WU: THE STORY OF THE WU-TANG CLAN
Studio: Paramount
Running time: 90 Minutes
SRP: $22.98

Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan is a documentary that is aimed directly at me, and people like me. The Wu-Tang Clan came around at a point when I was just becoming old enough to listen to understand lyrics and pick out artists. In a way, their group albums have followed me throughout my life, and their solo records are among my favorites. You could say I have a vested interest in the documentary as a fan of the Wu.

I found it an enjoyable, though flawed, experience.

FEATURE: B
Wu is structured logically, with Enter the 36 Chambers and the origin of the Wu-Tang Clan forming the basis of the introduction of the film. While brief mention is given to the pre-record deal beginnings of the Clan, the majority of the focus is on the Clan itself. The rest of the film moves through specific milestones of the Clan’s career.

I found it an interesting, but not gripping, documentary. It is comprised mostly of old footage, such as limited run television shows, interviews, music video clips, and outtake footage. Newer interviews with rap figures like Chuck Creekmur, Steve Rifkind, and Bobbito Garcia provide context for the Clan’s status.

Partway through, Wu became a time capsule. The early ’90s braggadoccio and style become just as important as the facts being presented on-screen. The early Wu-Tang Clan videos were of the “A bunch of guys jumping around, dancing, and mean mugging in front of a camera” variety. They included curious spellings of Clan member’s names, shaky cam, and timecodes left on the video. Enter the 36 Chambers features scratchy samples and is missing curses entirely on Protect Ya Neck.

All of these are things that would look unprofessional in any other light, but it worked for the Wu. They were excited to be on, eager to get going, and were going to grasp success by any means necessary. In hindsight, it seems like they appeared on the scene fully-formed and amazingly brash. Each member got a solo deal with a different label on top of the group deal, which was unheard of at that point in time. The Clan has enjoyed nearly fifteen years of success as a group and as individual members.

If I had to pin down one thing that Wu is about, it would be the Wu as an entity unto itself. The Clan made it through inter-personal drama, label drama, and real life. The Clan isn’t quite the same juggernaut that it once was, but it still carries that brand name that makes people sit up and pay attention.

The documentary, if anything, is hurt by its runtime. It feels short. While it covers a lot of ground, it is more of a sprint to the finish line, instead of a leisurely stroll. Very little attention, if any attention at all, is given to the philosophies and kung fu film origins of the Clan. Many members do not get a lot of screentime outside of old footage or ancient interviews, leaving the impression that the most important members of the Clan are RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon.

The documentary goes in-depth into the trials of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and uses the kind of analysis I’d liked to have seen on the other subjects of the documentary. RZA’s production, Method Man’s acting career, Ghostface’s solo career, the Wu-Tang Clan’s ever-present chess metaphors, and plenty of other topics were simply left out.

AUDIO: C
For a film about a music group, surprisingly little attention is given to the music itself. Barring talk of record deals and sales, we do not get much information about the music beyond the ever present background music, which is mostly composed of Wu-Tang Clan instrumentals, and even that is never identified.

The sound mix is nothing special, which is to be expected from a documentary, I think. It doesn’t need the trickery and gimmicks that accompany summer action movie releases. It simply needs to get the point across, which it does.

More information on the music, or even a hint of what was playing when, would have been welcome. It lowers the music to the state of generic background tunes, which is less than it deserves.

PRESENTATION: C
There isn’t anything particularly special or innovate about Wu’s presentation. The box is your standard DVD case, and the menus are as simple as they come. They are functional and easy to use, but not particularly interesting.

EXTRAS: C+
There are a few extras on the disc, which are between five to fifteen minutes in length. There are extended segments with Raekwon, RZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s widow, and others. These are interesting, though parts of these pieces can be found during the course of the documentary.

A classic Wu-Tang Clan music video rounds out the extras.

OVERALL: B
I can’t help but compare Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan to The Wu-Tang Manual: Enter the 36 Chambers, Volume 1. It was a book released in early 2005 that detailed the lives of Clan members before the Clan existed and spent a lot of time going over minutia and trivia of the Clan.

The documentary’s scope is more of an overview or a primer, rather than an in-depth work. Overall, it is a solidly enjoyable work, but I would have liked to see something a little more brave or less safe than what we got. That may sound a little unfair, so I do want to emphasize that the documentary is a pleasant watch– it just isn’t everything it could have been.