Can a Kung Fu master fight a flying guillotine with a cello? Get ready to find out when Wu-Tang Clan combines hip hop with live orchestration for the first time in A Wu-Tang Experience: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, produced and directed by RZA and Gerald Barclay. We are treated to footage of the legendary 2021 concert where the rap group enlisted a 60-piece symphony orchestra to team up together onstage for a live scoring of the 1978 martial arts picture The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Abbot of the group RZA explains in on-screen interviews how the project sprouted from an invitation years ago to do a live score to a karate flick in Austin at the Alamo Drafthouse. Repeat gigs doing this caused a yin-yang snowball that grew bigger and bigger as it rolled its way to Colorado.
Wu-Tang performs live, still made up of almost all original members except Old Dirty Bastard, who passed and was replaced by his son, Young Dirty Bastard. Method Man pumps a lot of iron in his interviews, and we also hear from U-God, Power, Raekwon, Cappadonna, and Christopher Dragon. The Colorado Symphony members are completely thrilled about being onboard for this rocket ride. You also get to see almost 10,000 audience members going absolutely berserk as they know every single last word of every song.
I love the concept of Wu-Tang, as it uses the ancient tradition of grindhouse kung-fu triple features as a springboard. In relation to RZA’s work as a film director, I thought The Man With The Iron Fists was freaking great. I have also seen Method Man in How High well over 15 times now, and there is always the Wu-Tang sing-along in A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. That being said, I don’t know one goddamn song by heart, let alone all of them like the fans we see in A Wu-Tang Experience: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
And I didn’t need to, as one glance at their full tilt enthusiasm is infectious. These people have decades of knowledge of the ways of the Wu-Tang, with the sort of denotation that lets you know that this is where you find some serious goods. So, this film can be enjoyed by both the Wu-Tang novice and all the masters who have been tanging away since back in the day. Between the concert clips we are given a good idea as to the vastness of the scope of the project with all the work needed to pull something this monumental off.
“…Wu-Tang Clan combines hip hop with live orchestration…”
This is quite important, as an event as historical as this needs these kinds of details recorded. The intertwining of pop culture with high culture seemed for years to be impossible, so it is nice to see exactly how it became possible. That being said, there really isn’t a chance in hell the real feeling of what it was like being there will be imparted. For starters, everyone there has deep backgrounds and personal connections to the music that cannot be duplicated like penny candy.
Also, it is seldom possible to get an extended look at the action on the screen behind them to see how well the music matches the imagery. These aren’t faults at all, just the limits to the laws of “You Had To Be There.” You do get a clear view of this group’s passion and dedication, as well as the gratitude they feel from getting to do their craft for so long. The pacing RZA and Barclay apply is swift of foot and sharp with the cuts.
RZA himself offers a lot of great insights as he reflects on what has been picked up over the long journey. He points out the difference between young music warriors rising up now versus back then. These days you can put out a video, rack up a ton of views and have the powers reach out to you, instead of having to sit on a ferry into the city to haunt offices, selling your worth through pitching your a*s off. RZA sees both pluses and minuses to the changes, saying, “It depends on who has the gun, the villain or the hero.”
A Wu-Tang Experience: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre looks great, sounds great, and packs a punch that goes out the other end. Both the hardcore and the casual fan are more than welcome.
For screening information about A Wu-Tang Experience: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater, visit the Breaking Glass Pictures website.
"…can be enjoyed by both the Wu Tang novice as well as all the masters..."
