$16.99 - Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006) W/S unrated
“Between the sharp comedic mind of David Chappelle and the quirky brilliance of French director Michel Gondry (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND) - there's not a single bad moment to be found in this captivating concert documentary chronicling a massive block party that Chappelle threw in 2004 down in Bed-Stuy - Brooklyn. With acts like the Roots - Kanye West - Jill Scott - Mos Def - Erykah Badu - and a reunion of the Fugees - this will be an automatic favorite for the hip-hop/neo-soul crowd. In its perceptive - celebratory way - the film opens the VIP gates on hip-hop culture and invites everyone in for a funky good time. Gondry's fly-on-the wall camera approach recalls D.A. Pennebaker docs like DON'T LOOK BACK (1967) but the attitude is more laid back and genial - the stars - the band - the locals - the marching band Chappelle buses in from his Ohio hometown - all come together with a rare sense of charmed spontaneity–watching it becomes akin to participation. Chappelle is hilarious - whether handing out golden tickets to old ladies or reciting improv poetry to a bongo beat - and the music is just as good - with highlights being Lauryn Hill's heartbreaking “”Killing Me Softly -”" and Kayne Wests's galvanizing “”Jesus Walks.”" This BLOCK PARTY re-writes a host of rules about what a concert film can be - and it does it with enough love to spill out of the theater and into the neighborhood.”
Posted in DVDs > Comedy