- Directed and Edited by
- Denis Henry Hennelly & Casey Suchan
- Executive Producers
- Barry Poltermann, John Lyons Murphy, Chang Weisberg
- Additional Editing
- Barry Poltermann
Personifying the fierce independence and do-it-yourself spirit of the Hip Hop movement, festival producer Chang Weisberg puts everything on the line for his impossible dream of reuniting notorious no-shows The Wu-Tang Clan.
In July 2004, concert promoter Chang Weisberg organized a hip-hop festival in San Bernardino, California, headlined by the reunited Wu-Tang Clan, the legendary supergroup infamous for its no-shows on tour. The RZA, the GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Ghostface Killah, and Method Man, plus unofficial member Cappadonna: It was a gathering of the gods, nearly as inconceivable as a set by the Beatles, including the dead ones. Corralling every member of this supremely unreliable crew onto the same stage at the same time was challenge enough; nailing down Big Baby Jesus qualified as a superhuman achievement even before the notoriously unpredictable MC holed up in his hotel room, immobilized on crack.
Whether Ol’ Dirty can get his shizat together long enough to rock the mic (or just stand up without help) is the least of Weisberg’s problems in Rock the Bells, an electrifying, occasionally terrifying documentary by filmmakers Denis Henry Hennelly and Casey Suchan.
A flat-out stunner that combines a celebration of hip-hop culture with a disaster film.
This nerve-racking knockout of a film rolls head long into the pantheon of classic concert docs.
Outright exhilarating.
A fascinating glimpse of a dreamer and a music culture that has always depended on dreams.
Wait-to-pee entertaining.