No, I'm not gone, it's just that the standards of discourse on this list
have fallen to new lows (hard to believe it was possible, but goddamn -
Christina Ricci???), so I'm deleting like crazy. Sorry to those who've
emailed me privately - I'm WAY behind on my replies.
In an effort to generate some content worth reading, here's an email I put
together for my brother, a list of Break-Dancin' movies culled from the
Internet Movie Database. Enjoy!
Che
Wild Style (1982)
Legendary New York graffiti artist Lee Quinones plays the part of Zoro, the
city's hottest, and most elusive writer. The actual plot of the movie
concerns the tension between Zoro's passion for his art, and his personal
life, particularly his strained relationship with fellow artist Rose. But
this isn't why you watch Wild Style - This movie is *the* classic hip hop
and graffiti flick, full of great subway shots, break dancing, freestyle
mc-ing and rare footage of one of the Godfathers of Rap, Grandmaster Flash
pulling off an awesome scratch-mix set on a pair of ancient turntables. A
must-see for anyone interested in hip hop culture and graffiti art.
Beat Street (1984)
Urban ghetto kids find creative outlets in painting graffiti, breakdancing,
rapping, and developing new disco d. j. routines. A slicker version of WILD
STYLE that places the old Mickey & Judy ``let's put on a show'' formula
into a more realistic contemporary setting. Innocuous trend piece,
coproduced by Harry Belafonte.
Che's note: Sometimes a little overly melodramatic, but the breakin' battle
scenes make it all worthwhile. There's also a graffitist on an Ahab-like
quest for the great white subway train. I noticed several Jedi Knights
samples while watching. And look for the MemoryMoog that makes sounds
while not plugged in. On FLIX this month - on the 12th, 17th, 23rd, and 27th.
Breakin' (1984)
Harmless FLASHDANCE clone, but with the emphasis on breakdancing. Here,
heroine Dickey waitresses rather than welds. Look for Jean-Claude Van Damme
as an extra at the beach. A sequel followed before the year was out.
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)
Two worthy adversaries--a toothy WASP developer who could rate a centerfold
in Forbes and a young urban black whose earring is longer than a
bola--clash when the former tries to bulldoze a community rec center. The
18 break-dancing standards include ``Do Your Thang'' and ``Oye Mamacita. ''
Che's note: This has the great solo dance w/ broom scene set to Kraftwerk's
"Tour de France".
Body Rock (1984)
Formula break-dancing movie (shot by the great Robby Muller!) casts beefy
Lamas as hero/heel who dumps his best friend, his bf's quietly voluptuous
sis, and other pals when he's hired to emcee a chic uptown club. Watching
L. L. clomp to the beat is like watching Victor Mature boogaloo.
Delivery Boys (1984)
A gang of boys under the Brooklyn Bridge are united by their common
interest in break dancing. Some work as pizza delivery boys, hence they
call themselves the "Delivery Boys". They form a dance team and enter a
local break dance contest, sponsored by a woman's panty manufacturer. A
rival gang's sponsor intimidates their employer into thinking she must keep
the boys working so they won't be harmed. She gives the boys some
"specialized" deliveries to make them late for the contest. The antics and
calamities abound as the boys wrestle with her work assignments and getting
to the contest on time.
Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool! (1984) (V)
Completely insane! For those of you who choose to forget, Mr. T was an
icon of the 1980s--a tough guy who could act sensitive when he needed to,
or when a paycheck depended on it. If you ever watched the A-Team, you'd
see his character repeatedly clobbered in the head with lead pipes and he
wouldn't flinch; but he also tried to branch out into a strange kind of
motivational programming for children, even inspiring a tasteless breakfast
cereal. "Be Somebody, or be Somebody's Fool" is one of Mr. T's bizarre
efforts to teach little kids how to be better people. Either this show is
incredibly bad, or it's just too deep for me to comprehend. The 80s answer
to Huggy Bear leads the viewer through a long string of unrelated pearls of
wisdom, the values of which are reinforced by small children who can't act.
The philosophy of this show really is encapsulated in its title--the
watchcries never stray beyond this level of simplicity. This show really is
insane--you have to wonder who thought it would be a good idea. Mr. T is no
Mr. Rogers; he presents his lessons to children without seeming to care at
all. If you can find this tape, it's worth watching just to see how bad
children's programming can get. Plus, the hilariously bad rap songs may
inspire you to donate something to the "Blacks Without Soul" fund.
Qing feng di shou (1985)
I couldn't find any info on this - it's Chinese.