Wild Style (1982) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Wild Style (1982) |
| Director | Charlie Ahearn |
| Screenplay Writer | Charlie Ahearn |
| Based on Novel by | — (Original screenplay; inspired by early hip-hop culture) |
| Lead Actors | Lee Quiñones, Fab 5 Freddy, Patti Astor |
| Cast | Lee Quiñones, Fab 5 Freddy, Patti Astor, Lady Pink, Busy Bee Starski, Grandmaster Flash, The Cold Crush Brothers |
| Genre | Drama, Music |
| Release Date | March 18, 1983 (United States) |
| Duration | 1h 22m (82 minutes) |
| Budget | Not widely reported (Low-budget independent film) |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | Limited data available |
WATCH NOW
Summary
Wild Style is a fascinating document of urban life in New York City in the very early days of rap and hip hop. The acting is below the very low bar set by Kevin Smith’s ensembles, and the script seems to be missing things like conflict, plot, and resolution, but that rides secondary to the setting.
Review
The South Bronx in 1981 was not a pleasant place to be Reagan’s “Morning In America” certainly wasn’t casting any light in their direction and that’s one of the reasons this movie is important as a snapshot of a time that many people have already forgotten was pretty miserable for a huge chunk of this country. Wild Style has long, lingering shots of buildings in the middle of the decay process, sidewalks choked with weeds, and broken-down citizens just trying to make ends meet. In the middle of this squalor, hip hop and graphitti break out as the primary form of expression for the generation. Seeing early groups like the Cold Crush Crew and the Fantastic Five rap on a basketball court gave me a real charge, as this was the first music besides Kraftwerk that I heard as a kid and went “WOW” over and these were the guys who first made it happen. (My mother reports that I once danced to “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang, but I blame cocaine, the bane of my preschool years.)
Wild Style is completely worth checking out. Just ignore the acting and script and concentrate on the feel and the social change that this movie captures.
I’ve filed this under “Unintentional Comedy” because it doesn’t fit anywhere else; the other Reel Men won’t let me create a category for Bad Drama With Good Music And Cultural Commentary.
Also Watch.
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director’s Cut) (1979)
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
- Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)
- Spring Break Shark Attack (2005)
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1969)
- Stepmom (1998)
- Stealth (2005)
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones
