Critic Reviews
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Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
Benson Lee's crackling 2007 video documentary follows five teams as they compete for a world title, with one amazing number after another showcasing the dancers' chorus-line precision, gymnastic athleticism, and thematic novelty.
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Susan Walker, Toronto Star
If Benson Lee's intention with Planet B-Boy was to set the record straight on the continuing story of break dancers, then his documentary has to be counted a success. With a few caveats.
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Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
What's fun about Benson Lee's documentary Planet B-Boy isn't just the amazingly athletic displays of B-boys he puts on screen, but the film's sense of cultural discovery.
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Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
If I could, I would spin on my head to express how much I enjoyed Planet B-Boy.
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Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
The seemingly endless performances can be a bit much, but Lee's sensitivity to the need of these dancers to say something about themselves through dazzling moves is memorable.
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Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
An exuberant study of the ways competition and collaboration can team up when it comes to the creativity of these guys.
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Jennifer Merin, About.com
Great entertainment backed with profound social and cultural insight about the worldwide grass roots importance of breakdancing. After admiring the dancers' athleticism, you'll want to hit the gym.
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Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
To think that this internationally-embraced dance form was started somewhere in the ghetto by a poor kid with nothing more than a radio and an unbridled passion for self-expression.
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Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
What they all have in common, as Quik, a member of Japan's Ichigeki Crew, explains, is a passion for the border-busting power dance, movement as a movement, freedom of expression, wild-style.
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Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
An exhilarating documentary about street dancers from around the globe.
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Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
While the film stresses how hip-hop unifies different cultures, it's interesting to see how each culture's youth has appropriated the principles of hip-hop for its own self-expression.
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Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
Hip-hop fans should flock to Planet B-Boy to see what break dancing looks like around the world, but so should movie-musical and performance-art fans who love intelligent and aggressive improvisation and energy.
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Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Regardless of its shortcomings, there is a variety of break dancing on display here that will bring the viewer up to speed on the state of the art.
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Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
Planet B-Boy effortlessly makes the case that breakdancing is a genuine art form. Mixing ballet and the street, the crews are dazzling.
Read all 14 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Great documentary that introduces us into the world of break-dancing in various countries.
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<i>"Breakdancing has evolved"</i>
Jumping continents and crossing cultures, "Planet B-Boy" looks at the history of breakdancing and its vibrant resurgence in urban cultures around the world.
<center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
<i>"Breakdancing has evolved"</i>
Jumping continents and crossing cultures, "Planet B-Boy" looks at the history of breakdancing and its vibrant resurgence in urban cultures around the world.
<center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center>
In this fabulous edited documentary, Filmmaker Benson Lee follows five groups of young guys who participate to an international break-dance competition. The well oriented interviews are in parallel story and video editing with the judges, some classic images from history in dance and Olympics, participants, their practices and at last the final championship competition, Battle of the Year.
The judges do a swell job by wonderfully explaining the history and diverse dance styles of five different countries / cultures.
The documentary maker follows the b-boys from the US, South-Korea, Japan and France. Every conversation goes in parallel montage with the family member's point of view. This is where I got a great feeling and depth about the dancers background. This film has so much more to offer than a bunch of well edited dance scenes. Of course the moves of those guys are breathtaking. Each one of them, in a group or in separated, has an interesting break-dance style. Amazing that they were not professionals before, but inspired by them (acrobats, James Brown, Olympic games, etc.) Not that important to the impressive storyline but Benson Lee does not show the dance movements more profound. Many of the dance moves are good, but sometimes the video is too fast edited for the screen to follow it easily without any interruption of a sudden interview. This film shows also the team playing character. Al the five cultures come together at a point of friendship. It gives you the feeling of it's not about winning, for certain not for the prize money, but being together. They made a cause: "those guys made a career out of their dream".
I can conclude that when people enjoy their fantastic dream, whatever it is. You can eventually make a job out of it and realize that dreaming isn't some floating idea, but a not yet existing fact of your identity. It's you who needs to find out what your purpose in the future is. Giving up is not an option.
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Excellent documentary about different crews from all over the country. I loved all the personal stories shared by the different members. It was exciting and entertaining to watch them dance; they were all super talented.
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Without an interest in break dancing either then or during it's comeback, I found this one difficult to sit through. Boring as hell.
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Those that don't enjoy the dancing might find this film more tedious, but the explanation of b-boying and the various stylistic differences between the countries that are explained helped give something to look for during the competition and the exploratory dance sequences.… More
Those that don't enjoy the dancing might find this film more tedious, but the explanation of b-boying and the various stylistic differences between the countries that are explained helped give something to look for during the competition and the exploratory dance sequences. <b>Planet B-Boy</b> stands somewhere between, depending on your perspective, being a puff piece and an enthusiastic glance into the world of b-boying internationally. This is not a sociological study of influence of hip-hop internationally and is very much focused on five teams and the <u>Battle of the Year</u> competition. All in all, this documentary is enjoyable, even if a little light, and helped me get a better understanding of b-boying. Recommended for the curious, for hip-hop lovers, for dance lovers, for people interested in transnational cultural exchange and, surprisingly, sports fans.
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