Gang Tapes (2001)

Director:

Adam Ripp

Writers:

Steven Wolfson (written by) &
Adam Ripp (written by)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

A coming of Rage story

Plot:

When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers. |

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Darris Love	...	Alonzo
Darontay McClendon	...	Cyril
Don Cambell	...	Travis
Six Reasons	...	Erik
Trivell	...	Kris
Sonja Marie	...	Kris' Mother
Aura Ruiz	...	Khandi
Tasheia Woodward	...	Kris' Sister
Andrew Stoddard	...	Tourist Father
Michelle McGinty	...	Tourist Mother (as Michelle Marie White)
Rochelle	...	Tourist Daughter
Kevin Wiseman	...	Tourist Son
Dwayne Whitehead	...	Rodney
Bruce Lemon	...	Jerald
Champagne Powell	...	Home Invasion Father
Nancy Whitworth	...	Home Invasion Mother
Nana Murphy	...	Home Invasion Daughter
Tramonde Myers	...	Big Loco
Lil' Skrappy	...	Kris' Killer / Rival in Red
Celeste Bowen	...	Raven
Kojo Lewis	...	Minister at Funeral
Bradrick Walker	...	Eight Ball
Lavale Booth	...	Bully 1
Lafayette Braxton	...	Bully 2
Aletha Spann	...	Female Crackhead
Hajii King	...	Freestyle Rapper
T. Dennis	...	Crackhead on Bike
Lance Peters	...	Skeeter
Shirley Hill	...	Cyril's Mother
Boo Kapone	...	Himself

Directed by
Adam Ripp

Writing credits
Steven Wolfson		(written by) &
Adam Ripp		(written by)

Produced by
Quentin Drew	....	associate producer
David H. Goodman	....	producer
Adam Ripp	....	producer
Artie Ripp	....	executive producer
Steven Wolfson	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Coolio
Kurupt
Chino XL

Cinematography by
Keith L. Smith

Film Editing by
Tina Imahara

Casting by
Betsy Fels
Anissa Williams

Production Design by
Thomas A. Brown

Set Decoration by
Tchia Casselle

Costume Design by
Angela Potts

Makeup Department
Alexandrea A. Bouska	....	special makeup effects artist
Kemi Cooks	....	department head hair

Production Management
Christi Tidman	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tahmel T. Dennis	....	first assistant director
Eddie L. Watkins	....	second unit director

Sound Department
Lionel Ball	....	sound mixer
Jon Oh	....	sound designer
Woody Stubblefield	....	boom operator

Stunts
Eddie L. Watkins	....	stunt coordinator

Music Department
JD Hopkins	....	music supervisor
Flip Floyd Wilcox	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Patrick J. Gorman	....	production legal
Andre Hargunani	....	script supervisor
David Albert Pierce	....	production counsel
Christi Tidman	....	accountant

Production Companies

• Lions Gate Films
• Thomas Edison Invention

Distributors

• Lions Gate Films (2001) (USA) (theatrical) (film festivals)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• H.O.M. Vision bv, Spakenburg (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, drug use and some sexuality

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | Singapore:R21 | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

The scene in which Darontay McClendon's character Cyril hits another man with a tire iron is based on an incident in McClendon's own life for which he did 15 months in prison.

Great if you look past the obvious

I was quite keen to see Gang Tapes being a fan of 'hood movies but it was not an easy task. Being reasonably unknown in general and not what would usually come to mind when the topic of ghetto/hood/gang banging movies is brought up (that spot is usually reserved for "Boyz N The Hood" and "Menace II Society"), it wasn't at any of the video shops I visited. After looking for it for some time I eventually gave up. But last week I was searching for a good movie at my video shop when I noticed they had bought a copy of "Gang Tapes".I rented it out and found it was worth the wait.

What would draw most people away from this movie is the cover, R18 rating and a grisly summary or review on the back. But despite all this the movie is not overly violent at all. There are some pretty bad moments that makes this definitely not a family movie, but I still don't think it deserves an R18. The only over the top thing in this movie is the offensive language, but that probably wouldn't faze anyone because bad language is commonplace in all 'hood movies.

Some people have said that it is pointless because all it does is show gang life. Which is true. It does realistically show gang life, but that is no reason to put it down. Now, I'm not saying that "Gang Tapes" is better than "GoodFellas", but "GoodFellas" just shows life in the mafia and nobody puts it down.

One might say it is "just another 'hood movie" and it is another 'hood movie, but Adam Ripp (director and writer) and the rest of the crew have managed to make it different from the others. For starters, it is filmed all from the point of view of a young teenage boy living in South Central L.A. which is an original twist. Another interesting thing is that the bulk of the main cast are all gang members, ex-gang members or have grown up in South Central and have added realism to the story and dialogue. The writers have also made the plot different from what you would usually see in movie of this genre.

The acting is probably better than what most people would expect. As I said before, the gang members are played by actual gang members so they are easily able to pull it off. And performing on camera doesn't matter to them because it's meant to be a home video, so they can look at the camera etc.

Thumbs up for director and co-writer Adam Ripp. Watching the special features I can see he is very passionate about his movie. I feel sorry for him because his movie didn't really become as popular as some other 'hood movies, but at least he knows he made a great movie. Thumbs up for the cast and crew as well.

Overall this is a great movie if you look past the obvious. Anybody who is a fan of 'hood movies should love it and if you are someone who isn't you should still check it out and remember some of the points I made above.