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YoungRemy
06-30-2008, 09:35 AM
SPOILERS:rolleyes:

quite a visual extravaganza Mr. Yauch has made with his 2nd feature documentary, Gunnin' For That #1 Spot.

Once again, the film starts with another film's ominous score, as Friday the 13th music accompanies home video footage shot by Miami Heat's Michael Beasley in his hotel room. In true DIY fashion, Yauch gave his eight featured high school ballers home video cameras to document their trip to New York City for the first annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 All Star Game. Beasley, the joker of the bunch, took full advantage of this and gives his best Blair Witch Project impression into his camera.

The first part of the film introduces us to the eight players featured in the game, using clever freeze frames and Internet still shots, with Oscilloscope trading cards sliding into place until all eight slots have been filled.

we are also introduced to Rucker Park, the legendary court in Harlem that has birthed streetball and NBA legends alike. we meet the organizers of the event and many coaches and trainers who are involved in Elite High School Basketball.

The players are bussed all over NYC, going through training sessions and meeting with their teammates and coaches.

great stock footage from the Open Letter video provides for transition between locations when they are traveling to and from one place to another.

the second part of the film is a highlight reel of the actual game

Yauch mostly uses the same team to edit and film Gunnin', so many features ,such as split screen and fast forward/reverse/slow motion effects are utilized to highlight a sweet play to the basket or a nice no look pass.

a couple of Beastie related notes that I noticed.

In one interview with a family member of one of the players, this man casually drops "Dramastically" in the conversation. more than likely this was the seed that planted "Dramastially Different"

with a thank you list taking up almost the entire credits, they thanked everyone from Jay-Z, M.I.A., and John Fogarty.

the scrolling credits were identical to AIFST ending credits, on the right side of the screen.

camera operators included Arthur Africano, Evan Bernard, Jamie Billet, and Jon Doran. Remi Gletsos helped edit and contributed to Visual Graphics.

there was one credit for music clearance, and another for "Overtime Music Clearance Ass Busting Award"

the soundtrack is absolutely insane.

this will go down as the best basketball documentary, bar none. Hoop Dreams was a major success, but those players were insignificant in the basketball world.

these guys in Gunnin' are going to be superstars, their NBA credibility has already been cemented. Beasley, Love, Greene, and Bayless will have an immediate impact on their teams this season, and Yauch and his crew picked the players flawlessly.

if you are a basketball fan, you will be in heaven.

if you are a Beastie Boys fan, you will be surprisingly overwhelmed and engaged in these young men's lives.

Discuss.

Kid Presentable
06-30-2008, 09:43 AM
I've been trying to figure out who 'the friend' is who planted the seed for this idea, and can only think that Ricky would be up on street ball and Rucker Park up-and-comers.

Kid Presentable
06-30-2008, 09:45 AM
But are they even friends?

YoungRemy
06-30-2008, 09:51 AM
Kris Stone, organizer of the event, is the friend in question. he is interviewed in the film and Yauch says this in his press notes

during the summer of '06 a friend who i play basketball with (kris stone) mentioned that he was
putting together a high school all star game up at nyc's infamous rucker park in harlem.

http://www.gunninmovie.com/downloads/press/Gunnin_Press_Notes.pdf

that has soundtrack listing, too KP. I know you were interested in that.

as far as Beastie/Mark Nishita songs, I saw LTD and Politickin' as new songs.

there was also a credit that said "additional scoring by" that listed adam yauch, adam horovitz, jon doran, and remi gletsos.

jon weiner and duro also contributed their talents.

Kid Presentable
06-30-2008, 10:28 AM
Cheers man.

Laver1969
06-30-2008, 10:49 AM
Excellent review, YR! I'm not really a basketball fan, but it sounds like it'll still be a good time for the non-basketball geeks.

mathcart
06-30-2008, 05:09 PM
this will go down as the best basketball documentary, bar none. Hoop Dreams was a major success, but those players were insignificant in the basketball world.

these guys in Gunnin' are going to be superstars, their NBA credibility has already been cemented. Beasley, Love, Greene, and Bayless will have an immediate impact on their teams this season, and Yauch and his crew picked the players flawlessly.

if you are a basketball fan, you will be in heaven.

if you are a Beastie Boys fan, you will be surprisingly overwhelmed and engaged in these young men's lives.

Discuss.

Thanks for the review. I skimmed it as I am going to go see it this week.
I have a little problem with your point that it is better than hoop dreams because the players became more successful. That wasn't the point of Hoop Dreams- and as I said I have yet to see this, theres zero chance of this being a better film than Hoop Dreams. The fact that they weren't ultimately successful was almost the point, plus they followed them for over 2 years!
I have never seen a more comprehensive, interesting and thoroughly right on indictment of the way young athletes are treated in the sports star system. Yauchs film will be really cool looking and I'm sure showcase a little of that world- but he was with them for a matter of days how could it be anywhere near as exhaustive. I don't know if you can really ever learn anything about any system by only looking at the most successful part of it, so Hoop Dreams was especially fascinating for looking at 2 kids with as much promise and potential as the players in Gunnin who didn't get the magic carpet ride.
I am by no means putting down Gunnin, as I said I am excited to see it myself, just felt Hoop Dreams needed to be defended. Again, thanks for the review.

:)

YoungRemy
06-30-2008, 07:52 PM
word.

i forgot to mention neal usatin the editor (y)

Documad
06-30-2008, 08:38 PM
Hey, don't even mention Hoop Dreams. You're setting too high a bar there. That film was all about the mom who became a nurse's aide anyhow.

I will see it if I ever get the chance. I poo pooed Remy's last review and he fought back and then he turned out to be correct. :p

YoungRemy
06-30-2008, 09:21 PM
maybe the hoop dreams comparison is too far, I guess they are two different apples. but Gunnin'does take you into the lives of these kids.

Gunnin' is the best documented all-star game I have ever seen. better than any And1 mixtape, with an incredible soundtrack as it's backbone. I'll leave it at that.

Documad
06-30-2008, 09:27 PM
Fair enough. I hope it comes here.

RobMoney$
06-30-2008, 10:15 PM
better than any And1 mixtape,

To be honest, I was concerned about it being too similar to the And1 mixtapes. I felt like I've seen this type of thing a dozen times already.
Glad to hear it has a little more to offer.

Laver1969
07-12-2008, 09:07 PM
I saw Gunnin' last night here in Chicago. I'll preface this by saying I'm not much of a basketball fan at all. I think the last actual game I watched from start to finish was when Michael Jordan won the last championship here.

I enjoyed it...but I think you have to have somewhat of an interest in basketball to really get a good vibe for it. The music was good and it was very well done. Nice stories. Very interesting to see how a lot of the kids come from very different backgrounds and handle the success they've had so far.

And the dude who was heckling/motivating/giving the guys their nicknames was pretty funny.

There were about 15 people in the theater. So it definitely wasn't a packed house.

milkboy009
07-13-2008, 02:34 PM
So this will come out on DVD right? I'd like to see it in the theaters but I have a feeling it wont be coming here to Cleveland...

mathcart
07-13-2008, 05:06 PM
maybe the hoop dreams comparison is too far, I guess they are two different apples. but Gunnin'does take you into the lives of these kids.

Gunnin' is the best documented all-star game I have ever seen. better than any And1 mixtape, with an incredible soundtrack as it's backbone. I'll leave it at that.

Saw it last week and loved it. I agree with all your above statements- fantastic soundtrack that really wove the whole story together well.
(y)

acamus
11-29-2008, 12:24 PM
If y'all haven't picked up a copy of Gunnin', you should at least rent it from Blockbuster or Hollywood video. But this is a great example of the artistry of packaging. From the paper and ink choices, to the colors and the trading cards (All on one page, Grid-Squad-style. Would have been cooler as actual cards.) TT5B was my favorite packaging until Gunnin' came along.