Amid rumors of a new edition to the Carter family, Hip-Hop’s favorite couple Jay Z and Beyoncé kick the week off with the Bang Bang, Part One short film.
Presented by director Dikayl Rimmasch and Nowness, the silent movie is the first installment of a trilogy. Starring Hov and Queen Bey, who evade the long arm of the law as their criminal alter egos, the clip is an aesthetic piece that’s a stylistic ode to the films of old.
Here’s a description below:
Two American outlaws speed through the Californian desert in a dusty 1960s Pontiac GTO with a manifest poise and stylish swagger that could only be embodied by the world’s foremost musical couple: Beyoncé and Jay Z. Directed by the New York-based filmmaker and photographer Dikayl Rimmasch and soundtracked by an Ennio Morricone classic, Bang Bang is a trilogy of short films starring Mr and Mrs Carter that appeared throughout their two-and-a-half month long tour, On the Run, which celebrated its finale on Saturday at Stade de France in Paris. Rimmasch was introduced to Beyoncé and Jay Z via Mark Romanek, and with a creative cohort in the war photojournalist William Kaner put together a filmmaking approach and aesthetic inspired by French new wave cinema and the powerful intimacy of legendary independent director and mentor, Les Blank. Rimmasch’s stripped-back process paid dividends, allowing an incredibly fast, shoot-from-the-hip style using custom camera rigs that he had designed, 50-year-old Russian lenses and lighting effects by Archie Ciotti and Scott Spencer. Below, we’re in conversation with the steadfast director—also known for his black-and-white campaigns for RRL by Ralph Lauren—about Bang Bang’s conception and what it’s like to direct contemporary music’s most iconic performers.
The next installment of Bang Bang debuts on Tuesday (September 16). Also, stay tuned for Jay and Bey’s On The Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z HBO special, which will invade television sets on September 20. An advanced screening and exhibition takes place on September 19 at Clic Gallery New York.
Peep Bang Bang, Part One below.
—
Photo: Nowness
