Hellfire Video Club: Rap Films
This month HFVC are getting stuck into the first wave of hiphopsploitation films, these followed on the heels of uber cult classic “Wildstyle”. As hip hop music made it into the mainstream it was devoured and belched out by the trash film merchants with uneven, but fun, results… here’s a few..
BREAKIN’ aka BREAKDANCE
Joel Silberg, 1984, USA.
From the infamous Cannon films stable (check the fun documentary ‘Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films’ for the lowdown on how this pair of loons tried taking on Hollywood by literally making shit up as they went along). Breakin’ is far from an essential puzzle piece of hip hop history, but makes for an entertainingly dorky dance flick all the same. What you get here is essentially a ‘cheer for the underdog’ story, as disillusioned dancer Kelly battles against her sleazy/snooty ex dance teacher, soon transforming into ‘Special K’, with the help of street dancers Ozone and Turbo, via a riot of excessively enthusiastic facial gestures standing in for acting. Squares get hip. Everybody wins. Look out also for a young Ice T and Chris ‘The Glove’ Taylor performing live/early versions of their legendary electro double header ‘Reckless / Tibetan Jam’.
BEAT STREET
Stan Lathan, 1984, USA.
Checking in a couple of years after the immortal classic ‘Wild Style’ (SEE THAT, before you watch any of these!), Beat Street plays as an altogether slicker variant on many of the same themes (hip hop culture as a means of escape from harsh existence), and does a decent job of chronicling the by then emergent scene’s current concerns, as we follow aspiring DJ Kenny, his younger breaker brother Lee and their Puerto-Rican graffiti artist friend Ramo, trying their best to break out of the poverty trap and make it big as pioneers of a new scene. But rivalry, jealousy and the perils of youthful bravado are all set to make it a rough journey. Old timer Harry Belafonte was on board here as producer, and his presence looms large; social concerns take precedence without ever getting too heavy handed. The dilapidated-as-fuck South Bronx looks even bleaker in snowy winter. Look out for the ace subway dance-off sequence… NYC Breakers vs Rock Steady Crew, getting chased by hapless cops for their heinous ‘crime’.
DISORDERLIES
Michael schultz, 1987, USA.
This is a highly daft film. A vehicle for the already-pretty-daft Fat Boys (who deffo have some bangers amongst their discography), this is 80’s screwball comedy goodness featuring the Fat Boys getting jobs as nurses for a rich old cracker and causing lots of problems for his money-grabbing family. difficult to defend as any sort of good film, but we find this kind of fare deeply satisfying. RIP Prince Markie Dee!!!
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