The new HBO documentary by longtime Athens Park Blood Cle “Bone” Sloan has been getting tons of press and rave reviews. And it deserves every bit of praise that it has gotten. It was one of those films that I was eagerly anticipating and dreading at the same time. Sloan’s doc is an thoroughly researched investigation into the origins of the gang culture that grew to engulf huge chunks of Los Angeles.

The movie is frustrating, illuminating, and heart-wrenching. It’s also another example of why HBO is currently running circles around every other network on television.

The LA Weekly’s Ernest Hardy interviews Sloan in the most recent issue.