Awesome: I Fuckin’ Shot That! (15)

Dir: Adam Yauch, 2006, USA (90 Min)
Mike D, Ad Rock, MCA, Mix Master Mike
Strictly handheld is the style that goes in this groundbreaking concert film of a Beastie Boys show in Madison Square Gardens in 2004. Billed as an authorised bootleg, the band distributed Hi-8 video cameras to fifty fans to shoot from the crowd and the edited results reveal the gig experience from multiple perspectives. Evoking the requisite sweat and smell, the film definitely captures the experience of a stadium show and the electricity of the Beasties’ performance.
Democratisation leads to some predictable amateur cinematography, such as everyone going crazy on the zoom button for the first five minutes, but the skill here is in the edit, which is elegant and frenetic, splicing in time with Mixmaster Mike’s whirlwind scratching. As a document it works best for those who’d already consider themselves fans of the band, but would play well to anyone willing to shake their rumps in the cinema. Kate Taylor