What if I told you that the two greatest movies of all time were both cartoons? Okay, they’re not cartoons per say but they are both animated. The first would be ‘Street Fight’ by RALPH BAKSHI. If you are old enough to have gone to see a blaxploitation movie in a theatre then you may know the flick as ‘CoonSkin’.
The movie stars PHILIP MICHAEL THOMAS, BARRY WHITE and SCATMAN CROTHERS on some deep revolutionary shit. It was so controversial that the studio that produced it had to pull it from the theatres. It describes how the Black community is willfully duped and defrauded and it could have awoken the sleeping giant. You won’t be able to find the movie on NetFlix or in any video store, but I scored a pirated burn on eBay.
The next greatest movie of all time is called ‘Ninja Scroll’ or part I of the ‘Wind Ninja Chronicles’ if you live in NYC and know your way around Chinatown. This film is a superb action movie and love story that revolves around this character, Jubei Kibagami, who is a Ronin. In feudal Japan, the ronin was a masterless samaurai. Think of a hired gun in the old west. Jubei isn’t looking for fame or fortune, just a place to relax for a little while before he continues on his journeys.
In this epic tale Jubei must fight against an old nemesis who has gained the secret to immortality. His name is Gemma and he has conscripted eight super powerful ninja to work for him. They are called the Devils of Kimone and they all kick azz viciously. Gemma is making a bid to overthrow the Shogunate government that rules Japan and with the help of the eight ninja assassins he just might win.
Jubei reluctantly joins the fight against the Devils, but he is wholeheartedly in the middle when he finds out that their leader is his arch enemy. Jubei, along with Kagero a female ninja, seek to destroy Gemma and save fuedal Japan from his clutches. The action is constant and fast paced and there is even some anime boobs thrown in for good measure.
If you are a big fan of the Adult Swim programming these two movies should be at the top of your acquisition list.
Ninja Scroll is the Joint…I never saw all of Streetfighter…I remember being lit up watching N.S. at my man’s house with his retarded uncle and when the first ninja from the village gets electrocuted dude straight had a seizure….needless to say I finished the flick at my house.
I got Ninja Scroll on VHS and need dto upgrade to DVD. On point as always comrade.
I’ve been meaning to see that Bakshi flick.. I watched another one of his from that era called Heavy Traffic… It’s dope.
Just watched Coonskin.
Damn. Great flick. Definitely riot starter. I’ll need to watch it again to make sure I caught everything.
Loved the live/animation.