The Contract (2000) User Reviews

Animated

[gold167 · 7/10 · 14 June 2003]

Great accompaniment for the "Love and a Bullet" live action movie the DVD has extras such as deleted scenes, alternate ending

But as an black animated movie its great goes deeper into the psyche of Bishop

Go cop it

Unique attempt, with an interesting story...

[Andrew! · 26 August 2004]

I really wanted to like this little short animated film. I am a big fan of (western-non-japanimation)(see heavy metal, heavy traffic, allegro non-troppo, fantastic planet)work, and it was with a lot of curiosity that I stumbled on this piece in a pawn shop. The DVD is divided into 9 chapters, each with a new piece of the puzzle that makes up the "treach" character's life. I loved the realistic street dialogue, with all the curse words and some nudity. For a very brief moment or two, I actually felt the fearless pulse of a Ralph Bakshi work. But unfortunately, this animation itself, can not even hold a candle to his work.

In fact, that's my only real complaint about the whole thing. Many of the backgrounds in the animation appear to be pixelated (!)or overblown, and at time we're reduced to a comic strip like approach where the characters are talking, but nobody's moving. This project looks as though, they had some good ideas, script, and voice talent, and then ran out of money or backing for the project, but put it together anyway.

If you're a big animation fan, or a fan of the the Urban gangster genre, check out this little piece. Maybe somebody can re-make this one day, or make some other material in this same vein, and be able to put the creative work deserving of a story like this one.

very ,very good.

[evoleye · 9/10 · 12 March 2006]

once again, buried treasure has been unearthed from the bargain bin. i felt i'd like this when i bought it (i'm usually more lenient towards bad cartoons than bad movies). this one delivered the goods and then some.

i haven't seen a drama as good as this in awhile (and it's a 'toon). i found it to be tense, gritty, raw and somewhat thought-provoking. can a murder be an act of mercy? does embracing your evil side make you a better person?

this short is based on another film i haven't seen yet called LOVE AND A BULLET. this is low budget animation, for sure, but i got hooked on the story more than the art. it's primarily about a hit-man named bishop and a beautiful woman he's supposed to kill. as you hear bishop's life in his own words, a complex character is established. the flashback with his father is shocking in it's own way and works well to keep you interested for the rest of the film.

the caged bird sings of freedom, and i think this short cartoon sings for recognition. yes we can do serious adult anime right here in America.hopefully they'll do it again. two thumbs up.