Films with: Williams, Saul

Copyright criminals

As hip-hop rose from the streets of New York to become a multibillion-dollar industry, artists such as Public Enemy and De La Soul began reusing portions of previously recorded music for their songs. But when record company lawyers got involved, everything changed. Years before people started downloading and remixing music, hip-hop sampling sparked a debate about copyright, creativity, and technological change that still rages today.

DVD 11909

Downtown 81

Fashion-photographer Bertoglio's portrait of the New York art scene circa 1981. The main focus is the provocative 19-year-old artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, already known for his excursions into street graffiti art and pioneering electro-beat. Shot as "New York Beat" in 1980-81 but completed for release nearly 20 years later when archival footage thought to have been lost was recovered. Many of the film's original sound elements were lost during the 20 years it spent in limbo, so much of the dialogue has been re-dubbed.

DVD 7620

Slam

Trapped in Dodge City, a drug-infested war zone in southeast Washington D.C., Ray Joshua gets caoght up in a drug deal gone bad and is sucked into the criminal justice system. In jail he finds truth in himself and his craft through Lauren Bell, a beautiful and charismatic writing teacher who leads him to the path of salvation. Using his talent for poetic rap, Ray learns to survive and rise above the pain of his lost generation.

DVD 1748