Style Wars

Style Wars
Directed by	Tony Silver
Produced by	Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant
Starring	Various
Music by	Various
Distributed by	Public Art Films, Plexifilm
Release dates	1983 (on television), 1984 (in theatres)
Running time	70 minutes Director's Cut: 111 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Style Wars is a 1983 documentary on hip hop culture, directed by Tony Silver and produced in collaboration with Henry Chalfant. The film has an emphasis on graffiti, although bboying and rapping are covered to a lesser extent. The film was originally aired on PBS television in 1983, and was subsequently shown in several film festivals to much acclaim, including the Vancouver Film Festival. It also won the Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.^[1]

Background

The documentary shows both the young artists struggling to express themselves through their art, and their points of view on the subject of graffiti, as well as the views of then New York City Mayor Ed Koch, one-armed, now deceased graffiti writer Case/Kase 2, graffiti writer Skeme and his mother, graffiti "villain" Cap, now deceased graffiti writer Dondi, Seen and Shy 147, graffiti documentarian (and co-producer of the film) Henry Chalfant, breakdancer Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew, police officers, art critics, subway maintenance workers, as well as several "people on the street".

Reception

In 2009, A. O. Scott of the New York Times examined the film;

'Style Wars is a work of art in its own right too, because it doesn't just record what these artists are doing, it somehow absorbs their spirit and manages to communicate it across the decades so that we can find ourselves, so many years later; in the city; understanding what made it beautiful'^[2]

Featured graffiti artists

Featured Break Dancers

• Crazy Legs
• Frosty Freeze

Featured Music

• "8th Wonder" by The Sugarhill Gang
• "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash
• "Beat Bop" by Rammellzee and K.Rob
• "Pump Me Up" by Trouble Funk
• "Rockin' It" by Fearless Four
• "Jam Hot" by Johnny Dynell
• "Feel The Heartbeat" by Treacherous Three

DVD release

The digitally remastered DVD edition also contains:

• 23 minutes of outtake footage
• Commentary and interviews by Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant
• Interviews with Style Wars editors Victor Kanefsky and Sam Pollard
• Art galleries by Blade, Cap, Cey, Crash, Crazy Legs, Daze, Dez, Dondi, Doze, Duro, Duster, Frosty Freeze, IZ the Wiz, Case/Kase 2, Kel First, Ken Swift, Lee, Mare139, Min One, Noc 167, Paze (Erni), Lady Pink, Quik, Rammellzee, Revolt, Sach, Seen TC5, Seen UA, Shy 147, Skeme, Spook, Tracy 168, and Zephyr
• Tributes to Dondi and Shy 147
• Guest interviews with Blade, Lee, Kel First, Seen, Tracy 168, Cap, MIN (NE), QUIK, IZ the Wiz, Fab 5 Freddy, Goldie, Guru, DJ Red Alert, and photographer Martha Cooper

2011 Restoration Auction

On June 9, 2011 it was announced that Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea along with actors Brad Pitt and James Franco and director Spike Jonze were donating items to an eBay auction that would raise money for restoring the film negatives for Style Wars. The Auction ended on June 11, 2011.^[3]

References in other media

DJ Mutt used quotes from the movie in his song titled "Big Lights, Big City" taken from his album "Treading Water". Black Star used a clip from the movie in the intro to the song 'Respiration' on the Black Star album.

References

External links

• Stylewars.com Official site
• Style Wars at the Internet Movie Database
• Style Wars on YouTube
• Style Wars Director Dies
• Critics' Picks: 'Style Wars'