Planet B-Boy (2007)

Director:

Benson Lee

Release Date:

21 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History | Music

Tagline:

Breakdancing has evolved

Plot:

Jumping continents and crossing cultures, "Planet B-Boy" looks at the history of breakdancing and its vibrant resurgence in urban cultures around the world.

Plot Keywords:

B Boy | Dance | Breakdancing | Urban | International

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Mr. Freeze	...	Mr. Freeze
Luis Mateo	...	Trac2
Skwall	...	Himself
Prince Ken Swift	...	Ken Swift
Knucklehead Zoo	...	Themselves

Directed by
Benson Lee

Produced by
Thomas Hergenrother	....	co-producer
Danny Huang	....	executive producer
Benson Lee	....	producer
Johnny Lee	....	executive producer
Amy Lo	....	producer
Manahi Taber-Kewene	....	associate producer
Alex Valente	....	associate producer
Mike Zandlo	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Woody Pak		(original music by)

Cinematography by
Vasco Nunes

Film Editing by
Benson Lee
Jeff Marcello

Production Management
Thibault Dufour	....	production manager
Geoffrey Greer	....	post-production manager
Kellie Hotema	....	production manager
Nari Eunice Kim	....	production manager (as Nari Kim)
Jeff Marcello	....	post-production supervisor
Kozo Okumura	....	production manager
Dae Gyun Sohn	....	production manager (as Xris Sohn)

Sound Department
Paul Bercovitch	....	sound mixer
Paul Bercovitch	....	sound re-recording mixer
Force Theory	....	sound designer
Michael Furjanic	....	supervising sound editor
James Nichols	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Tony Volante	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Christo Bakalov	....	additional photography
Gregor Grieshaber	....	camera assistant
Benson Lee	....	additional photography
Benson Lee	....	still photographer
Jae Hyuk Lee	....	additional photography
Vasco Nunes	....	still photographer
Hiroo Takaoka	....	additional photography
Mike Zandlo	....	additional photography (as Michael Zandlo)

Editorial Department
Maya Bakshani	....	post-production intern
Andrew Becker	....	associate editor
Stephanie A. Bello	....	post-production intern
Jeff Bistrong	....	post-production intern
Joe Carroll	....	assistant editor
Sabrina Chemloul	....	associate editor
Calvin Choi	....	associate editor
Chi Yoon Chung	....	associate editor (as Chi-Yoon Chung)
Sophia Coaxum	....	second assistant editor
Meghan Devine	....	associate editor
Aziza Elkhati	....	post-production intern
William J. Holden	....	second assistant editor
Maria Juranovic	....	second assistant editor
Christina Kim	....	editorial translator
Silvia Kim	....	post-production intern
Eugene Kolb	....	post-production intern
Elisa Y. Lee	....	second assistant editor
Michael Lindo	....	post-production intern
George Manolo	....	post-production intern
David Panfili	....	assistant editor
Jane Tolmachyov	....	color correction
Hyun-Joon Yoon	....	assistant editor
So Young Yoo	....	second assistant editor
Christin Yu	....	post-production intern
Jesse Zakarin	....	post-production intern
Mike Zandlo	....	co-editor (as Michael Zandlo)

Music Department
Jim Black	....	music supervisor
Willard Dyson	....	musician: drums
G.I. Joe	....	musician
Ilya Eli Lishinsky	....	music recording engineer
Mowg	....	composer: additional music
Hutson Rapier	....	music editor
Hutson Rapier	....	music mixer

Other crew
Nanae Abe	....	translator
Sam Young An	....	subtitler
Shinobu Azuma	....	translator
Yumi Bae	....	production assistant
Helen Cho	....	translator
Jenn Chung	....	translator
Marie-Pierre Cravedi	....	translator
Nina Diedrich	....	production assistant
Aaron Dunsay	....	subtitler
Jillian Elizabeth	....	archival researcher (as Jillian E. O'Connor)
Yasmine Ghoraschi	....	production assistant
Jin Gwon	....	transcriber
Randy Havens	....	translator
Masaaki Hidaka	....	translator
Brian Hulse	....	production assistant
Jason Huynh	....	transcriber (as Jason Hyunh)
Miyako Inoue-Herrera	....	translator
Timothy Kang	....	translator
Mitsumi Kawamura	....	translator
Sung-Un Kim	....	transcriber
Gloria Lee	....	translator
Sanghyun Lee	....	transcriber
David Magdael	....	publicist
Hideyuki Mako	....	production assistant
Emma Mankey Hidem	....	transcriber
Yuko Sanaga McHugh	....	translator
Amber Minogue	....	production assistant
Angela Moon	....	transcriber
Mika Mori	....	transcriber
Mark Moskowitz	....	accountant
Tyler Neuendorffer	....	digitizing
Yujin Nomura	....	subtitler
Dan O'Meara	....	sales representative
David Panfili	....	assistant: producer and director
Otto Porrazzo	....	insurance broker
German Ramos	....	archival photos
Koe Rodriguez	....	archival photos
Mel Rosenthal	....	archival photos
Yukiko Sato	....	translator
Robert L. Seigel	....	production legal services
Jamel Shabazz	....	archival photos
Nahoko Sugiyama	....	translator
Joung Hee Sup	....	production assistant
Mari Takeuchi	....	subtitler
Sho Tsuchiya	....	transcriber
Dan Weaver	....	translator
Eduardo Wong	....	digitizing
Young S. Yang	....	transcriber
Soo-Jin Yun	....	transcriber
Anne Stulz	....	publicist (uncredited)

Thanks
Travis Call	....	special thanks
Yamiah Kaliz Concepcion	....	in memory of
Blake McKenzie Rapier	....	in memory of

Production Companies

• Mondo Paradiso Films

Distributors

• Gravitas Ventures (2008) (USA) (TV) (VOD)
• Elephant Eye Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical) (sales)
• Madman Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2008) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Sogecable (2008) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Intercontinental (2008) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2008) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Sogecable (2008) (Spain) (all media)

Other Companies

• Blink Entertainment  marketing and promotion
• Film Emporium  insurance by
• Soundtrack  trailer

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:Unrated | South Korea:All | Australia:M

Company:

Mondo Paradiso Films

Movie Connections:

Features Graffiti Rock (1984) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Last Lights

Planet Bboy: Powerful, Emotional, and Hilarious

There is an underground culture of performing arts that often goes overlooked or under-appreciated. The artists that dedicate their entire lives to the art form often come from meager lifestyles and impoverished conditions. But when they perform, whether it lasts for ten minutes or thirty seconds, they have the power to captivate your entire soul. Planet Bboy takes place during the Battle of the Year competition in 2005 and documents the culture that originated in the urban streets of New York City and spread like wildfire all over the world. Crews from all over the world strive to be the best, and to be the best they must grace the center stage of the entire world of b-boying, "Battle of the Year." One crew represents each of the participating countries to compete in the grandest bboy battle in the entire world. The prize money is close to nothing. The true prize is to create a name for yourself, to earn respect and recognition, and most of all to be the best in the world. The documentary focuses primarily on five different crews, Knucklehead Zoo from Las Vegas, Ichigeki from Japan, Phase-T from France, Last for One from Korea, and the reigning champions the Gamblerz also from Korea.

Each crew possesses their own unique style and presence, and the documentary shows the strong bond within each crew. The power moves and stunts are crazy! However, the heart of the film lies in the individual life stories. Bboys who want nothing more in life but to dance often come in conflict with the interests of the families, especially those who live in poverty.

Planet Bboy is powerful, raw with emotions, not to mention hilarious. The interactions between the bboys and their families provide moments of heartfelt emotion and moments of true hilarity as the facial expressions on the bboys say that they've heard these lectures their whole lives. We feel for them when the pursuit of their dreams is rejected, and cheer for them when they are appreciated. Great moments also arise when the bboy crews from different countries finally get together and experience a culture shock that is both threatening and awkward.

The film has the same heart and passion as the bboys have for their artistic outlet of dance. I can't remember the last time a movie made me cry. Planet Bboy was the first film in a long time I had to pretend there was something in my eye.

I left the film feeling a deeper appreciation for dance as well as the quality of life. Life is not worth living unless you dare to dream.