eddie_baggins While it's not in the same graffiti clad ballpark of the fantastic Banksy starring and directed doco Exit Through the Gift Shop, the HBO produced Banksy Does New York is a fun, to the point and most importantly insightful look at the time the illusive artist took over New York for one whole month and for fans of the street artist, this will be a must own as the quintessential documentation of the artistic event.Banksy Does New York does a great job at showcasing just how big of a deal this event was in 2013 and it does this by utilising not only talking heads who were apart of the "scavenger hunt" at the time but also footage shot by those on the ground level, news broadcasts and of course great use of audio snippets taken directly from Banksy's official web presence's that allow slight insights into what the works he produced meant, from the menial through to the political and even for those that think Banksy is nothing more than a glorified street artist, there's little point denying that his work is constantly engaging and often bitingly satirical.While there was work done within the month of Banksy's New York residency that isn't overly memorable, there were certainly some stand out works that Banksy Does New York shows off and interestingly follows up in ways that shine a whole new light on the works of the mysterious figure.Fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions at auctions around the world, the works of Banksy have become highly sought after pieces and it's hilarious and also shocking to watch as people either clamber to deface his street works or take them for their own gains. It's an eyebrow raising trend of modern day humans that will see them quickly turn feral for the thought of $$$ and it therefore makes Banksy's pieces more than meets the eye.Banksy Does New York never tries to preach or convert anyone to anything (a nice change from most modern day doco's) and merely exists to show an unbiased documentation of a time in New York City where the greatest ever art focused scavenger hunt took place, a ride we can feel a part of thanks to this film.3 quick thinking mechanics out of 5

Irishchatter Myself and my mum were watching this on the Sky arts channel recently and honestly I was shocked to hear that there is an English graffiti artist who produces such great art. I loved when he did a heart with a little girl on the walls of new York. The documentary was given such information that I never knew what work he had done so far in the states. He really has talent but I couldn't understand why after a while, he covers his work up? I found it rather odd but I suppose he probably doesn't want other graffiti artists destroying his work.The most disturbing scene was when, Disney's Dumbo was shot down by a missile and then was killed again by a gunman who was an Iranian solider. I mean they were saying the reason Banksy created that video was because, Dumbo was created during the time of World War II and Banksy just wanted to show it off. Why the hell did he use the Syrian war but not the World War itself? I mean that really didn't make sense to me even if it is meant to be different! That video was just wrong, especially that I grew up watching Dumbo. I would advise parents to turn the channel if that scene comes up or just turn it off.Besides that scene, this is a very good introduction of Banksy!

MartinHafer If you've seen Banksy's terrific film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" or enjoy his art, then you owe it to yourself to see this wonderful documentary. While no one publicly acknowledges who Banksy is and we presume the film was not make with his assistance (who knows?!), it follows the hysteria that occurred back in 2013 when Banksy had a HUGE publicity coup. He announced via the internet that he would make a work of art every day in New York City....and a sort of scavenger hunt began of his fans trying to find this hidden art. In each case, Banksy was able to make the works of art without anyone seeing him doing this and maintained his aura of secrecy. The film follows folks from October 1st through the 31st and I particularly loved it because of Banksy's sense of humor and social commentary. Describing how he did all this could perhaps ruin the film. I suggest you give it a watch and enjoy the craziness and fun that occurred during this weird month!

westsideschl Ten astronomical furnaces in the sky as a reward for Banksy's thoughts and how they are expressed, and also to the creators of the doc for tenaciously following the leads searching for each day's presentation (in NY traffic no less) and then adding a range of pov interviews. But, lowered a couple of stars to express disgust with the greed and narrow self-interests of those who took advantage of the attention to enhance themselves by damaging, stealing and selling. Further disgust to the politicians, developers and property/slum owners in deriding the street art as defacing when they are either distant from or profit from those already visually debasing structures. And, where renovations occur they often give most benefit to the distant wealthy and connected.