Heavy Traffic
by Ralph Bakshi
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DVD details
Actor: Beverly Hope Atkinson, Frank DeKova, Joseph Kaufmann, Mary Dean Lauria, Terri HavenDirector: Ralph Bakshi
Brand: BAKSHI,RALPH
Cinematographer: Gregg Heschong
Cinematographer: Ted C. Bemiller
Writer: Ralph Bakshi
Editor: Donald W. Ernst
Producer: Mark L. Rosen
Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff
Producer: Steve Krantz
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Italian (Original Language); Yiddish (Original Language)
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 76 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-09-05
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM
DVD Reviews of Heavy Traffic
DVD Review: Although it has a few scuff marks, this is a true masterpiece of the Bakshi oeuvre
Summary: 5 Stars
"Heavy Traffic" is a masterpiece of animation, despite the flaws it has. It dares to tackle with more complex human emotions and issues, far more than had ever been done since the Golden Age of Animation. The story deals with the trials and tribulations of young Michael Corleone (yes, that's his name), a 22 year-old Half-jewish, Half-Italian aspiring cartoonist. He lives with his parents, Angelo and Ida Corleone, whose relationship make Al and Peg Bundy look like Ozzie and Harriet. The film also talks about life in 1973 New York (tough place to be).
First off, there is a lot of great animation in here, although it lacks precision and professionalism , although I chalk that up to lack of funds for pencil testing and Bakshi's relative inexperience with feature animation. However, the animators do manage to get the personality of the characters across quite well. The characters in this film feel real, although they have caricatured appearances, but in some ways, the cartoony drawing style of the movie enhances the emotional realism of the characters. They're both lovable and deplorable at the same time, which makes them feel like real people. You'll never see Mickey Mouse or even Bugs Bunny do any of the stuff they do in this movie. One of the most interesting aspects of this movie is that it prides itself on being a animated movie. A lot of animated films have followed the Disney pattern of trying to disguise the animated factor by following a live-action pattern (trying to emulate live-action). This film tries to do what can only be done in animation. As such, there is a lot of surreal moments loaded with symbolism, although you will have to watch it a few times to get them. A key strength to any Bakshi film, but particularly his early ones, is collage of different styles. The characters are sometimes traced over live backgrounds (actual photographs), or the animation takes a whole new turn and transforms into something like the brilliant Maybellene sequence (set to the classic Chuck Berry song). Bakshi in those days was all about forging ahead and trying to create something new.
However, despite its brilliance, this film has a few rough patches. There are many good parts to this movie, but it's only after multiple viewings that the film connects as a whole. This shows a lack of clarity in storytelling, which isn't surprising since Bakshi tended to improvise as he went along. Although it adds a sense of adventure for production, it doesn't help create a coherent film. Also, did we really need to see Ida's breasts or have the gag aboutAngelo crapping his pants. I could have done with out those.
Aside from these minor complaints, "Heavy Traffic" is a great movie that is lightyears beyond Bakshi's previous film, "Fritz the Cat". This DVD does no justice to the films. We need a DVD commentary from the man himself, along with the animators who worked on this. Thank you for reading.
DVD Review: Animated sleaze with no real momentum.
Summary: 2 Stars
I wanted to get a sample of Bakshi's earlier work. A legitimate copy of Coonskin wasn't available for cheap and I didn't want to get anything X-rated, so Heavy Traffic was the way to go. I felt that Bakshi's sophomoric attempt at animation would be a better shot, anyway.
The plot revolves around Michael Corleone, a 22-year old living with his Catholic, Italian father who drinks, fornicates like crazy and has mafia connections and his Jewish mother who is always trying to kill her husband and spoil her son. The son, whose passion in life is to become an animator as well other cheaper thrills, soon gets pulled into a relationship with a black girl who works as a bartender. After the father brings home a fat and pushy Sicilian hooker to do his son and reacts violently to the fact that his son is dating a colored girl, Michael moves out with his girlfriend to try and sell some of his work. After that doesn't work, they lean toward crime.
Bakshi tries to make this movie streetwise. It's a fair attempt, but it pretty much just starts out in the real world with the real Michael playing pinball while the movie starts out the animation while it keeps switching back and forth to that one pinball scene. Another problem I had with it was the sleaze. Within the first fifteen minutes of the movie, you see more animated violence and nudity than Heavy Metal in its entirety. You get the notion that Ralph Bakshi was trying to draw as much bare breasts as possible (every girl in the movie, no matter the age, always has one breast jump out for no real reason) while trying to make you laugh at all the zany racial stereotypes he pens in. Moving onto the plot, the movie dwells on a few side escapades for more comic relief, now matter HOW irrelevant they are (the bit about setting the pidgeon go comes to mind). Then it ends with (animated) Michael being shot in the head while a montage of creepy animation happens, followed by the real Michael losing a pinball game and throwing a tantrum. After that, he walks out into the city where he finds the black girl and they argue and make up in time to dance for the credits. Maybe this is something you have to be a cartoonist from the big city to understand, but I didn't enjoy it. In spite of the promise it had, I found it too urbane as well as too unorganized.
DVD Review: a fresh breath from the norm
Summary: 5 Stars
the animation is all american which I like and is harder to find theses days. the story and atmosphere sync in perfect harmony as the story progresses.
the film is unique in its live action/animation genre which is rarely exercised in films, in this case it was done sucessfully.
what jeers I do have for this movie is sometimes; the street punk ghetto urban style attitude it carries sometimes gets overuseds and becomes downright silly, tho it rarely happens.
New york times has even stated "furious energy, uncomfortable to watch as often as it is hilarious."
overall heavy traffic is orchestrated well and very watchable to any mature audience. A rare film such as this only happens so many times a decade.
DVD Review: Careful! TWO versions out there.
Summary: 2 Stars
I saw Heavy Traffic in a sale promo from Amazon. It was a 2 for $10 sale and I ordered six pairs. I checked each one to be sure what I was ordering. The version of Heavy Traffic shown on Amazon was the 77 minute X-rated version. What I received was the 76 minute R-rated version. I wanted the X-rated version only as a collection item so the R version was useless to me.
I used the automated refund/replace Amazon process and was promptly given a return label. I hadn't even gotten that mailed when the replacement arrived... only it was a replacement, it was the same thing. I called (having lost faith in automated anything) and had to explain over and over what the problem was. Finally got a "we'll look into it and get back to you within 24 hours". I've had nothing but good experience with Amazon in the past so expect this to be resolved well. Otherwise you'll see another scathing post from me in a few days in all caps.
As for the movie, I recall it being rather dark and crude. It is animation mixed with live action in an unusual way, nothing like Who Killed Roger Rabbit. For 5 or 6 bucks, it's worth seeing for uniqueness, as long as material doesn't bother you.
DVD Review: Worth viewing as an animation oddity, nothing more, unless its nostalgia speaks to you.
Summary: 2 Stars
After the success of "Fritz the Cat", celebrated animation director Ralph Bakshi turned his adult-oriented animation style to something a bit more personal with 1973's "Heavy Traffic". The film follows Michael Corleone, a young, underachieving cartoonist living with his violently battling parents in a rough part of the city. When he is at home, he must put up with his Italian mob-involved father and his coddling Jewish mother literally attempting to kill each other, so he spends a lot of time wandering the streets and getting into odd situations by hanging out with seedy people at seedy bars and being harassed by locals about his virginity. When he takes up with an attractive black girl who has been fired from one of those clubs, his racist father puts a contract out on his life for shaming the family. While that seems like it could be a solid plot on paper though, it doesn't play out into very much onscreen. There is little added to the story than what I've just told you. No real twists, nothing really interesting besides Bakshi's expected bizarre visuals, which are really what Bakshi's more doodly films, like this, are worth watching for I suppose. Though, personally, the clashing of Bakshi's far too doodly animated characters with real world imagery comes out looking far too messy for my tastes. We're not talking "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" here.
Of course, the film is clearly a look at the ugly, gritty, dark side of urban life. How hard and violent it is, how you get bounced around (there is a big pinball machine metaphor played out with live-action footage that weaves in and around the animation), how much hatred there is between groups of people and how some folks struggle (apparently unsuccessfully) to rise above it. It shows both a nostalgic love and a disdain for urban life, which is truly portrayed without pulling any punches (be prepared for racially offensive language and generally offensive visuals). It's all best seen as a work of pop art reflecting its time and source, not just in its unique look but over all. It works in that sense, though still is not my cup of tea, but I don't really feel it works as a movie. I can appreciate a simple story, but this one still didn't really seem like a sufficient story as I watched it, I've never really been a fan of Bakshi's wild and unnecessarily raunchy or violent doodles that seem to serve little purpose or be too over the top to be effective when they are making a point, and the whole live-action wraparound only made the film's story more confusing, leaving one wondering if it was all imagined by the live-action Michael or if it was a vision of things to come, or what. Bottom line, it works as a work of art, but not as a piece of storytelling, and since it seems to be trying to be both, I would only consider it partially successful and not appealing to my personal tastes at all really.
Regardless, it's good to see this one on DVD, as I personally feel everything should be available on DVD. It is only in fullscreen though, and there is only one extra, but it's a good one. The extra is the theatrical trailer, and theatrical trailers for this kind of film from this era are very interesting to watch. Despite the low number of stars I'm giving this film (sorry, it just didn't do much for me except as an animation oddity), I would recommend it for true animation aficionados to have in their collections since it is a part of animation history. But, if you don't care about that sort of thing, don't bother with it unless you just like raunchy, wild animation.
Description of Heavy Traffic
"Heavy images, crazy violence, insanity verging on insecurity and brilliance" (Films & Filming)! Heavy Traffic, the second feature from writer/director Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat), combines a quick-edit pace, a frenetic story line and an array of eye-popping animation and live-action styles. "Powerful, raw and valid" (Los Angeles Times), this "remarkable blend" of filmic styles is a "hypnotic, life-giving experience" (The Hollywood Reporter)! Michael, a young artist who lives with his neurotic mother and two-timing father, escapes the absurd and often ugly side of life on New York's tough streets by satirizing its rich yet wacky characters in wildly entertaining cartoons. From the gruff homeless and wisecracking prostitutes to gun-toting gangsters and corrupt cops, Michael's world becomes an outlandish kaleidoscope of shocking images and horrifying events that are either a testament of his wild imagination or a reminder of the strangeness of reality.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
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