Big Fun in the Big Town
Big Fun in the Big Town is a superbly filmed Hip Hop documentary produced in 1986 for Dutch TV and shot entirely in New York City. Filmed by Dutch director Bram Van Splunteren a well-respected documentarian in the arts, music, and human-interest fields. Best known for his previous documentaries about the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Loudon Wainwright amongst others.
Splunteren in 1986 traveled to New York for one week only, to experience and document first hand the new subculture of Hip Hop. With just his crew, a map and a list of phone numbers, Splunteren’s aim was to get to the root of Hip Hop and experience all of its forms, from music to dance and art in the form of Graffiti.
The documentary featured interviews with the pioneers of Hip Hop such as Mr. Magic, Marley Marl, Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC and Jam Master Jay, LL Cool J, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante, Russell Simmons, MC Shan, Schoolly-D, Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew, the Last Poets and all the founding fathers of the Golden Hip Hop era.
Initially the film only saw the light of day in Holland, however after 25 years of waiting, the film has gone viral and is available to watch on such sites as Youtube and since last month is officially available on DVD for the first time ever.
This documentary is a must watch, as it shows New York and Hip Hop music from every possible angle when the genre was young, fresh and ripe. Providing a great insight to the cultural backdrop that surrounded Ricky Powell during his imminent years as one of the freshest new talents in the photography world.
