Bomb the System

Bomb the System is a 2002 drama film written and directed by Adam Bhala Lough. It stars Mark Webber, Gano Grills, Jaclyn DeSantis, Jade Yorker, Bönz Malone, Kumar Pallana and Joey SEMZ. The story revolves around a group of graffiti artists who decide to make a mark on New York City.

Bomb the System
Promotional movie poster
Directed byAdam Bhala Lough
Written byAdam Bhala Lough
Produced byBen Rekhi
Sol Tryon
Starring
CinematographyBen Kutchins
Ben Rekhi
Edited byJay Rabinowitz
Music bySebastian Demian
El-P
Ethan Higbee
International Friends
Distributed byPalm Pictures
Release date
December 2002 (Anchorage International Film Festival)
  • May 27, 2005 (2005-05-27) (United States)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Hindi
Box office$15,520[1]

Bomb the System was the first major fictional feature film about the subculture of graffiti art since 1982’s Wild Style.[2] Several well-known graffiti artists participated in the making of the film, including Lee Quiñones, Cope2, Chino BYI and Keo X-Men. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by El-P.

In December 2002, the film premiered at the Anchorage International Film Festival. It went on to screen at various film festivals including the Tribeca Festival.[3] It was given a limited theatrical release in American theaters on May 27, 2005. It was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature[4] and won the Audience Award at the 2003 Athens International Film Festival.[5]

Cast

Production

The film was expanded from Lough’s thesis project at NYU.[6][7] Lough’s fellow NYU graduates collaborated with him on the film as producer, cinematographer, and other key members of the crew.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Anchorage International Film Festival in December 2002, winning the award for Best Feature.[6]

After a 1-minute clip of the film was shown during the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards, Now on Media in Japan offered to acquire distribution rights. The film received a wide theatrical release in Japan on September 3, 2005.[8][9]

In the US, the film was distributed by Palm Pictures and was shown in New York City and Los Angeles on May 27, 2005. The film grossed a per-screen average of $4,588.[1]

Sticker controversy

Shortly after the theatrical release, a movie theater in Delaware was closed down after a promotional Bomb the System sticker was found illegally posted in the theater. Due to fear of terrorism, the theater manager called the police and bomb squad and the theater was shut down for a few hours while the canine unit sniffed for bombs. Nothing was found.[10] In graffiti terminology, "bombing" has nothing to do with actual explosives, and instead refers to slang for covering a surface with graffiti.[11]

Home media

The film was released on DVD on October 11, 2005.[12]

Critical response

Rolling Stone called the film a "next-gen [sic] update of 1982's Wild Style. With strong whiffs of Trainspotting and Kids" that "distinguishes itself with streaky, Krylon-bright editing and El-P's eerie soundtrack beats."[13] Village Voice noted the movie was "birthed from a blunt-fueled blend of Aronofskian frenzy and nostalgia for the agreeable griminess of mid-'90s Wu-Tang Clan videos."[14] Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Crust wrote, "Lough's impressive, if uneven, debut feature captures the adrenaline rush and contradictory nature of the simultaneously creative and criminal activity."[15] Stephen Holden of The New York Times reviewed the film positively: "The movie runs on the synergy between this grimy but glamorous urban landscape and the emotional intensity of characters who at moments suggest contemporary descendants of the innocent, tormented teenagers in Rebel Without a Cause. Bomb the System, which rides on a subtle hip-hop soundtrack, might be described as soulful pulp; cult recognition awaits it."[16]

On the critical side, The New York Post called the film "a mild, slow-moving drama that belatedly tries to argue that graffiti writers are political artists, not an urban blight". The New York Daily News called the film "brashly passionate in its desire to express the power and validity of graffiti art. But it's also preachy and single-minded, populated by a world of sympathetic heroes and hissable villains".[17] Sean Axmaker in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer likened the film to "tomcats spraying outside their yards."[18]

Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote, "For Bomb the System director Adam Lough takes far more inspiration from the on-going graffiti culture than from the depleted stylistic formulas of recent commercial cinema. His refreshing use of skewed camera angles, blasts of color, and inventive cutting are deftly blended, becoming much more than calculated atmosphere. The performances are also consistently strong, and Mark Webber in particular, in the central role, never hits a false note. Bomb the System is welcome proof that the spirit of graffiti writing has a continuing cultural influence on both the subtleties of form and explosive personal expression." Parts of the quotation ran in a Village Voice ad on the second weekend of the film's release.

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Bomb the System has an approval rating of 32% based on 22 reviews. The site’s critics consensus reads, "Given the movie's premise, one would assume it's gritty and street-smart, but in reality it's a slave to stale cliches and formula."[19]

References
  1. "Bomb the System (2005)". Box Office Mojo. June 16, 2005. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  2. "Bomb the System Director: Adam Bhala Lough". at149st.com. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  3. "Bomb the System". Meralta Films. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  4. "IFP Independent Spirit Awards 2004 - Nominees and Winners". movies.about.com. July 16, 2013. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  5. "Bomb the System (2005) Awards & Festivals". mubi.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  6. "Graffiti Interviews : Adam Bhala Lough / Bomb the System". Riot Sound. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  7. "Bomb the System Director: Adam Bhala Lough Interview". at149st.com. 2005.
  8. "キャッシング審査比較システム". Bombthesystem.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  9. Fazio, Giovanni (August 31, 2005). "Art explosions taken to the streets". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007.
  10. Langford, James R. (January 12, 2006). "Film title sticker causes alarm, closes theater". The News Journal. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  11. Malooley, Jake. "Drop the bomb". Time Out Chicago. No. 231. Archived from the original on October 5, 2009.
  12. "Bomb the System". DVD Talk. October 14, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  13. "Bomb the System". Rolling Stone. October 6, 2005. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  14. "Bomb the System". Village Voice. May 17, 2005. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  15. Crust, Kevin (May 27, 2005). "Bomb the System". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2005. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  16. Holden, Stephen (May 27, 2005). "An (Illegal) Artist Determined to Make His Presence Known". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  17. "Bomb the System". New York Daily News. May 27, 2005. Archived from the original on February 9, 2006.
  18. "Limited movie runs: 'Brothers,' 'Bomb the System' and more". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. June 23, 2005. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  19. "Bomb the System". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
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