Tag: heavy traffic

Heavy Traffic is a 1973 American animated film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film, which begins, ends, and occasionally combines with live-action, explores the often surreal fantasies of a young New York cartoonist named Michael Corleone, using pinball imagery as a metaphor for inner-city life. Heavy Traffic was Bakshi and producer Steve Krantz’s follow-up to the successful but controversial film Fritz the Cat, the first animated feature to receive an X rating. Though producer Krantz made varied attempts to produce an R-rated film, Heavy Traffic was given an X-rating by the MPAA. The film received positive reviews and is widely considered to be Bakshi’s biggest critical success.
The film starts out in live action. We are introduced to Michael Corleone, a 22-year-old virgin playing pinball in New York City. The scene transcends into animation. New York has a diseased, rotten, tough and violent atmosphere. Michael’s Italian father, Angelo “Angie” Corleone, is a struggling…