FILMCLUB BERLIN: COCKFIGHTER

Dienstag 13.9.2011

20.30 Uhr

vorgestellt von Thomas Moritz Helm

Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates) is a game cock trainer who has taken a vow of silence; he once bragged too loudly about his cockfighting prowess and ended up losing his best fowl in a drunken, late-night match before an important tournament. To regain his pride after such hubris, Frank refuses to utter a word until he wins the coveted "Cockfighter of the Year" medal. Cockfighter follows his ups and downs as he attempts to succeed in the shadowy, barely legal sport. Frank loses his truck, trailer, and a girlfriend after trying to rig a match with fellow cocksman Jack Burke (Harry Dean Stanton), and has to sell his house to raise funds for stock. Later, Frank wins ten roosters in a private backwoods match and trains them heavily with his partner, Omar Baradinsky (Richard B. Shull), working his way back to the top of his chosen craft. He also attempts to reestablish his relationship with an old girlfriend (Patricia Pearcy) who doesn't know much about cockfighting and is repulsed when she actually witnesses one in the flesh. There is plenty of brutal footage included in Cockfighter that will dismay many animal lovers, so those with qualms about the sport should steer clear.
(Rotten Tomatoes)

Auf die Idee, ein Film über Kampfhähne könnte genau das sein, worauf das Massenpublikum gewartet hat, muss man auch erst mal kommen. Es war die Idee des Produzenten Roger Corman ... Und schon der Gedanke, dass ein Roman von Charles Willeford (von dessen vergleichsweise mildem Alterswerk um den Polizisten Hoke Moseley war noch nichts zu ahnen) eine wunderbare Filmvorlage abgibt, muss als einigermaßen abwegig betrachtet werden.
(Ekkehard Knörer)

Trailer:

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi164954649/

Links:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cockfighter/

http://www.jump-cut.de/backlist-cockfighter.html