I know this might not come off as the greatest endorsement or sell of a film, but Connor O’malley’s Rap World is all the good stuff from a Harmony Korine film (Trash Humpers & Julien Donkey Boy specifically), reshaped by someone with a much better sense of humor & creativity and zero cynicism (it is my personal opinion that Connor O’malley is one of the funniest and most talented people working today). This is absolutely the kind of movie that will be co-opted by the ironic vice magazine folks that like things ironically but I don’t think they were ever the audience in mind for this. I’m a fan of most Harmony Korine films but a lot of times his work comes off like it’s made by someone pretentious that thinks they’re bored and better than everyone. There’s nothing boring or pretentious or “ironic” about Rap World. It’s is loud, chaotic, energetic, disorganized, schizophrenic and I loved every moment of it. I know this sounds cliché but Rap World has that DIY spirit of picking up a camera, getting a small intimate crew of folks together and just creating something. That something is the darkly comical found footage tale about a group of suburban friends trying to record a rap album over a 24 hour period. And much like the car race in Two Lane Blacktop, the recording of the rap album seems to be least important thing in the story even thought it’s (supposedly) the focal point. Our wanna-be rappers find themselves getting distracted from the recording process at every turn...
Trash Humpers / Rap World
Trash Humpers / Rap World
Julien Donkey-Boy / Rap World
Rap World has the perfect amount of nostalgia that doesn’t work against it. Underneath the chaotic humor & alt-comedy, this film pokes fun a at very specific niche demographic that I’m very familiar with – underground suburban hip-hop fans. While the characters in the film are all white, small town suburban underground rap fans come in all races & genders. They spent a lot of time on internet rap message boards getting their hip-hop history lessons from the wrong outlets and always had a warped sense of reality. No offense, and I am a fan of these artists, but think early 2000’s anticon/sage francis/rawkus/def jux message boards and online battle rap forums. I’m all for poking fun at these folks no matter how mean-spirited that may sound.
The major difference here is that those internet message board rap fans were mostly teenagers while the characters in Rap World are full on adults (one is pushing 30 years old).
This archetype still exists. Again, not to be mean, but given that a lot of Connor O’Malley’s comedy is internet/youtube-based, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was poking fun at recent stuff like this:
Krispy Kreme is another possible reference point (although part of me thinks this whole persona is a "bit")
Krispy Kreme / Rap World
I'm pretty certain this movie sets out to be uncomfortable & alienating to some. Connor O'Malley isn't always the easiest comic to digest but fans of his work will feel rewarded watching this. I certainly did.
The cinematographers who have influenced me have been guys who have used color heavily. Jack Cardiff, a British Technicolor cinematographer, his use of color was awesome, even in later films that were minor, like GHOST STORY: a minor entry, [but] the color in it is gorgeous. BLACK NARCISSUS, one of the most beautiful color films ever made - Ernest Dickerson, Millimeter Magazine, June 1990
Black Narcissus / Juice
Black Narcissus / Juice
A Matter Of Life and Death / Juice
The red Shoes / Juice
The more you read about Dickerson the more you learn how influenced he was by both classic directors and cinematographers. Obvious nods from Spielberg to Depalma show up in Juice...
Jaws / Juice
Carrie / Juice
Through the work of Brian Depalma, Dickerson came up admiring the work of Vimos Zsigmond (it was Zsigmond that recommended Dickerson for his ASC cinematography membership)
Blowout / Juice
Dickerson with a (possible) homage to George Romero (Dickerson ended up working under Romero early on in his career)
The Night Of The Living Dead was one of the few films that gave me nightmares - Ernest Dickson, Monsters, Madness and Magic podcast
The Night Of The Living Dead / Juice
The Night Of The Living Dead / Juice
The filmmaker who stuck with me the most and really made me want to become a director was Stanley Kubrick - Ernest Dickerson, Complex
The Shining / Juice
In the previous entry we looked at some of the bigger homages Dickerson makes to City Across The River but there are so many other smaller references that you might miss if you blink...
Another influence was an unknown film from back in the late 1940s called CITY ACROSS THE RIVER, which was an adaptation of a book called The Amboy Dukes - Ernest Dickerson, Flavor Wire
The City Across The River / Juice
The City Across The River / Juice
The City Across The River / Juice
The City Across The River / Juice
The City Across The River / Juice
The City Across The River / Juice
The City Across The River / Juice
The City Across The River / Juice
Much more examples of Dickerson's love for/background in horror movies...
Even when I directed my first film [Juice] there were elements I put in you could consider horror - Ernest Dickerson, Zavvi.com
Halloween II / Juice
Friday The 13th Part V / Juice
Friday The 13th Part III / Juice
Friday The 13th Part VII / Juice
Halloween II / Juice
Halloween II / Juice
Halloween II / Juice
The Burning / Juice
Nightmare On Elm Street / Juice
Halloween II / Juice
The Burning / Juice
Nightmare On Elm Street / Juice
To be compared with Scorsese is an honor because he’s a hero of mine - Ernest Dickerson, Freshfiction.tv
I got a little carried away and put together over 40 (possible) visual references for the movie Juice (there are a handful more that didn't make the initial cut which we'll look at in part two).
There’s nothing left to say about Juice from an storyline standpoint. It’s been dissected up & down in every way possible for the last 30+ years.
Now…what often goes overlooked in these reviews are all the visual influences & cinematic homages. Just because something isn't Pulp Fiction, Ghost Dog, Drive or Baby Driver doesn't mean the movie isn't filled with references.
Juice is synonymous with hip-hop culture and I think that's what causes some folks to miss all the cinematic references & homages outside of the culture.
Ernest Dickerson does borrow from two of the most famous hip-hop films in cinematic history…
Wild Style / Juice
Style Wars / Juice
Ernest Dickerson is also one of the most important figures in modern Black cinema. Prior to his directorial debut he was Spike Lee’s cinematographer (he also shot Brother From Another Planet and Eddie Murphy Raw). The famous dolly shot that we all know from all of Lee’s films (that Dickerson helped to craft early on) can also be found in Juice:
Mo Better Blues / Juice
Mo Better Blues / Juice
But the cinematic references and visual homages don’t stop there...
Like a lot of filmmakers from Ernest Dickerson’s era, he was influenced by a lot of the classics which you can see throughout Juice. It should also be noted that a friend of mine worked with Dickerson on a television show a few years ago and he said that all Dickerson did on his downtime was watch movies in his trailer. This makes a lot of sense when you scroll through this post...
Hitchcock was a master visual storyteller. He believed in something that he called 'pure cinema' where the dialogue is almost superfluous. And I do try to tell the story as visually as I possibly can - Ernest Dickerson, dailydead.com
Vertigo / Juice
Vertigo / Juice
Vertigo / Juice
Vertigo / Juice
Dickerson returns to the Hitchcock suspense more than once in Juice...
Sabateur / Juice
One of the great movies of the 70's. One of the greatest movies ever - Chinatown - Ernest Dickerson, trailers from hell
Chinatown / Juice
It also can't be a coincidence that the final moments from Juice plays out like the final moments of Chinatown. Both films even end with the namedropping the title of the film...
Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown / You got you the Juice now...
The filmmaker who stuck with me the most and really made me want to become a director was Stanley Kubrick - Ernest Dickerson, Complex
The Shining / Juice
Full Metal Jacket / Juice
I think the first film that really got me thinking about directing was Clockwork Orange - Ernest Dickerson, Monsters, Madness & Magic podcast
A Clockwork Orange / Juice
A Clockwork Orange / Juice
To be compared with Scorsese is an honor because he’s a hero of mine - Ernest Dickerson, Freshfiction.tv
The Great Train Robbery Juice
Taxi Driver / Juice
Taxi Driver / Juice
Taxi Driver / Juice
Well, we were creating a thriller, so definitely movies like THE FRENCH CONNECTION were an influence - Ernest Dickerson, Flavorwire.com
The French Connection / Juice
Dickerson even borrows from one of the most famous (and earliest) shots in cinema history…
The Great Train Robbery / Juice
The biggest influence appears to be a smaller lesser known made-for-tv film from the 40’s about a group of troubled teens that get torn apart after they acquire a gun (sound familiar?)...
Another influence was an unknown film from back in the late 1940s called CITY ACROSS THE RIVER, which was an adaptation of a book called The Amboy Dukes - Ernest Dickerson, Flavor Wire
City Across The River / Juice
City Across The River / Juice
Juice also pays homage a lot of smaller films in a kind “blink and you’ll miss it” sort of way…
One night we were watching OLIVER TWIST, the 1948 version directed by David Lean. My uncle said, ‘God, the photography is amazing.’ That's when it hit me. Movies are photographs - Ernest Dickerson, Ebony
Oliver Twist /Juice
KILLER OF SHEEP is an excellent film. Yeah, we knew of Charles Burnett's work - Ernest Dickerson, Shadow and Act
Killer Of Sheep / Juice
He [Melvin Van Peebles] was one of our heroes - Ernest Dickerson, Cineaste
Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song / Juice
The most influence on me was the films of [Orson] Wells, especially THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS - Ernest Dickerson, Ebony
The Magnificent Ambersons / Juice
The Magnificent Amberson / Juice
Other unexpected sources of inspiration came from folks like Fritz Lang:
Movies like Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the look of Metropolis, had an effect on us - Ernest Dickerson, Flavorwire.com
Metropolis / Juice
Metropolis / Juice
Metropolis / Juice
The German Expressionism seen in Metropolis also played a major part in the horror elements found in Juice. Outside of Dickerson’s legacy with Juice and his connection to Spike Lee - he’s also a staple in the modern horror genre. In addition to his films like Demon Knight & Bones, Dickerson even worked on Day Of The Dead with George Romero early on in his career.
we were looking at Expressionistic elements - elements from German Expressionist films - Ernest Dickerson, Flavorwire.com
Nosferatu / Juice
Even when I directed my first film [Juice] there were elements I put in you could consider horror - Ernest Dickerson, Zavvi.com
Friday The 13th Part V / Suspiria
Friday The 13th Part IV / Juice
Friday The 13th Part V / Juice
Halloween / Juice
Halloween / Juice
Halloween / Juice
Halloween / Juice
A Nightmare On Elm Street / Juice
Repulsion / Juice
Night Breed / Juice
Carrie / Juice
The Hitchcock influence shown earlier in the post returns...
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