It is a distinguished documentation that embodies the rule of the gang for a long time now. The film tells the story of how a few forgotten unusual people did things that seemed impossible to some. It seems that the actions of these people affected all over the world.
"Rubble Kings" is a documentary that could easily used another hour, and it wouldn't be felt, if the assured editing in this picture is any indication.
"Rubble Kings" might have been great. As it is, the film is a one-sided, but satisfying tribute to an alternatively terrifying and beguiling city that we can only revisit in movies.
Real life is a messy, bloody, haphazard affair, punctuated by soaring highs and crushing lows. Bless the documentarian who strives to make his work the same.
Cramming a lot of anecdotes, urban lore and frenzied movement into a mere 71 minutes, Nicholson's docu imperceptibly builds to an unexpected, revelatory climax.
The social and economic strife in New York in the sixties and seventies gave birth to one of the most influential and popular subculture's in recent memory, hip-hop.
Shan Nicholson's film consists of oral histories from the now-reformed gangsters. As such, it can't help but sound a bit embellished, what with all the street monikers and seemingly glorified titles.
