Street Fight

A Pseudo-Microcosmic Political Race That Everyone Should Be Aware Of
Most politically charged films focus on corruption at the higher levels of state, but STREET FIGHT gives us a curb-side view of something much smaller ...and much more important.

The 2002 Newark, New Jersey Mayoral race is something most voters in the U.S. could care less about. Why should someone in, say, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania pay attention to Newark's voting issues? Or someone in Fort Worth, Texas? Or San Francisco, California? Realistically, none of them would. But Newark is New Jersey's most populated city, and those in San Francisco and beyond might want to take a peak at what's happening to our democracy on a pseudo-microcosmic level.

The film's primary focus is on Cory Booker, a Newark city councilman with his eye on the mayor's office. He's a Stanford and Yale graduate who lives in a slum within Newark. He's an idealist who's grown tired of his city's poor schools, poorer neighborhoods, and rising jobless rate. To get into the mayor's office, though,...

The Candidate Returns
Q: Why should anyone west of the Delaware River care about the Newark, NJ mayoral race of 2002? A: For me, this was an edge-of-the-seat suspenser that wouldn't let go long enough to let me take a phone call. If you don't know how it ends, see it for the cliffhanging story it tells. For anyone else, this compact little documentary should be seen for its relentless journalistic energy. As American politics becomes more and more dominated by fear tactics, the corporate-owned news organizations have abdicated their duties as the Fourth Estate of our republic, leaving independents like Marshall Curry to take up the mantle. STREET FIGHT compares favorably with the classic MEDIUM COOL, and entertains like a latter-day version of THE CANDIDATE.

We see Sharpe James, a six-term incumbent, try every dirty trick in the book to hold on to his office: he threatens business closures for those who put rival Cory Booker's sign in their windows; he smears the Booker campaign with...

Riveting! - The "real deal" on politics in a major urban city!
This film had me glued to my TV set for it's full 90 minutes. Though I don't live that far from New Jersey, I was unaware of the political campaigns for the position of Mayor in Newark, NJ. At first I noted that this was about a campaign four years ago and thought it was an old film. But it's not. It goes right up through 2006.

One of the marks of a great documentary film is that you feel you are really there. This was shot on video and makes it even more realistic (well, it IS real). I find it hard to believe that this Director Marshall Curry's first full-length feature. It's that gripping. And the lead "characters" of Cory Booker and Mayor Sharpe have such distinct personalities that, as the film progresses, you can't help but take sides.

The film was shown on PBS's show P.O.V. but that is usually aired at very oddball, times - and rarely repeated. And the 20-minute interview with Director Curry helps flesh out some of the details and explains why he became the...

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