10/10
truly awesome...
1 February 2006
i watched this 93-minute film at midnight during the sundance film festival, and when it ended and the lights came on, i secretly hoped someone would announce that it would be shown again for those who wanted to stay (i know i wouldn't have left my seat!).

i really wish i could have been at the actual concert at madison square garden--the beasties put on a fantastic show with music spanning their entire repertoire (minus the hardcore early days, of course). at one point, they even donned some retro tuxes and played instrumental numbers from "check your head" and "ill communication." as you might imagine, given the premise of the movie being shot by amateurs using hand-held digital cameras, some of the inclusions and streams weren't great, but for the most part, the final edit allowed a wonderful flow between multiple audience viewpoints, backstage hijinks, pre- and post-show moments, and even a bathroom break taken by one intrepid guy. "hornblower" threw in some creative editing and composition elements, too, showing a few songs performed in the cinematography styles the group has used in videos like "so whatcha want" and "shake your rump." the guest performance by doug e. fresh was amazing (as you might expect), and there were several other celebrity cameos from the on-screen audience as well. i was lipsynching along throughout the show, and many heads were bobbing in my theater. i was disappointed that i didn't get to attend the sundance showing the beastie boys visited, but i enjoyed this movie immensely and look forward to buying it when it's released.

P.S. the attempted re-creation of this idea during the beasties' performance on letterman (2/8/06) was *not* indicative of the quality of the the "awesome..." film. the beastie boys did a great job, but the letterman footage was pretty lame and poorly done.

"Once upon a time upon this mic, MCs be really workin' on what they write; With the sound delight, we rock all night, and yes, we're gonna party for the right to fight."
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