Remember a few years back when everyone was freaking out over the artists that constructed thousands of fabric-covered "gates" in Central Park? Those artists were Christo & Jeanne-Claude, and this exhaustive 3DVD box set from Plexifilm documents the first 20 years of...
expand review the married couple's career (1974-1995), featuring even more impressive exploits, all seen through the keen lens of the Maysles Brothers (Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens). The pair are "environmental artists" who take on massive scale art projects (almost always involving nature and fabric) which they finance themselves and leave standing for only a short time - you've really got to see these things to get the full impact of what these people do. Disc 1 starts with Christo's 1974 draping of a massive orange curtain between two mountains in Colorado ("Christo's Valley Curtain"), as well as their 1978 effort to build a 24 mile long / 18 foot high fence of white fabric across the hills of Northern California ("Running Fence"). Disc 2 features Christo & Jeanne-Claude's 1986 attempt to surround eleven islands in Biscayne Bay with 6.5 million square feet of bright pink fabric ("Islands") as well as "Christo In Paris," where, in 1990, they wrapped the Pont Neuf bridge over the Seine in Paris. Disc 3 features "Umbrellas" - you've just gotta see that one for yourself. Not only are the couple's stunts impressive, but these films are extremely well made and Plexifilm has put a great package together here with bonus interviews, audio commentaries, a full-color slipcase and (best of all) an 82-page booklet with amazing exclusive photos, essays and project histories. Recommended. -Larri Byrd
The cover reads,"Yo New York! Check out these dope videos - All The Way Live Baby!" scrawled on a stark white DVD. Despite its bootleg presentation - this is the shit. It's actually the sequel to the best-selling Yo Troop! Old School...
expand review DVD that we carry. This baby contains some of the rarest hip hop videos I've never seen. Most of these, I never even thought existed! Expect to see: Doug E Fresh, Fat Boys, the trippy editing of Malcolm McLaren, new wave madness of Man Parrish, Chuck Chillout, Stesasonic, Just Ice, Twin Hype, Schooly D, UTFO, Stezo, Melle Mel lookin' like a S&M hair bear and much more - all in their prime and looking young as hell! Shocking 80's street fashion, sick video editing, hip hop & leather, graf, girls, and live performance clips are all over this. A real connoiseur's pick of hip hop history, generously spread over 2 DVD's(double the videos of the first). Definitely don't judge by the looks alone. -Cmish
Videos are the best way to experience the Barnstormers. Applying time-lapse filming, their videos capture the raw energy that photos will always lack. I was lucky to dj one of their shows, and the live experience clearly outshined the end product (although...
expand review the end-painting was quite spectacular). Another crew happened to be painting with them, but their energy failed in comparison. That said, this film is the best thing that has happened to video art since that guy poured water on himself. Featuring a lineup of Kami, Mike Ming, Mike Houston, Maya Hayuk, David Ellis, Rostarr, Kenji Hirata, Jose Parla, and others, the crew applies their ego-less (they paint over each other freely), supremely creative painting to barns in Cameron, NC as well as controlled environment indoor shoots. Simply awesome. Recommended. -the mgmnt
Warp has always been known for leading the vanguard for stunning visuals(Aphex Twin, Rubber Johnny). Leave it to them to present this compelling DVD compilation of 16 European shorts from today's most respected talents. Since they are shorts, I'll spare you...
expand review the plots for each film. Instead, let me remark that the sensibility drawn from these films reminds us that a short can be just as moving as a feature. The array of accomplished writers, actors and directors are just as impressive as the stories and visuals encompassed here. It comes as a 2DVD set, complete with a 16 page color booklet with commentaries and a brief synopsis for each film. Definitely Recommended. Here's the program:
Juan Solanas' "The Man Without A Head," the Oscar winning "Wasp" by Andrea Arnolds, Christopher Nolan's(Momento, Batman Begins) "Doodlebug", Roy Anderson's "World Of Glory," Toby Macdonald's "Je Taime John Wayne, Lynne Ramsey's award winning "Gasman," Jan Svankmajer's surreal "Jabberwocky," "Mathieu Kassovitz' "Fierrot Le Pou," Run Wrake's animated "Rabbit," Virgil Widrich's Oscar nominated "Copyshop," "Ridley Scott's(Bladerunner, Gladiator) "Boy And Bicycle," Lars Von Trier's(Dancer In The Dark, Dogville) "Nocturne," Balint Kenyeres, "Before Dawn," Anders Thomas Jensen's "Election Night," Martin McDonagh's "Six Shooter," and Nanni Moretti's "The Opening Day Of Close-Up." -Cmish
I love it. The human attention span has gotten so small and pop culture keeps changing at such an alarming rate(Gnarls who?). This is the next evolution in crack to help you keep in step with it all. When I say all,...
expand review I'm not exaggerating either, it really does cover everything. From Japanese beatbox kings, to New York art militia Faile, streetwear game with none other than Lamaur and Dauley, MC/DJ culture with Tes(who's about to have a new release on Ed Banger), the Street Jewelry game, skateboard stuntman Billy Rohan, videos by D128 and more. Dap gives it to you all in well edited bitesize documentaries, so there is literally no fast foward time. Consider it your secret multivitamin of everything hannenin' under the sun and in the grimeiest parts of the street. Its a playa's best friend. -C'mish
It's the next edition of Dap, the ultimate trend hunter video mag. If you're too busy, to be keeping up with new hip hop artists, streetwear companies, designer sneaks, street artists and youth culture in general I'd suggest this 40 min concentrated...
expand review blast. This could be the future of mags as we know it. As photography is quickly puching away art, the same might be said with video. Who wants to see static pretty photo shoots when you can watch the artists talk themselves? This isuue covers the Patta clothing from Amsterdam, the futuristic hip hop of Mickey Factz, a behind the scenes at a Rocksmith photo shoot, art of Raza Uno, Hip Hop of Tanya Morgan, BKRW & street culture, Collette, Morning Breath design which is on our floor(I blogged them last year), and the photography of Kareem Black. Also comes with some exclusive Dap and Rockmith stickers. -C'mish
100 feet beneath central Paris, there's a huge maze of old tunnels, at least 40 miles long, called the Catacombs. They were originally used as quarries to get rock for the buildings, then became reinforced with pillars when said buildings started getting...
expand review built on top of them, and finally turned into a labyrinth of rooms and tunnels for safety sake. Towards the end of the 18th century the abandoned spaces were used as mass burial grounds for plague victims, a place to "discreetly" move bones from overcrowded cemeteries and other things of that nature, but they have remained a virtual no man's land up to the present. There are "official" trips that you can make down there today, but that only covers a tiny piece of the catacombs, while the rest has been the (completely illegal) stomping grounds of adventurers and outsiders for the last couple hundred years. In this documentary, Psyckoze- graffiti artist and 25 year vet of the tunnels- takes us on a guided tour, explains the history, reveals the secrets, and introduces us to some of the current dwellers. It's fascinating shit- the place is a virtual grafitti museum with work dating back to the 1700s, there's big piles of bones in places, converted + fixed up rooms in others, a history of wars, parties, art, and getting fucked up. It's a place of pure freedom, and Psy is probably the biggest proponent of keeping it that way. He's got a special connection and reveals his secret work of the last 10 years. Includes bonus interview with Harry Chalfant, approximately 60 minutes. -the mgmnt
4 disc boxset that includes the 3 Director Series DVDs and booklets (spotlighting Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Chris Cunningham, respectively), plus an exclusive bonus DVD. The fourth disc includes new work including: Spike Jonze's YYY's "Y Control" video, Weezer's "Island In...
expand review The Sun" video, and a short from Girl's Yeah Right video; Michel Gondry's "I Wonder" and Ossamuch original short; and excerpts from an in-store panel with the 3 directors. Also includes a dual-sided poster featuring a Chris Cunningham original design, and a collaborative piece on the flip. -the mgmnt
This box set collects volumes 4 through 7 of the Directors Series and save some dough in the process. This set contains over 15 hours of music videos, commercials, short films, documentaries and more from some of today's most innovative filmmakers plus...
expand review each volume comes with a 56 page book to get a peek into the director's mind with storyboards, drawings, behind-the-scenes photos and more. -the mgmnt
Volume 1 of the Directors Series that spotlights today's most celebrated and forward thinking video directors. Obvious spotlight on Spike Jonze for the first volume. Music videos from Beastie Boys, Pharcyde, Wax, Breeders, Daft Punk, Fatlip, Weezer, Fatboy Slim, Dinosaur Jr., Notorious...
expand review BIG, Chemical Brothers, Bjork, and more. Plus making of Pharcyde's "Drop" video, musician interviews, and audio commentaries. Second disc includes rarities: 2 shorts with Mark Gonzales, Oasis video that never happened, audition tape for Fatboy Slim video, and an excerpt from Mouse skate video; and three 30 minute documentaries on Fatlip documentary, teenage cowboys, and the Torrance Community Dance Group. THis 2 DVD set also includes a 52 page book of photos, drawings, and interviews. -the mgmnt
Volume 2 of the Directors Series that spotlights today's' most celebrated and forward thinking video directors. This volume concentrates on Chris Cunningham, best known for his work with Bjork and Aphex Twin. In addition to the 8 music videos included, the DVD...
expand review also features the making of Bjork's "All Is Full of Love" video (considered one of the best videos of all time), Cunningham's other work (video installations and commercial work), and a 52 page interview book. Videos included: Autechre "Second Bad Vilbel," Aphex Twin "Come To Daddy," Portishead "Only You," Madonna "Frozen," Leftfield "Afrika Shock," Squarepusher "Come On My Selector," Aphex Twin "Window Licker," and Bjork "All Is Full Of Love." -the mgmnt
Volume 3 of the Directors Series that spotlights today's most celebrated and forward thinking video directors. This volume concentrates on Michel Gondry, who burst into the public's eye with his genius White Stripes video made entirely of Legos. But one peek into...
expand review his catalog and you'll see that it is even more impressive. Music videos from: The White Stripes (3 of them), Chemical Brothers (2), Bjork (7), Kylie Minogue, Beck, Foo Fighters, Daft Punk, Cibo Matto, Rolling Stones, Massive Attack, Lucas, I Am, Oui Oui (6), and Jean Francis Coen. This 2 DVD set also includes a 75 minute film about his work, as well as close to 20 shorts and commercials. Includes a 52 page with interviews and photographs. -the mgmnt
Volume 4 in the Directors Series. All-star line up of videos from director Mark Romanek here. Includes videos from artists like Jay-Z (99 problems director's cut), Janet Jackson, Beck, Weezer, Sonic Youth, David Bowie, En Vogue, Madonna, Fiona Apple(!) and more. Also...
expand review included are interviews and commentaries, "Romanekian" starring Chris Rock and Ben Stiller, a 40 minute documentary on Romanek, the making of "99 Problems" and 56 page booklet full of photography and an interview by Spike Jonze. -the mgmnt
Volume 5 of the Directors Series features a definitive cross section of work from Jonathan Glazer. For music videos, you get work done for Radiohead, Jamiroquai, UNKLE (the famous "Rabbit In Your Headlights" video), Massive Attack and others. This also features the...
expand review many commercials Glazer has directed for companies such as Levis, Volkswagen, Stella Artois, and others. Bonus features include excerpts from films Sexy Beast and Birth, interviews, commentaries, and a 56 page book of photos storyboards and more. Recommended. -the mgmnt
Volume 6 of the Directors Series might be the most dense with over 30 of Anton Corbijn'a videos dating from 1984 to 2005 for artists such as Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Nirvana, Metallica, Mercury Rev, U2, The Killers, and others. Loaded with...
expand review extras include shorts, documentaries, excerpts, and more. Also features a 56 page book of photos, drawings, and text. -the mgmnt
Volume 7 of the Directors Series features 21 of Stephane Sednaoui's music videos for artists such as Bjork, Tricky, Massive Attack, Red Hot Chili Peppers (check the cover), U2 and others. Bonus features include 4 short films including one inspired by Lou...
expand review Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side," interviews, commentaries, and a 56 page book of photos, storyboards, and more. -the mgmnt
Calling all design nerdus, your Star Wars-Office Space-Blade-2001-ish is here. Helvetica is a documentary about "typography, graphic design, and global visual culture" by looking at "the proliferation of one typeface"... cue angelic-industrial noises... HELVETICA. Not only, do you get to learn about...
expand review the history of this typeface, you learn how it changed how typography is viewed, and the designers it influenced (finally, you get to see on film, wizard nerdi such as Wim Crouwel, Neville Brody, Alfred Hoffmann, Lars Muller, and many others!). This doc doesn't take itself too seriously, so buy with confidence. 80 minutes with an extra 95 minutes of bonus interviews. English and German subtitles. -the mgmnt
Henri Cartier-Bresson has made some of the most recognizable photographs of all time- iconic stuff like the little french kid proudly arming two bottles of red wine on the street, just do a simple google image search- and is widely recognized as...
expand review "the grandfather of photojournalism." Titles like that tend to get under my skin, but when you're as accomplished and flat out great as this guy is, you can pretty much call him anything you please. His best work is almost always done in the street, capturing the incidental, the flash moments where everything makes sense, and framing it with a deliberate precision that comes off as haphazard until you try to do it yourself and realize the guy is a split second genius. Just an amazing sense of timing, and a beautiful way to look at the world. This film by Heinz Butler features extensive interviews with Mr. Bresson himself, discussing all aspects of his work and life, as well as people like Arthur Miller and Isabelle Huppert. Of course the best parts are with Henri, slowly flipping through piles of his work and commenting on the photographs, the process, his life and more. Fascinating if you're into it. 72 minutes. -the mgmnt
I thought I'd throw this DVD on and get some work done at the same time, but in about 5 minutes, I was glued to the couch. At the Lab, I've seen tons of graf dvds, but none has ever revealed the...
expand review full story about graf artists like this. I don't how Doug Pray (who also directed the turntablism documentary Scratch) convinced his subjects to do this. I mean it's full disclosure: Pray films them in the act bombing, in their homes, with their parents, and at their work. What makes it gripping though is the quality of the subjects. Like in Scratch, Pray goes straight for the large players in the game, all from different backgrounds. First you he Earsnot, the downtown writer, who happens to be black and ***** (I won't spoil it), then you got Claw, the female fashionista bomber; Enem, the North Philly writer with all the crazy hand-styles; Jase, who has a well documented obsession with rails; Saber, probably one of the most standout writers in the last decade; and Toomer, an og west coast latino writer. In addition, he follows around Joe Connolly aka "The Graffiti Guerilla," who takes buffing graf as serious (and beefs as hard) as the kids writing it (dude is a nut). In the end, Pray somehow weaves these diverse stories into one without putting a commercialized or overly counter-culture gloss on it (the ultimate downfall of Scratch). 90 minutes plus 40 minutes of bonus features. Soundtrack by Z-Trip. Recommended. -the mgmnt
In 1966, ten New York artists and thirty engineers and scientists from Bell Telephone Laboratories collaborated on a series of innovative dance, music & theater performances, 9 Evenings: Theater & Engineering, held in October at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York...
expand review City. The artists were John Cage, Lucinda Childs, Oyvind Fahlstrom, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Rauschenberg, David Tudor and Robert Whitman. Archival material has been assembled into ten films, each of which reconstructs the artist's original work and uses interviews with the artists, engineers and performers to illuminate the artistic, technical and historical aspects of the work. Variations VII, performed at 9 Evenings, was the next to last in John Cage's series of indeterminate works he had begun in 1958, which made increasing use of electronic equipment and systems. This DVD documents the only complete performance of Variations VII and also presents a stereo audio recording of the full 85 minutes of the performance. Comes in a glossy fold-out DVD digipak. Running times: film - 41 minutes, audio track - 85 minutes. Playable in ALL regions. -Chris Lemon-Red
Another highly anticipated skate video, this one from Mark Gonzales' Krooked company. Expect lots of Gonz goofiness in between chapters as well as a Gonz short and an all new Gonz part (dude is whacked in the membrane). The first...
expand review disc features the full length skate video Krooked Kronichles (check out Dan Drehobl and Bobby Worrest). The second disc is what has people talking with the 7 Hours with Gonz mini-documentary; more guest skating; shorts from Spike Jonze, Neckface, Dan Vellucci & others; Krooked Japan tour footage; plus outtakes and extras. -the mgmnt
2001 documentary from designer/filmmaker Mike Mills that dips into the lives and thoughts of 6 different paperboys. As well as looking at the over-arching culture of being a paperboy, Mills focuses on the personal culture of the each kid's life: where they...
expand review live, what music they listen to, how they dress, what they value, what their rooms look like, what they think is going to happen in the future, etc. This DVD also includes the 1997 documentary Deformer which looks at the artwork and life of skater Ed Templeton. Total running time: 58 minutes. -the mgmnt
Fully impressive. Not only does it do justice to the freshness that is Frisco graff, but It's also uncovering the history of a mysterious culture that has never really been disected or exposed. "Piece By Piece" documents the story of San Francisco's...
expand review graf movement through the artists and people that made it happen. They accurately go over the last 20 years of graff in the city - from it's early roots in Latino cholo hand styles, to the early Muni bus tag wars (in contrast to NYC's subway wars), to the evolution of the SF style over the years through competition between crews, law enforcement, and other outside influences - all narrated by the writers that lived it and illustrated with beautiful footage and flicks from the time. The cast of writers that shaped the style are all in here and are legends in their own right - Twist, DUG, Cycle, KR (krink in the house), Grey, Revok, Giant, Deen, Dream, Saber, TMF crew, TWS crew, ICP crew, and many, many more. The soundtrack fits perfectly with plenty of introspective beats and hard Bay scratch business from none other than the Piklz (Q-bert + D-styles). One of the best grafitti movies I've seen. Includes 2 hours of bonus features including over an hour of extended painting footage, lost interviews, a 30 min. slideshow, and an extra nice 50 page booklet of graff interviews and flicks. Recommended. -snackmaster
World Famous TAT's Cru in their first official DVD. If you live in New York, you definitely know these guys. If you don't, you've probably seen their work before and not even known it. TAT's, which actually stands for Train Art...
expand review Theatre, have been murdering artists at the Grafitti Hall Of Fame for years and they aren't about to quit anytime soon. This DVD takes you deep into the origins of the crew from the Bronx in the 80's to present, their missions, and interviews with the members themselves. Grafitti heads need to peep if interested in communication and longevity in the Grafitti game. They don't call them the Mural Kings for nothin. -C'mish
Brand new DVD from Upper Playground. Yeah, I remember these guys from San Francisco. My friend Dave Choe has worked on a lot of projects with them,(the previous "Dithers" DVD)and as a company, they give a lot support the...
expand review contemporary art scene. They recruit artists from all over, sending them to other countries, (mainly Europe and Japan) to do intense murals, live painting shows, and gallery exhibits. I used to paint a lot in the bay area myself, and if there' s one lesson I learned about art "professionalism" is that you've have got to be in it to win it, 110%. No one gives a fuck what collaborative art show you were in. No one cares if you got printed up in a mag or did a skateboard/t-shirt. The ones that have a solid foothold, basically sacrificed everything to be there. This DVD showcases all who follow that description: Futura, Ryan Mcguiness, WK Interact, RoStarr, Heavyweight Crew, Mister Cartoon, Kofie One, Mark Bode, Herbert Baglione, David Ellis, Swoon, and many more. This roster is no joke. It's like the frickin' Dream Team of art right now. All these cats have definitely payed their dues and have been mastering their talents for over ten years, minimum. Directors, Shaun Roberts and Joey Garfield, take you for an inside look at the artists, studios, their philosophies, and rare footage you want get anywhere else. Definitely a must-see for any fan, and a great updater who's been out the loop. 2 disc set. -C'mish
Vice's first installment in their DVD series is nothing short of insane (what would you expect from the dudes at Vice). The series features short documentaries on different themes, and for this one it's travel... to places you would never, ever want...
expand review to go to even if you had to (of course). Think of it as National Geographic on drugs. So Vice sent out correspondents to various strange, and extremely dangerous locales such as Chernobyl, Pakistan, Paraguay, Rio, Beirut, Congo, and Bulgaria - and documented life as it happens and the adventures that occur. The locales and stories are truly eye-openin, fascinating and make you glad you didn't have to go experience it yourself. My boy Dave was one of the "lucky" correspondents and had the pleasure of going to the dark, deep jungles of the Congo to search for Mokele-mbembe (the last living dinosaur). On his hunt, he witnessed mind-reading shamans, pygmys, hooker villages, scorching heat, and other truly bizarre shit. You'll see him take mind altering elixirs, trek through the deepest rain forest, and give interviews while playing his drums with a bunch of naked, ass-shaking prostitutes in the back --- crazyness! But this is just a smidgen of what you get on the DVD - other adventures include chillen in the slums of Rio and going to a Baile Funk party (and getting shot at), meetings with PLO boy scouts and black market nuclear warhead dealers that hang with Osama, and more. Not for those that can't hang with the heavy shit. 7 shorts in all, plus a gang of extras. Presented in a hard cover, 72-page, full color book featuring interviews with the correspondents and pictures from all the weird places. -snackmaster
The only thing more experimental than Warp's music catalog is their video catalog. This DVD collects 32 of their best visual moments from the last 15 years. Videos from Aphex Twin, Prefuse, Boards of Canada, Plaid, Luke Vibert, Broadcast and Squarepusher, as...
expand review well as high concept directors like Chris Cunningham and Jarvis Cocker. Also included is an additional one hour, exclusive mix CD of some the label's favorite tracks and rarities. -the mgmnt
If Bresson is considered the grandpappy of photojournalism and street photography and candid portraiture, Eggleston is undoubtedly the godfather of color photography, snap shot as art and the incidental composition. His photographs are these amazing silent incidental creepshows from everyday life,...
expand review the kind of stuff that you first see as "anybody could do that" or "these are nothing special". Then the quiet life of it all starts to crawl up your back and you realize that this guy has a fucking razor sharp vision into his surroundings- and he isn't trying to "create" any new reality through funny camera tricks, weird angles or overly saturated film processing, he's just presenting what it is in a way that you've never experienced before. This documentary follows Eggleston through photo trips to Kentucky, Los Angeles, and New York City and also settles down with him at home in Memphis. It has gotten rave reviews from pretty much every major publication (NY Times, Artforum, Chicago Tribune, etc) for presenti
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