The story of the Wu-Tang Clan, the extended rap dynasty out of Staten Island, New York that dominated the hip-hop landscape for the better part of the nineties, is certainly ideal for the documentary treatment. Hell, keeping track of the various members of the crew is a research project in and of itself (a concept hilariously posited by The Onion a couple of weeks back), so by the time you sort everyone out, track their metoric rise, analyze the tough time at the top and the troubles of Ol' Dirty Bastard, and spotlight the recent, triumphant reunions, that doc has all but made itself.

So it's a shame that the "officially authorized" documentary Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan is so shallow, amateurish, and self-involved. The film is written, produced, directed, and narrated by Gerald K. Barclay, a fellow Staten Island native who mistakenly thinks that their story is his story (he directed their first video, centered an episode of a cable-access show with them just before they broke, and was present at a couple of subsequent concerts and gatherings). As a result, the documentary is too much about him--we see his childhood photos and hear his impressions of their rise ("I could only wonder what lay ahead..."), but why should we care what he thinks?

The primary reason to see Wu is for some rare footage of the group before and during their initial burst of success. We see clips from the aforementioned cable show ("New York Party Scene"), featuring a visit to the studio as the group was recording their first album. We see the original session of the smash hit "C.R.E.A.M.," live footage from the early 1990s, on and off-stage footage from a 1997 gig in Hawaii, and snippets from the "Wu-Tang Forever" sessions.

That's the good stuff. Unfortunately, much of the running time is taken up by interviews with peripheral figures and hangers-on; only The RZA and Raekwon contribute new interviews of any depth, so much of the story is told by managers, executives, and old friends. The trials and tribulations of ODB are explored at great length but with little effectiveness--there are attempts to explain (and sometimes excuse) his behavior, along with some dubious conspiracy theories, and while there is plenty of reflection on his death, there are few real details and very little understanding of it.

Along the way, much of the Wu story is left out. Solo successes are barely touched upon, the recent reunion and new album barely warrant a mention, and there is surprisingly little of the music itself to be heard; when we do glimpse a performance or a piece of a video, Barclay quickly cuts away to another talking head. Sometimes, it's best to let the music speak for itself.

Meanwhile, the feature is marred by amateurish production elements: mistakes in banners (when there are quotes at the beginning of a title, there should be quotes at the end of it), goofy push-slide transitions between shots, and frequent aspect ratio errors. Between these faux pas, the camcorder video quality, and the personalized narration, the entire enterprise has the feel of a home movie--particularly when Barclay includes himself in the "where are they now" slates at the end of the film. That's the last mistake in Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan, but far from the first.

Video:

The image is full-frame with most of the film letterboxed--though there is just barely enough full-frame video to look like someone forgot to render a few shots and transitions. It's not a great-looking image; some of the source materials are pretty rough, while the new interviews, shot on video, are acceptable but not much better than that.

The 2.0 audio track isn't much better; the music sounds decent, while the audio on some of the old footage is not in the best shape. But some of the interviews are very hard to hear, with a distance and echo that sounds, in some cases, like a camera mic was used instead of a lavaliere or hand-held.

Three extended interviews are presented: "Raekwon The Chef Reveals The Wu-Tang Recipe," (9:35), "RZA 'Cuts' Through The Hip-Hop World," (4:32), and "Icelene's Loss: Her Relationship With ODB" (6:47). Most are intercut with other footage, but for the most part, the best bites made their way into the film itself.

Not surprisingly, Barclay devotes the longest special feature to his favorite subject: himself. "Behind The Wu With Director Gee-Bee" (15:32) is an lengthy interview about his own background and interactions with the crew, and while a director interview featurette isn't usually a sign of ego, it is when the director narrates and dominates the feature.

The best special feature on the disc is the simplest: "Original Music Video: Wu-Tang Is Born: 'Protect Ya Neck'" (4:41), a straight-forward presentation of the group's first music video. For once on the disc, the viewer is allowed to listen to and enjoy the music, pure and simple.

Fans may want to give Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan a spin, purely to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the old and rare clips. But the sad fact is that this is a poorly-made documentary, not much better than the unauthorized docs that continue to flood the DVD market. There's a great documentary to be made about these trailblazers from Shaolin, but this ain't it. Skip It.

Jason lives in New York. He holds an MA in Cultural Reporting and Criticism from NYU.