The world's most objectionable glorification of urban violence.

Warning, if you are a sensitive movie viewer and you have difficulty watching live violence on TV, then you might have some difficulty watching the movie World's Wildest Street Fights: Ghetto Brawls. This controversial fight video picks up where the 1974 Faces of Death left off, only this time the violence is totally urban. Ghetto Brawls is a grisly shockumentary that climbs the slimy echelon of hardcore films that brings violence right to your living room. This uncensored film shows raw footage of brutal and lethal fights that makes Spike TV’s, “The Ultimate Fighter: Finale” look like kids play. Once the film begins to play you get a big WARNING! Sign noting that this program has not been rated and that it contains scenes of explicit and graphic violence that will be frightening.


The films starts with two heavyset women engaged in a knock down drag out fistfight for no apparent reason. While we don’t know the names of the two ladies or why they are fighting, we do see their fist fly and an audience cheering them on as they beat each other to a pulp in their flannel pajamas eventually becoming topless. As the two ladies continue to fight the crowd yells, “Get up, get up” and “Let them fight” repeatedly. Next the viewer is immediately taken to the next scene where we find another young lady screaming, cursing and yelling various profanities, which eventually turns into a fist flying altercation. The young lady gets into a violent argument with another young man dressed in black at a rap concert. Suddenly the lights in the concert hall are turned on, the announcer with the microphone points to another rapper on the stage and says, “This is the (profanity) that messed up our show”. Unexpectedly the man with the microphone pushes the man he blames into the bloodthirsty spectators. The crowd immediately begins pummeling the poor man ultimately beating him senseless. Fortunately the young rapper is able to eventually wobble to his feet and flee the infuriated crowd leaving with a large knot over his eye.


The next scene is broken up by the word, “Ghetto Brawls” with two girls fighting in the grass with the words, “You can call him right now, I’, not (profanity) with him” in small print. As the carnage continues you occasionally catch a glimpse of the police, however once they arrive either the fighting stops, or a large crowd begins taunting them. Some of the most disturbing scenes are when a young woman tells another female aggressor that she is pregnant, refusing to fight. Despite her please she is repeatedly hit in the face until another man intervenes. There is one obligatory brief dance scene where a man dressed in black, does a few break dance moves followed by another vicious gut wrenching scuffle. Later in the film, the only recognizable name or celebrity appearance comes from rapper Master P, shown defending one of the members of his entourage who has had an altercation with the police for carrying a loaded gun.


The music and sound track for Ghetto Brawls is down right terrible. The majority of the lyrics are inaudible while the background music sounds like it is broadcast on an A.M. radio. From time to time you hear an under ground rap song that glorifies violence, drugs and the “N”- word, which is tossed around the film like baggy pants in a public high school. Unsurprisingly this film should not be viewed by children of any age. Adults with a propensity for violence should avoid this film at all cost. The sadistic content in this film has been the subject of much debate in our nations capital for years as citizens attempt to outlaw street violence. Moreover, the film plays into several stereotypes that revolve around race, gender, poverty and violence.


In my opinion the driving force behind Ghetto Brawls is dollars and cents. When viewing the cinematography in this film it is clear that production cost was extremely low. Some of the scenes were so dark you could barely see or make out individual faces. Other scenes the cameraman appears to be tossed into some of the fights as his lens point to the ceiling. Viewers also get one obligatory scene of a few scantly clad women dressed like adult entertainers flashing and lifting up their skirts. This particular scene was reminiscent of CNN’s news coverage of Daytona Beach Spring in 1999.


Ultimately this film has mythologized violence, women and drug use. The merciless beatings and stomping incidents are surpassed only by the film’s glorification of street drugs. Taken as a whole, Ghetto Brawls is a collection of random violent acts where children are put in lethal danger by adults, basic family and community structures are non-existent, there is no respect for the law or anyone, and no one is safe from the bloodshed, disrespect, and pandemonium. The message comes through loud and clear, scene after scene, as abusive and violent language is used indiscriminately to describe the hatred, and brutality captured in this film. This movie was very stressful to watch, especially the scenes where a man is killed with a shovel and a white blanket is placed over his body with spectators saying, “He’s dead.”


This raunchy DVD was made for pour profit retailing at $19.99 per DVD, flying off the shelf faster than the latest Girl’s Gone Wild. Hopefully this movie won’t serve as a model for social behavior especially for young adults, who may think it’s okay to resort to violence when they have a disagreement. Beyond the movies obvious content concerns, I am also alarmed about the voyeuristic aspects of some of the fight scenes where crowds of people stand idol, watching and in many cases cheering on the madness. Finally after approximately 60 minutes this film comes to a bloody halt letting the viewer know there is going to be a Ghetto Brawls 2.


Like the actual film you don’t get much with this DVD. Viewers are offered three selections, play movie, scene selections and sneak previews. The best selection Ghetto Brawls offers is the ability to return it to the video store a.s.a.p! Truthfully folks, most of the films urban street scenes look like something you would find on the nightly news, only it has not been edited. Bottom line, Ghetto Brawls shows how the underground economy has contributed to the exorbitant number of young adults in the criminal justice system. This film offers no entertainment value and should probably be rated NC-17 due to its vicious fighting, explicit nudity, offensive and violent language, and its overall aggressive theme.