The Criterion Channel has announced a film series celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Beginning August 1 and with more additions throughout the year, the streaming service will highlight films “showcasing raw early documents of the scene’s key players, intimate and informative portraits of musical expertise and technical wizardry, and definitive, star-studded evocations of the culture’s impact.”
The lineup includes 1983’s Style Wars and Wild Style, the Spike Lee classic Do the Right Thing, Jim Jarmusch’s RZA-scored samurai film Ghost Dog, Michael Rapaport’s documentary on A Tribe Called Quest, Hype Williams’ Belly, and the John Singleton films Boyz n the Hood and Poetic Justice. Find the full programming lineup below.
“We’re extremely excited to present this wide-ranging series that highlights the incredibly varied ways that hip-hop has shown up in film since the culture’s birth 50 years ago,” Ashley Clark, the curatorial director for Criterion, said in a statement. “From raw, pivotal early documents like Wild Style and Style Wars onward, there’s something for everyone here, whether you’re an expert or a beginner.”
Style Wars Is Still the Defining Documentary of Early Hip-Hop Culture
August 1
Style Wars, Tony Silver, 1983
Wild Style, Charlie Ahearn, 1983
Beat Street, Stan Lathan, 1984
Krush Groove, Michael Schultz, 1985
Deep Cover, Bill Duke, 1992
Fear of a Black Hat, Rusty Cundieff, 1993
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Jim Jarmusch, 1999
Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme, Kevin Fitzgerald, 2000
Scratch, Doug Pray, 2001
Paid in Full, Charles Stone III, 2002
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, Michael Rapaport, 2011
Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, Ice-T and Andy Baybutt, 2012
Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer, Charlie Ahearn, 2013
September 1
Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee, 1989
Boyz n the Hood, John Singleton, 1991
Poetic Justice, John Singleton, 1993
November 1
Belly, Hype Williams, 1998
Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club, Ivan Frank, 2008
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