5 Sides of a Coin

5 Sides of a Coin is a 2003 feature-length documentary by Canadian filmmaker Paul Kell about hip hop culture. The title references the five elements inherent to this culture, viz., emceeing, deejaying, b-boying (aka breakdancing), writing (i.e., graffiti or street art), and beatboxing. Each element is highlighted individually throughout the film's five chapters.

5 Sides of a Coin
5 Sides of a Coin
Directed byPaul Kell
Produced byPaul Kell and Jana Ritter
StarringKool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, Gil Scott-Heron
CinematographyPaul Kell
Edited byPaul Kell
Music byVarious Artists
Distributed by7th Art Releasing
Release date
2003
Running time
70 mins
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish, French, Japanese, German, Italian
Budget$16,000 CAD

Synopsis

The documentary examines hip hop culture through interviews with hip hop artists such as Kool Herc, Jurassic 5, and Afrika Bambaataa. The interviews are interspersed with performance footage and archival footage from various periods of time in the history of hip hop.

Critical reception

Critical reception for 5 Sides of a Coin has been mixed.[1] Variety wrote a predominantly favorable review, commenting "Not quite definitive, "Five Sides of a Coin" is nevertheless a thorough overview of hip-hop's origins and influences. Nifty, well-executed docu emphasizes music's creative, bohemian side, skipping more commercial excesses."[2] The New York Times also commented on the movie, praising Kell for the film's attention to music but also writing that "Still, you can't help but feel that something is missing, that hip-hop has been around long enough, and is complex enough, to deserve something more than piety."[3]

References
  1. "FIVE SIDES OF A COIN (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  2. Eisner, Ken. "Review: 'Five Sides of a coin'". Variety. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  3. Scott, A.O. "Odes to the Old Schools of Hip-Hop and the Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2015.


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