Ralph Bakshi and The Great Train Robbery

I attended a screening COONSKIN (aka STREET FIGHT) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which is part of their Series on Ralph Bakshi. 


I noticed that when one character points his pistol to the camera it played like the end of THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY. 

After the screening Bakshi was signing merchandise and the person in front of me was buying an animation cell of that very scene. So I asked Bakshi if this was, in fact, a reference. 

He said "No."

The one-word answer felt pretty loaded, as if to say "No, you over-educated pencil-neck geek. Don't believe everything they tell you in college." (It was like he was Jimmy James and I was Lisa Miller.) 

My friend Eric said that THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY has so permeated film culture that it may have been an unconscious homage. 

I agree. 

But saying that to Bakshi would just be me digging my ditch even deeper. 

Not that fancy-pants college boys know about digging ditches.