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Rize

6.44
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Ratings: 6.44/10 from 9 users.

Noted photographer David LaChapelle makes his feature directorial debut with this documentary on a new facet of street culture in South Central Los Angeles. In 1992, after long-simmering racial tensions in Los Angeles erupted in riots following the verdicts in the Rodney King trial, a man named Tommy Johnson sought to spread a new message in a new way to the city's African-Americans.

Creating a character called Tommy the Clown, Johnson developed an act that combined hip-hop-flavored comedy and dancing with an anti-gang and anti-violence message. Johnson's performances became wildly popular in South Central -- so much so that at one point, 50 different groups inspired by Johnson's example were performing in the area. In time, Johnson's loose-limbed dance style inspired a new wave of hip-hop street dancing called "krumping," a wildly athletic style in which arms, legs, and bodies fly with a frenzied abandon that moves at almost inhuman speeds.

Rize follows the birth of clown dancing and krumping in South Central, and records how many young people have adopted the dance as a style of competition, offering a safer and healthier alternative to the gang culture that has long dominated Los Angeles. Rize premiered at the 2005...

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13 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Gretel

    africa forever

  2. Charles Glenn

    the most inspiring movie that I have ever seen

  3. mtaysic

    So positive, so awesome, so inspiring.

  4. Darion D-Payne Payne

    i loved mi part the best
    not tight eyez had the best i had the 6th best krump part

  5. Darion D-Payne Payne

    as good as i knew it whas gonna be

  6. Samuel Thorpe

    viscerally joyful! WOW i loved this.

  7. Pablo A Quiroz

    inspirational! "if you've got a certain talent , don't be afraid to express it!"
    AMEN

  8. cali

    i think thats precious mother singing 1:07:25

  9. cali

    21:50 is lil mama the rap artist lol

  10. esmuziq

    niceee

  11. sensa111

    Hmm I'm with you there. What a shining light Tommy is and what an ace doc this was.
    Funny, tragic but ultimately life affirming.
    Bless all of em amazing young people, they just need an outlet for expression and validation.
    Everyone should watch this film, Superb! Thank you Vlatko for this

  12. hmm

    wow.. I like the cereal clown :) hehe.. also feel sorry for Tommy when he got robbed.. deserves a medal for creating a sub culture for these young people!

  13. Sally

    AMAZING