of five] because I remember seeing the first film 'Self Service' back in 1979, and this tape has a scene missing! Who knows what might've been cut out of the other cartoons?
On the good side, it's great to have Bruno himself introduce himself, talk about his career & introduce some of the cartoons and many of these I'd never heard of before.
A nice addition to anyone who likes Bozzetto or world-wide animation. Much of the material IS however aimed at Adults so please don't be one of those parents who 'buys it for their kids' because you'll have alot of 'explaining' to do afterwards! ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Finally,..to be released on DVD
I have the laserdisc of Allegro Non Troppo, and it's good to see that it's finally going to be released on DVD. As most readers of this already know, ANT is Bruno Bozzetto's Fantasia-styled movie. ANT has a beautiful sense of humor that no Disney animated movie has had. Some of the animation in some of the scenes is "primitive" compared to Fantasia, but the simple animation works very well with the humorous scenes. My favorite animated scenes? Slavonic Dance and the Finale. Very funny stuff (and very simply drawn, too.) This is a great movie and I hope it gets proper treatment for DVD. One thing that appears to be missing from the DVD is the English-dubbed track for the live-action scenes between the animated scenes. It will be nice to hear the original Italian dialog, but I will not be able to understand it and have to rely on the subtitles. It's sad that the English dubbing has not been included. (Why hasn't it been included?) Especially in comedies like ANT, dubbing into other languages can be used for comedic effect. (An extreme example of this is What's Up, Tiger Lily?) For this reason, I'm giving 4 stars for the DVD. Despite the lack of the English track, I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD's release...but I will still hang on to my laserdisc.

Brilliant animation, pretty good satire
It's okay to like Fantasia and Allegro non troppo too. But they're not the same, which makes the satire of Disney so funny, especially after 20 years of massive Disney expansionism.

Animating music, which is inherently abstract, is always a risk. However, if you aren't too worried about everything being pretty (like in Fantasia), this film will work for you. How can you tell? If you're still dry-eyed after watching the Sibelius Walse triste sequence, there's something wrong with you.

Highly Entertaining
I'd seen this in college (about 1979?) as required for a music course. There were no Italian translations, and I mostly found it confusing. The DVD release has subtitles, and is most enjoyable. I especially found the "Best of" additional short works funny and mildly political (love/peace/green earth hippie ideals of the 1960's and 1970's). There's enough sexual content and mild nudity that I'd would suggest not for younger than 10 year olds.

Superb!
This really is a wonder to behold. The animation is breath taking and the stories are straight from the heart. Much better than Fantasia. Also, the bonus footage on the DVD is wonderful. Buy this DVD!

Video for Music Class
Allegro Non Troppo is the best animated feature I have ever seen. All the humor and pathos of music are creatively expressed in each segment. I saw this feature in college and have never forgotten it. My favorite part is the "Sad Waltz" (Valse Triste) by Sibelius. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! I will be using parts of the movie in my music classes. The kids need something new and fresh. ... Read more