Rize (2004)

83% of critics liked it
(90 reviews)
83% of users liked it
(8,603 ratings)

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… More 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 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: David LaChapelle
Written By: David LaChapelle
Genres: Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jun 24, 2005 Limited
On DVD: Oct 25, 2005
Studio: Lions Gate Films

Critic Reviews

Susan Walker, Toronto Star
It's a well-known truth in the dance world that the body doesn't lie. As long as the characters in this film are dancing, we have little reason to doubt their sincerity. But once turned into talking heads, the dancers begin to sound like propagandists.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
A vivid portrait of art rising from deprivation and social hopelessness.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
[LaChapelle's] not the world's best documentarian, but he saw something that needed chronicling. So he turned his camera on the krumpers and let them do the rest. Smart choice.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
Clowning and krumping are urban art and art therapy in motion.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
It's a feel-good film that actually makes you feel good.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's an incomplete film. We don't get to know these kids well enough.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Vibrant, in-your-face chronicle of an urban dance movement.
Matthew Leyland, BBC
[F]or all its mis-steps, Rize gets by on enough jumping, pumping energy to fuel the national grid.
Bob Westal, Film Threat
Dealing with life's darkness is what this type of dancing is all about.
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
An unusual movie whose energy lingers.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Recommended to fans, potential fans, and the curious; the main thing you can ask from a documentary is that it show you something new, and for me this one certainly did.
Matthew Smith, Film Journal International
David LaChapelle's documentary is a spirited but less-than-insightful look at contemporary youth culture in south-central Los Angeles.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Ryan R

Having lived in Los Angeles for the last decade, I was here when Krumping was a big thing amongst the inner city youth. I didn't live in the same neighborhoods, but I went to school in South Central for a couple of years. So I got to witness the dance first hand. When I first saw… More
Having lived in Los Angeles for the last decade, I was here when Krumping was a big thing amongst the inner city youth. I didn't live in the same neighborhoods, but I went to school in South Central for a couple of years. So I got to witness the dance first hand. When I first saw it, I laughed at it. To me it looked like nothing more than controlled flailing. Just swinging your arms around with balled fists, rolling your body like a stripper, jumping around, fake fighting and not much more. After seeing this documentary (which got snubbed for at least a nomination for Best Documentary), I realize that it is so much more than that. To the kids that are in that world, it is everything to them. It keeps them out of trouble, it gives them something to do besides play sports. I really have to commend Tommy the Clown for what he did. I've seen him at a party once, but I wasn't too familiar with his movement back then. What he has done is bring hope to kids that had almost none. Without his guidance, a lot of the kids in this film would be in gangs, in jail, doing nothing productive at all, or possibly dead. That alone makes this a film that everyone should see. I wanted to give it a higher score, but I still have trouble taking Krumping, as a form of dance, seriously. Still, this is an excellent film.
Matthew Y

A remarkably well constructed film about the birth of the "Krump" dance style. I saw this film completely by accident. It was simply on the last channel I watched when I turned on my TV (looking to kill a half hour before work). I was scrolling through the guide to find… More
A remarkably well constructed film about the birth of the "Krump" dance style. I saw this film completely by accident. It was simply on the last channel I watched when I turned on my TV (looking to kill a half hour before work). I was scrolling through the guide to find something to watch but eventually was so intrigued by the film I wound up watching it and recording it for after work. As an incredibly "white" dancer myself I've always found this style of dancing...um...whack? But it was incredibly interesting and even remarkable to hear from the other side. I also strongly agree with the overall message, most poor inner city areas present such fear, violence and poor education that crime, gang banging and drugs dominate. If these kids want to express themselves through intense free-style dance moves than all the power to them! P.S. Only one point I disagree with in the film. It shows very VERY young girl "popping" (that shacking the booty thing) and their parents/siblings supporting it claiming "She's just having fun, people always say like 'I'd never let my daughter do that' but she's just a young girl enjoying herself. There's no harm in that." I strongly disagree. "Popping" is a very sexually suggestive move. If you wouldn't want your 5-year daughter old pole dancing in go-go boots, you probably don't want her "popping" either.
Joey N

I only watched a half hour of this and already had more than enough. But hey, if you love to watch people from the ghetto uttering half hearted, believe-in-yourself cliches while performing at first appealing, then off putting "dance" moves, then this is the movie for you.
Sarah P

It was interesting to watch the krumping I guess, and it's great that it's keeping kids out of gangs, but I didn't find the film that compelling. At the end after the dance battle, it's kind of like they're rival gangs anyway...
Sam C

For a movie that's about dancing (albeit the power of dancing) this is a really good movie!! By the end of the movie you completely understand "krump" is more than just a form of dance to its creators...and that is truly the beauty of this movie.
jason d

Hilarious. There is nothing funnier than seeing Tommy the Clown win the competition, then seeing him cry cuz his house got broken into. -1 star for the guy doing the stripper dance shirtless.