I really enjoyed this film! It's not for everyone by a long shot, but I found it to be very gripping. We watch the news everyday and see all these events after the fact. This film shows you what happens and why before the news team arrives. My favorite line is when the main character says "There is no right or wrong way, it's a need way" Meaning if there is a need for something, some will find a way to get it right or wrong. Can you say "Enron"?You experience several different emotions during this film. I think that says a lot for a movie thats only 78min long.The acting isn't great but thats what pull you in and makes it hard for to distinguish real from fake. This film was very entertaining and if it wasn't 230am I would watch it again.
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kib091311 June 2012
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streetsweeper323 July 2012This is another found-footage film that veers into uncharted waters and takes a look without any moral judgement (like most Hollywood movies) of Atlanta's most dangerous hood, "The Bluff". When you watch this movie, you see it from Curtis Snow's perspective, who is a drug dealer, robbery boy who only knows the life he was born into.
To the reviewer who mentioned that this film has no artistic value, I would definitely have to disagree. Though the film's content is harsh and unrelenting the way the camera follows the action, the way in which this film was cut together, and the social questions it raises along with the controversy are quite an artistic accomplishment. I would suspect that the deep underlying issues that this film raises is the reason this independent movie has seen such attention in the press (and the reason I watched it).
I feel that this film really is a call to action. Every city in America has ghetto's such as these that are largely ignored by the mass public, and I think we need to look at restoring these places in order to help the children (like a young Curtis Snow) who were born into drugs, guns, and violence. -
mikayakatnt18 February 2020An action-packed found-footage-style film. There were some parts where I questioned whether or not this was real or fiction.
Snow on tha Bluff blurs the line between reality and fiction. It offers no apologies for the actions of its protagonist, someone who is doing what he can to survive in a rough neighborhood. It paints a bleak picture for those living on the fringes of American society.
Still, some scenes and parts felt a bit out of place and away from the storyline. But, life can be like that sometimes. This film was all about being close to reality as possible.
Will need to get a camcorder with a battery life that this film had, though.
4/5. Glad Netflix recommended me this film. -
Certainly one of the more interesting and unique found footage type movies I've seen in a while. It approaches the plot of a low-level criminal named Curtis stealing a video camera and documenting his life in a more serious fashion than expected. Not that I thought this would be a comedy, but I guess I wasn't prepared for it to get as heavy and insightful as it does (and I mean that in a good way).
It provides an insight into why people commit crimes (early on, Curtis mentions it being about paying for very ordinary things like rent and providing for his infant child), and also depicts how the cycle of drug dealing and crime can continue through generations in the film's best scene, where he prepares drugs for sale whilst talking about how his family did it when he was a kid, and observes his own child running around as he prepares drugs and states that he himself remembered doing that as a kid.
The authenticity and commitment to the found footage style is admirable. In its attempts to replicate true life, it doesn't exactly have the most satisfying narrative, as hey, I guess life doesn't always follow a 3-act structure. The dialogue is also sometimes not audible, features a lot of slang, and frequently people talk over each other. Again, true to life, but not always easy to understand as a viewer.
You can also nitpick things like "did they steal the camera charger? If not, why hadn't the battery run out?" and "why is everyone cool with documenting video evidence of being involved in certain crimes?" but I guess a suspension of disbelief is required for almost all found footage movies, even otherwise very authentic ones like this.
If you treat this film as a bit of an experiment as well as a look into how and why crimes of this nature happen, then it succeeds. If you come into it wanting pure entertainment and thrills, and/or a super satisfying story, you may be disappointed. If you can get on board with the former, I'd certainly recommend it, and though it wasn't the easiest watch, I'm glad I experienced it. -
hkp7198412 June 2012OK, I'll be honest, I'm a conservative middle aged woman from the Mid West area of the United States. I moved down to Atlanta for my job a few years ago, and I was instantly taken back by the difference in the way people live here. It was a culture shock. I live in the Westend area, which is only a few miles from "The Bluff" (the neighborhood this movie was shot in).
Though I don't agree with all of the actions of Curtis Snow, this movie was kinda interesting. It was very realistic, and I really like how clever they were. His problems are not like mine, but for some reason I could actually relate to the "need to provide" themes in this movie. This man is from the poorest area in Atlanta, I'm talking dirt poor, where people are raised in a violent drug filled world, little hope.
It's interesting to me that these filmmakers were able to get in, and get out alive. I'm biased to "found footage" type films, and this is now one of my favorites, it's gonna be a good-add to my collection, next to my other crime-dramas. -
afmom3811 June 2012This movie is a must see. If you weren't raised in the ghetto you may not relate to it. But if you were, it will bring tears to your eyes. I watched it four times in a row. It reminded me of how I was raised, and fortunately I don't live that way anymore. When the baby's mother is killed I felt so much pain for that little boy to be raised without a mother. She was innocent in the documentary. There are a lot of girls that get caught up with having children for men like Snow. Sadly, she lost her life. If you weren't raised around drugs and street life you will think the movie is horrible. But to some people it is a reality show. More of a reality than some of the reality shows on television.
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bobbyxie198411 June 2012This film is basically a mocumentary of what life in the ghetto is really like. It follows a drug dealer/robber who steals a camera off some college kids and gets one of his boys to film his life. Like Fubar, the stupidity rating is off the charts but you can't help but watch more. Unlike Fubar, this one doesn't have any laughs (unless you're laughing at them). It's more of a "how i'm hustlin/livin kinda deal.
It's disturbing to see how pathetic the lives of actual human beings can be but here you have it. Random baby having, going to jail, drug dealing/robbing, alcoholism, never go anywhere attitude, shoot each other in the streets and an embarrassing take on what 'flexin' should look like are just a few things you'll get to experience with this flick.
LOL The most ghetto cities in Canada have nothing on this hood. -
mronga6 June 2015Ah sorry I don't buy it, just so many things that say fake 2me.So the "white" people that got robbed in the first scene didn't ever go to the police? When he "got shot" and went to jail nothing was ever said or shown about his so call injury.Ah is this guy really that lame to commit crimes on camera and then have it made into a movie?Come on give me a break....another surprise is we never see any bullet holes in cars or anywhere else, look if its not real the viewer should be told upfront its not real.When they "rob" the guys and get 9 ounces am I really suppose to believe that the person with the dope is also that lame as to have it readily accessible for a robber to come steal it that easy. I say B.S. most anyone that is smart enough to acquire 9 ounces is smart enough to protect it in a way to not make it that easy for someone to steal. I could be wrong but this is my opinion. MIKLO
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treasuredrasa25 July 2013I LOVED this movie! Honestly, I seen this stuff with my eyes happening right out front my grandma's house as a kid. Her house sits at the corner of Neal St. and Newport St. My boyfriend showed this movie to me last night. What surprised me was that they where in the neighborhood that my mom and dad grew up in back in the 50's. After I watched this movie I immediately showed it to my mom. She liked it but she was disappointed in the neighborhood. My mom says Vine City was a residence of socialite people, and the houses were mostly small manors, even Martin Luther King Jr. and his family lived out there. I cant even imagine the bluff being how my mom seen it seeing it now.
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Even though I liked this movie, it is about 95 percent re-enactment, and 5 percent actual footage, of lame everyday stuff. This should be labeled a work of fiction. Also most of the descriptions of how events transpired seems to be greatly embellished. I say enjoy the movie, because that is exactly what it is, a movie not documentary.
Even though I liked this movie, it is about 95 percent re-enactment, and 5 percent actual footage, of lame everyday stuff. This should be labeled a work of fiction. Also most of the descriptions of how events transpired seems to be greatly embellished. I say enjoy the movie, because that is exactly what it is, a movie not documentary. -
kelseykerce22 May 2012Snow on Tha Bluff is a film that everybody has to see. It is a painfully touching and brutally honest depiction of life in the Bluff, a story that has been dying to be told. This movie has captured the manifesto of the hood in the simplicity of a day-in-the-life type storyline. The casual inclusion of events ranging from the murders of "baby mamas" to the simple command from father to infant son to "be a man" about his mother's death. The found footage aspect of the film creates the excitement that we all felt during The Blair Witch Project without the headache from Cloverfield. The movie gains trust with the audience in the honesty of the actions, not at all ashamed by their drug habits or their children's involvement in such events. In one point of the film, the main character, Curtis Snow, even states that when he was a child his uncle cut cocaine in front of his when he was a baby just as he does now in front of his son. Real or not, the film asserts images that exist and mind sets that allow people to think that taking their child into custody for a week is an absurdly long amount of time. The final clip of the movie portrays a major purpose of the film. Curtis Snow, on the phone with a video editing company, states that he has tapes that need to be seen. This film needs to be seen.
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StevePulaski27 January 2013Cameras are truly remarkable things, wouldn't you say? They have one major job, which is keeping an unblinking record of what is placed in front of it after being activated. In Curtis Snow's debut mockumentary, Snow on Tha Bluff, it captures dehumanizing events of absolutely depressing measures. A cacophony of madness, lawlessness, and sickening behavior done by the lost wandering souls of a dangerous neighborhood in Atlanta nicknamed "the Bluff." By the end of this picture, which runs only seventy-nine minutes, I was filled to the brim with sadness and nihilism.
This is a well-made film, which is a good thing because it gives me something to recommend and makes a valid use of my time, but bad because it's all too effective. It, at first, concerns a group of three college students, driving through the seedy "Bluff" neighborhood where they meet Curtis Snow, who first hops in their car appearing to be interested in selling them all sorts of drugs, before robbing them at gunpoint and stealing their camera. What follows is Snow having his buddy Damon Russell film his large group of friends and how they interact with each other and deal with day-to-day complications in one of Atlanta's roughest neighborhoods. Activities such as theft, shootouts, drug sales, and drug robberies all commence with Snow at the forefront of everything. He tells how he has lost several family members to the rough and tumble gang violence of the Bluff and goes on to show how he has fathered children with different mothers, and is struggling to provide them with the necessities of living a fulfilling and enriching life. The Bluff seems to be the blackhole of the state of Georgia; education is non-existent, the culture is morally bankrupt, the people are violent and near, if not already, a complete and total wreck, and the only two concerns we see present are living to open your eyes the next morning and possessing enough drugs to get you through the night.
While Snow lives in the impoverished, economically destitute community of "the Bluff," his day-to-day struggles (aside from drug robberies and shootouts) likely mirror those of a middle class family. He constantly is worried about his two children and their mother, always trying to have enough money in hand to provide them with luxuries, but finds the only way he can keep giving them what they need is by giving other individuals what they really don't need, which are drugs.
We've been told for years that drugs are bad and that we should stay away from them. Snow acknowledges that, but turns around says that they, however, do help one afford monthly rent. They keep him on a steady, viable income and assist in feeding home and his kids one more day out of the year. Notice how I consistently say "one more day" or "the next morning." There's no macro-scope on life in "the Bluff." For children, it's "if I grow up," not "when I grow up." It's those little hurting details that make Snow on Tha Bluff, a documentary that is seemingly staged but apparently not far from life, on the track of realism.
The final thing to mention about this film is its dialog, which is often incoherent, overly-loud, mumbled, yet accurate to the culture, I presume. Rarely does a sentence become clear when we either have three or more people talking at the same time, with no respect for conversational poetry or fluency or just mumbled, incomprehensible gibberish in place of actual sentence continuity.
I return to the statement I make at the beginning, which was, "I was filled to the brim with sadness and nihilism" while watching Snow on Tha Bluff. It's a film that does what I love, which exposes other cultures and compares how drastically different they are or how closely they mirror the audience's, and it does it all too effectively, which is what makes the film even more valuable and hence why there is the looming sadness and nihilism to go along with it. It's an impacting picture - one I'd hesitate to watch again. It didn't provide me with the same enjoyment I got from a similar documentary, The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virgina, which was spry, fun, often comedic, and insightful, and it was authentic. Snow on Tha Bluff is more of a reenactment.
NOTE: On a final note, consider how I call this film a "mockumentary" in my opening paragraph. Much has been made and questioned about the authenticity of the material provided in Damon Russell's Snow on Tha Bluff, and through the research I've done, I resort to calling it a mockumentary for two reasons. One, I doubt that Curtis and his friends, if they really were robbing homes for drugs, would want that footage shown to other people, much less the world, and the camera-theft at the beginning seems all too convenient. Why would Curtis keep that in during the editing? Starring: Curtis Snow. Directed by: Damon Russell. -
tryniti98715 June 2012OK, I am going to give a honest review of this movie! This story takes place in a community called "The Bluff", located in Atlanta, Georgia. The main character Curtis Snow, steals a camera from some unsuspecting college kids, looking to score drugs. After the robbery, he hands the camera off to one of his friends, and the journey begins from there. The camera follows Curtis Snow all through the "The Bluff" on his exploits. Curtis Snow continues forth robbing other drug dealers and doing what he can to provide for himself, his crew, and his family. Throughout the movie there are clips of him explaining and showing areas of The Bluff and how he was raised in this environment. There is no surprise twist or crazy climax to this story in the end.
You are not going to get a movie with special effects or a great storyline with superb acting roles! This a semi-realistic portrayal of life, in a poverty stricken community of Atlanta, Georgia. What you CAN get from this film is the sense of "hopelessness", in a ghetto community. Curtis Snow takes what he has been taught as a child and raised to do, and applies it in his everyday life. Most of the scenes are exaggerated.
As for the people who have reviewed this negatively, I am going to presume that those people have never experienced any other culture, than their own. Unfortunately in America this is a reality, for all cultures of any ethnicity. There are ghettos, with blacks, Hispanics, Jew's, Caucasians, and even ghettos with all races living together. The point is, this movie brings light the cold hard facts of life in a poverty stricken ghetto community. Scripted or Not, this is real life for a lot of Americans. -
Sadelovesmovies18 June 2020At no point did it dawn on me that I was watching a scripted a film. It was disturbingly real. The amateur feeling created a more engaging and authentic experience-- these characters are so representative of real people. People left behind, hustling, doing the best they can. It's also a subtle commentary on the trauma black men have continuously been prevented from processing. Very memorable and always relevant.
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ken-roberts-115 November 2012I'll give it it's props - it was somewhat fun to watch, and the people had the inner-city lingo down pat and they did seem realistic and not "acting". And The scene where the Baby cries for Mommy (who was shot) seemed very real and was heart-breaking. But the realism ends there. By the way that baby was so, so cute. He was the real star of the film.
This film had good acting but the details were all very VERY FAKE. The intro was lifted right from "Gang Tapes". 3 college kids were robbed of their money and their camera. They immediately trusted this very shady guy enough to let him in the car and then ordered up a huge amount of coke - letting him know of course that they had a lot of money. After that - the main guy - who stole the camera - NEVER has the Camera !! It is always held by someone else . . filming him planning and carrying out one robbery after another. Would anyone have themselves filmed while doing these life-sentence type crimes ?? Would anyone be alive more than a day or two if they robbed - not killed - multiple drug dealers in their own area in the Atlanta hood ?
The first one is a robbery of a guy selling dope literally 200 yards away. They had cars - why not rob a dealer 10 miles away instead of right next to you ? The first guy they robbed had huge amounts of powder coke. Powder? Street sales are all crack. And when the main character was cutting up "crack" with the baby . . . it was crumbly, gummy, paper-mache, or sheet rock or something. At least have realistic crack if you are doing a crack movie.
The ending . . . . oh geez. When he calls a Producer to announce he has some "good sh** on video". The "Producer" was just 20 mins from the hood, and of course put everything else aside and asked him to come over right away !! I think they should have cut out the beginning and the ending - and then dropped the whole thing about this being a documentary - instead calling it "Based on Truth". -
tomczykta23 October 2022Obviously not a documentary, as some places claim, but it's still real. They basically took events that happened over the years and pressed it into a plot. Then they went to everybody in the hood and said just play yourself and reenact this story. I'm sure they didn't even need scripts, which is what makes it as real as a documentary, in a way. Very eye opening in general. More deeply though, the filmmakers also created a good commentary on the rough side of inner city life. It is worth a watch and I would like to see more found-film movies take this approach, as far as sticking to stories that are more or less retellings.
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this film really amazed me. i normally wouldn't watch something like this, i actually stay fairly far from the overly glamorized "thug" type titles. this is one that i can hope people watch and take a warning from, don't wander where you shouldn't. having said that, this is another film that proves that regardless of what you see on the news or what you see in protests, these people will never allow these areas to improve. i see comments saying that we should start putting more effort into bettering these type of violent areas, but it will never happen because people like Curtis wont let it. they say they have it hard there, they make it hard, they make the area bad, they keep it that way. all in all though this was a really amazing film and ill be recommending it to everyone that has netflix to watch it.
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Kia_Rush17 June 2020Wow this documentary was something else I wouldn't even call it a movie because it was real life. Communities like this one is all over the U.S. and as black people we definitely deserve more. I feel so sorry for what my people have endured since 1619. One day we will rise
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dojobreno3 August 2021As a fan of hood movies, this definetly grabbed my attention, so i went my way to check it out, but honestly it wasnt that much for me. I didnt feel any type of interest on the characters who, other than Curtis, dont have any personality at all, and the whole movie is just long, boring dialogue and shootouts at night time where you cant even see whats going on. Curtis and his gang literally rob other drug dealers easily with no secret which is so unrealistic and cheap. Plus the ending makes no sense at all, why would someone literally want to give somebody a tape full of their own crimes recorded? If thats not self snitching i dont know what that is. I would recommend to check out Gang Tapes instead, a much better movie and it inspired this one at first place.
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mohammed210521 October 2013I've heard about the notorious area of 'The Bluff' in Atlanta and this movie brings it to life. Curtis Snow is a real Atlanta gangster who sells drugs and robs from dealers. It's a dangerous world and a dangerous job, what makes this different from other video cam-corded movies is the fact how real everything seems. You'll have trouble distinguishing facts from fiction ( its still up for debate). Micheal Kenneth Williams (Omar) from the 'Wire' executive produced this movie. I have never seen a documentary film that's so close to the mayhem. If you thought the 'Wire' was real and hardcore, you really need to watch this.
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hugsallday3 November 2012This film is for all those who have never lived in the ghetto and think that is isn't that bad. Well think again... Real or Not, this film depicts everyday lives in ghettos all over the US. Everything seen in this video is real especially in Atlanta. The drug dealing, robbing, drinking, smoking, doing drugs, crack heads, killing, shooting, is what happened everyday in my old hood and it was a generational thing. Many people think. "oh well, they could get out of that lifestyle if they wanted to". But believe me its much harder than that when you are basically raised and breed in the hood mentality, its pretty much all they know. With that being said; I recommend any one who wants an inside look into hood life to see this film. It will change your outlook.
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mintraine12 October 2016Snow on Tha Bluff is an outstanding movie that presents a look inside Atlanta's most dangerous neighborhood without the moral judgment found in typical Hollywood movies. The mock found-footage film takes the perspective of Curtis Snow, the main character and self-described "robbery boy and crack dealer whose livelihood revolves around armed robbery and drug pushing." This film stands out against the many others about the "ghetto" neighborhoods of Atlanta because of its interesting viewpoint and the mock found- footage film technique used by Damon Russell, the director. Russell claims that it was Snow himself that directly sought the director out in order to urge Russell to make a film about his everyday lifestyle. The filming took place over a five year period from 2006 to 2011 on James P. Brawley Dr. and Orr Street in Atlanta, GA.
This film is well known for the lawless, dehumanizing events that take place in Snow's everyday life. The introduction to the main character alone blows me away because you would not expect that to be main character's debut if you had not read the movie summary before you watched the film. It opens with three college kids with a camcorder in a car in the Bluff that are looking for a crack dealer. Snow enters the car and leads the group to believe he is willing to sell them the drugs. Suddenly, Snow pulls out a gun, steals the kids' money, and steals the camcorder. From there, Snow hands the camcorder to his friend on the street and the movie begins from there.
The authenticity of the film has been questioned because of the "hybrid", seamless blend between Snow's own archival footage and the material directed by Russell. The line between what is scripted and reality of Snow's life is blurred. Inevitably, many of the unethical, depraved events shown in the film has stirred so much controversy that the Atlanta Police Department had opened an investigation. The police interviewed the filmmakers because of a suspicion that the events in the movie were related to a string of actual robberies in the Atlanta area during the time. Director Russell states in an interview about the movie that Curtis was arrested five times during the process of shooting and that he himself was arrested during one scene as well. However anticlimactically, Snow says he took a vow to never tell what events were true and what events weren't.
Snow on Tha Bluff will make you experience the full human range of emotion – from anger, to sadness, to excitement and to joy. This movie is a brutally honest depiction of life in a forgotten corner of America. The characters gain trust in the audience from the brutal honesty and fearlessness in their actions. The informal range of events include scenes such as the hood boys gathering together to enjoy each other's company to the murder of Snow's son's mother. It doesn't matter if the film is real or not. The images asserted in the film do take place in the real world. -
thotbiznyc14 May 2022Amazing movie. Entertaining and had a little bit of everything from drama to comedy and action. It is one of my favorites for long time now. I like the way it was shot kind of like Blair with project from their pov.