Please don't give this 10 out of 10 because you like the Wu-Tang Clan, not the point.
Sacha Jenkins' 'Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics & Men' is 4 hours of frustrating viewing, all over the place as a film and certainly not a fitting way to commemorate the mighty Wu-Tang Clan's 25th anniversary.
To do social history, you need to be particular about details: names, places, dates, timeline etc. For a music doc., structure interviews that shed some light on the artists' processes. And an honest visual record would cover the whole 25-year period with all its 'highs' and 'lows' (I don't remember anything shown between 2000 and 2017, a massive gap surely part of the band's history which has to be covered in some way? Solo projects, creativity, ageing, family etc.).
Too much of 'Wu-Tang Clan' is cliche-ridden, band squabbles and rambling rants about godknowswhat? Partially redeemed by RZA, interesting to listen to, bits of old film and music, obviously welcome, and the curios like 'Once Upon A Time In Shaolin', but the lack of clarity about anything, ODB's death, the band's philosophy, contractual arrangements/difficulties? And so little about the actual music itself, styles, production techniques, in-depth stuff about the MC's etc., these guys changed music forever, but 'Wu-Tang Clan' barely scrapes below the surface nor really distinguishes them from any other rap combo.
Sloppy documentary makers please take note: pointing a camera and microphone at a subject does not make you a film maker. As somebody relatively new to this band, 'Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics & Men' gave me so little to go on I came away massively disappointed. I'm surprised RZA didn't scrap the whole project to come up with something more worthy of the rap legends.
Sacha Jenkins' 'Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics & Men' is 4 hours of frustrating viewing, all over the place as a film and certainly not a fitting way to commemorate the mighty Wu-Tang Clan's 25th anniversary.
To do social history, you need to be particular about details: names, places, dates, timeline etc. For a music doc., structure interviews that shed some light on the artists' processes. And an honest visual record would cover the whole 25-year period with all its 'highs' and 'lows' (I don't remember anything shown between 2000 and 2017, a massive gap surely part of the band's history which has to be covered in some way? Solo projects, creativity, ageing, family etc.).
Too much of 'Wu-Tang Clan' is cliche-ridden, band squabbles and rambling rants about godknowswhat? Partially redeemed by RZA, interesting to listen to, bits of old film and music, obviously welcome, and the curios like 'Once Upon A Time In Shaolin', but the lack of clarity about anything, ODB's death, the band's philosophy, contractual arrangements/difficulties? And so little about the actual music itself, styles, production techniques, in-depth stuff about the MC's etc., these guys changed music forever, but 'Wu-Tang Clan' barely scrapes below the surface nor really distinguishes them from any other rap combo.
Sloppy documentary makers please take note: pointing a camera and microphone at a subject does not make you a film maker. As somebody relatively new to this band, 'Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics & Men' gave me so little to go on I came away massively disappointed. I'm surprised RZA didn't scrap the whole project to come up with something more worthy of the rap legends.