Rise – The Story Of Rave Outlaw Disco Donnie (Documentary)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C Main Program: B-
There are
many stories about the lifestyles the Rave scene has created, which do seem
like they could be fun, but then there are those who simply land up
self-destructing or get destroyed. That
has even developed into a stereotype about the seen, but Rise – The Story Of Rave Outlaw Disco Donnie (2004) breaks hold of
some of that cliché and becomes more compelling viewing than expected.
Though
the title suggests this is about Disco Donnie, it is about everyone in the
scene around him as well, and how they come together to make up this
world. Julie Drazen gets involved with
everyone and makes sure the camera is there all the way it can be. This is also no matter how drugged-out many
of the subjects are, but just about everyone is cordial and Drazen manages to
zero in on her subject at their most revealing (editing notwithstanding) and
even disarming in some odd way.
That a
female director is there likely put most people at ease with her, so they do
not feel the subjective camera is subjecting them to undue scrutiny. The result is a pleasant 69 minutes (is that
length intentionally mean something considering the subject is about lust and
drug pleasure?), which makes for what we could be term a solid B-movie
Documentary. Sure, I still do not know
who Donnie is, except he is a promoter and has an unexplained (maybe
unexplainable) knack for bringing together the right kind of people. That alone is reason enough to see Rise.
The
program is credited as full screen, but is actually is shown in a 1.78 X 1/16 X
9 frame, all originating in both single frame and pastiches of analog NTSC
video based digital video and even Super 8mm film. Too bad this was not anamorphically enhanced,
as I liked what was captured by the camera.
Charlie Lubin handled the camerawork for the film and he is well matched
with Drazen, who also edited and was one of five videographers. The sound is here in Dolby Digital Stereo and
better 5.1 mixes, but the production cannot escape its on-the-spot interview
recording or that the split surrounds are inconsistent. Nevertheless, it is an interesting
presentation. The only extras are four
extra clips that run about 15 minutes long combined. They’re fair, but nothing spectacular. They may have even worked better in the main
program. This does not even tell us what
is on the cutting room floor, as it were.
As it stands, those interested should see Rise.
- Nicholas Sheffo
