Paul Morrisey's Mixed Blood (1985)is a grim and bleak look at life on the streets of New York City. Morrisey shot the movie on grainy film stock.By doing so he gives the film a newsreel type aura. This is no Hollywood movie folks. The acting feels real and so does the situations. He pulls no punches in showing how these people survive day by day. The action scenes are abrupt and to the point. There's no staged or choreographed action set pieces. Everything about this film has a feel of true life. Many people will be turned off because of this. What do they know? Mixed Blood is great film that will sadly fade away into obscurity. A shame a great film maker like Paul Morrisey has never gotten his due.Highly recommended. Not for all tastes.

First up, Mixed Blood is no Citizen Kane (Personally, I think Citizen Kane is highly overrated, but you get my point). However, it is a very enjoyable, funny and entertaining. The acting on occasion is poor but in a strange way this adds to the sense of realism. Richard Ulacia is a dreadful actor but due to the fact that he is playing a retarded mummy's boy means that he is perfect for this role!Marilia Pera is excellent as Rita La Punta (she starred in Central Station) and whilst she shows sincere motherly love for all her 'adopted' drug running boys, she still manages to exude a real air of menace for her rivals drug dealers.There are some very funny scenes in this film. I suspect most of them were intentional, although some are not. However, be warned if you like Merchant and Ivory films you will not find any humour in this film! If you hate Merchant and Ivory films, you should have a rib tickling time.On a more serious note, one of the plot lines involves NYC's finest helping the drug dealers eliminate their rivals. In the light of the Larry Davis case (where Larry, a teenager, was allegedly employed by South Bronx police officers to sell drugs) and the fact that, in retrospect, this film was shot in the same year, you really do get a sense of gritty realism.The musical score is excellent and matches the style and look of the film perfectly. The fine use of latin classics from Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon will have you shimmying in your seat.If you like Scarface and Carlito's Way, rent this film on a Saturday night (when there is nothing much on TV) and you will not be disappointed.

I see an average of about 40 or 50 movies a year. I'm now 45, so I've seen quite a few. For fun, I've been going back and rating each movie I've seen according to four criteria. They happen to be Grip, Depth, Fun, and Beauty. Mixed Blood came out 9th in one of my favorite years for movies (1985). It is a fascinating poetic eye-opener. The point I want to make, however, is that among all these movies I've seen, this one remains among the most vividly unforgettable.

I can't help it - I love to watch this movie - I love the cheesy soundtrack (salsa rhythms played on an old Casio keyboard). I love the way Marilia Pena delivers her lines. (This is the wonderful woman from Pixote!) If there is anyone out there who actually liked Spike of Bensonhurst - you would also enjoy this - I own both movies - They are both by Paul Morrisey (He made many of the Andy Warhol films) - It's a hard sell, recommending this movie - I imagine it could outrage a lot of people - It is alternately a dark comedy and a bittersweet drama - Hard to find people who appreciate both -