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8.0/10
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A documentary that exposes the rich growing subculture of hip-hop that was developing in New York City in the late '70s and early '80s, specifically focusing on graffiti art and breakdancing... Read allA documentary that exposes the rich growing subculture of hip-hop that was developing in New York City in the late '70s and early '80s, specifically focusing on graffiti art and breakdancing.A documentary that exposes the rich growing subculture of hip-hop that was developing in New York City in the late '70s and early '80s, specifically focusing on graffiti art and breakdancing.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
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'They call themselves writers because that's what they do. They write their names among other things everywhere. Names they've been given or have chosen for themselves. Most of all they write in and on subway trains, which carry their names from one end of the city to the other. It's called bombing. And it has equally assertive counterparts in rap music and break dancing'. According to Tony Silver, the maker of this documentary film on graffiti and hip hop culture.
Back in the days when many neighborhoods in New York were still a crumbling wasteland, Major Koch (of course!) and the city workers responsible for the city's clean-up provide most of the laughs. One tormented Transport Authority official keeps complaining that the substance used to remove the paint also fogs the windows. A difficult choice. Either not getting a view from the windows because of the graffiti or because of the cleaning substance that fogs the windows.
And what about that cheesy ad campaign with Hector Camacho and Alex Ramos? 'Take it from the champs, graffiti is for chumps. Make your mark in society, not on society'.
And then in the press conference preceding the campaign.
'Mr mayor, are those posters graffiti proof?'
'Time will tell!'
Camacho and Ramos must be scratching the back of their heads by now. Many of the writers they agitated against have become legends by now but who remembers these two chumps?
It's hard to imagine the airwaves this caused when it first reached Europe. I think it was in 1985 when it first aired in the Netherlands and France and many other countries as well. Literally within months after this documentary was shown, cities like Amsterdam and Paris where bombed in a way they've never experienced before. Graffiti had made its mark, mostly by early pioneers that had their roots in the punk-scene, but after STYLE WARS the scene literally exploded and saw the beginning of hip hop culture in Europe as well. I think it's important to realize this film was much more influential in Europe. In the States it was the first major documentary on graffiti, but of a phenomenon that had existed for quite some time there, but in Europe - besides the early punk scene - it was unknown in 1983 and caused a huge stir. I've seen it many times now, but it never bores me. It remains just as vivid today as the first I saw it and it's subsequent historical significance just adds to the flavour when watching it again.
The film is packed with so many memorable moments, it's hard to pick one out. One of the most mesmerizing scenes is when three writers hang around at a subway station on the platform and start rapping on the rhymes from "The Message", by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. After 30 seconds the actual song starts on the background just as the train rolls in. An amazing shot and a fantastic piece of editing, a wonderful scene! If there's anything like THE quintessential shot of New York City subcultures in 1982, this is it.
Now the much needed DVD-release is there, given the deluxe treatment by Public Art Films with two discs and lots of extras. I could have done without the interview with Tony Silver, not the most charismatic person around but most of the other stuff is OK with lost of artist galleries, tributes to DONDI and SHY 147 and lots of guest interviews with Fab 5 Freddy, Goldie, Guru, DJ Red Alert and photographer Martha Cooper.
Camera Obscura --- 9/10
Back in the days when many neighborhoods in New York were still a crumbling wasteland, Major Koch (of course!) and the city workers responsible for the city's clean-up provide most of the laughs. One tormented Transport Authority official keeps complaining that the substance used to remove the paint also fogs the windows. A difficult choice. Either not getting a view from the windows because of the graffiti or because of the cleaning substance that fogs the windows.
And what about that cheesy ad campaign with Hector Camacho and Alex Ramos? 'Take it from the champs, graffiti is for chumps. Make your mark in society, not on society'.
And then in the press conference preceding the campaign.
'Mr mayor, are those posters graffiti proof?'
'Time will tell!'
Camacho and Ramos must be scratching the back of their heads by now. Many of the writers they agitated against have become legends by now but who remembers these two chumps?
It's hard to imagine the airwaves this caused when it first reached Europe. I think it was in 1985 when it first aired in the Netherlands and France and many other countries as well. Literally within months after this documentary was shown, cities like Amsterdam and Paris where bombed in a way they've never experienced before. Graffiti had made its mark, mostly by early pioneers that had their roots in the punk-scene, but after STYLE WARS the scene literally exploded and saw the beginning of hip hop culture in Europe as well. I think it's important to realize this film was much more influential in Europe. In the States it was the first major documentary on graffiti, but of a phenomenon that had existed for quite some time there, but in Europe - besides the early punk scene - it was unknown in 1983 and caused a huge stir. I've seen it many times now, but it never bores me. It remains just as vivid today as the first I saw it and it's subsequent historical significance just adds to the flavour when watching it again.
The film is packed with so many memorable moments, it's hard to pick one out. One of the most mesmerizing scenes is when three writers hang around at a subway station on the platform and start rapping on the rhymes from "The Message", by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. After 30 seconds the actual song starts on the background just as the train rolls in. An amazing shot and a fantastic piece of editing, a wonderful scene! If there's anything like THE quintessential shot of New York City subcultures in 1982, this is it.
Now the much needed DVD-release is there, given the deluxe treatment by Public Art Films with two discs and lots of extras. I could have done without the interview with Tony Silver, not the most charismatic person around but most of the other stuff is OK with lost of artist galleries, tributes to DONDI and SHY 147 and lots of guest interviews with Fab 5 Freddy, Goldie, Guru, DJ Red Alert and photographer Martha Cooper.
Camera Obscura --- 9/10
10jorel845
This documentary on subway grafitti in New York City in the early 1980s had it all: it was beautifully shot, had a great soundtrack, and captured the essence of what was going on in the city after the 70s and under the regime of Mayor Kotch. The best thing about this documentary is how it can be studied on so many levels- it makes you realize why "bombing" is done and what it accomplishes. It helps you understand the psychological reasoning behind it, and how it plays on human character traits such as territorial rights, pursuit and the need for recognition. It shows how graffitti had a strong impact on society, and how it tore some homes apart. A must see- plus a great representation of early hip hop music and style. Love those TWAs! (Teeny Weeny Afros!) 9 out of 10.
I've just been browsing the comments of the Old skool hip hop classics like Beat Street, Wildstyle etc when I thought I would take a look at this one. Which is by far the best. I was surprised at the lack of comments as this really is a great in depth look at New York, at a time when the city was an exciting bubbling cauldron of sub culture. All before it was turned into a mass marketed commercial fabrication cashed in on by various corporations.
The likes of Seen, Skeme, IztheWiz, kase2 amongst others give memorable dialogue and insights to their experiences. All of which very well pitched up against Mayor Koch and various Subway transit authority representatives pitching their political and social prerogatives against the Graffiti writers exploits. The cornerstone to this documentary ever being made was Henry Chalfant whom befriended and sympathetically documented the writer's work for many years. I recall that the documentary actually won an award of some description but looking over the box sleeve I can't find the details of this. Also worth noting is that the recent release contains an extra 10 minutes of previously unseen footage.
I noticed that there are no links on this site to purchase it but it is easily acquired. I recommend a trip to a local comic shop or the like and pick up one of many Graffiti art magazine publications. You will find it for sale in any one of those. If you are particularly keen on this subject matter you might also want to hunt down a book by 'Craig Castleman' called 'Getting up' for a more in depth if not visual account. The fourth coming release of Downtown '81 might also be worth a look for the real fans of this genre.
Through various publications I have read of many of the featured writers in Style Wars, still around and making their mark in the world of Graffiti. The one writer that I haven't personally heard about since' is Skeme. For me his contribution to the documentary invoked a lot of admiration, due to his blunt honesty and purist ethics. I have read that Henry Chalfont has no intentions to make any follow up documentary on the basis that home grown publications and videos are already achieving this. Personally and i am sure many agree with me, this is a story that many would like to see continued and whom better to tell it than Henry himself.
The likes of Seen, Skeme, IztheWiz, kase2 amongst others give memorable dialogue and insights to their experiences. All of which very well pitched up against Mayor Koch and various Subway transit authority representatives pitching their political and social prerogatives against the Graffiti writers exploits. The cornerstone to this documentary ever being made was Henry Chalfant whom befriended and sympathetically documented the writer's work for many years. I recall that the documentary actually won an award of some description but looking over the box sleeve I can't find the details of this. Also worth noting is that the recent release contains an extra 10 minutes of previously unseen footage.
I noticed that there are no links on this site to purchase it but it is easily acquired. I recommend a trip to a local comic shop or the like and pick up one of many Graffiti art magazine publications. You will find it for sale in any one of those. If you are particularly keen on this subject matter you might also want to hunt down a book by 'Craig Castleman' called 'Getting up' for a more in depth if not visual account. The fourth coming release of Downtown '81 might also be worth a look for the real fans of this genre.
Through various publications I have read of many of the featured writers in Style Wars, still around and making their mark in the world of Graffiti. The one writer that I haven't personally heard about since' is Skeme. For me his contribution to the documentary invoked a lot of admiration, due to his blunt honesty and purist ethics. I have read that Henry Chalfont has no intentions to make any follow up documentary on the basis that home grown publications and videos are already achieving this. Personally and i am sure many agree with me, this is a story that many would like to see continued and whom better to tell it than Henry himself.
I was curious to see how this film played for me because to some degree I am target audience while also not being target audience. I love hip hop (and no, 50 Cent does not fit that category for me so much as Black Star, for example, would) and I like the culture around it of break-dancing and graffiti writing. However on the flip side I do see graffiti on public property (or others' property) as being a nuisance and part of dragging areas down by giving the impression of lawlessness and a lack of safety. Whether it is true that it does encourage crime, it is of little doubt that the clean and well-lit subway stations of modern New York feel a lot less threatening than the ones that you see in this film.
The film does a good job of showing both sides of argument and, although the focus is the cultural side, it doesn't play down the fact that the graffiti is both creative and a nuisance and that it is possible to see it both ways at the same time. Here we see some great pieces on trains and walls but we also see idiots like Cap who literally spray their names on top of other peoples' work, the former producing some imaginative work that does make the "art" claim fly, the latter very much demonstrating the criminal damage side of it. The contributions from the bombers or taggers are mostly good, with plenty of typically Noo Yark characters of all ages and races talking with an energy and passion on the subject as it was happening.
The link to break-dancing and hip hop is not as strongly made as I would have liked and it doesn't manage to explore the birth of this street culture as well as I would have hoped. That said though it is still interesting to see a documentary about the graffiti trend and have captured it as it was in its heyday before it was stamped out. The film doesn't pander to either side but clearly sides with those being creative and allows the quality of the work to shine through, mostly ignoring those who would just seek to quickly spray their names on a train with nothing else to offer.
Not as culturally important as I would have liked it to have been but nonetheless interesting and cool at the same time and well worth seeing for the real heads.
The film does a good job of showing both sides of argument and, although the focus is the cultural side, it doesn't play down the fact that the graffiti is both creative and a nuisance and that it is possible to see it both ways at the same time. Here we see some great pieces on trains and walls but we also see idiots like Cap who literally spray their names on top of other peoples' work, the former producing some imaginative work that does make the "art" claim fly, the latter very much demonstrating the criminal damage side of it. The contributions from the bombers or taggers are mostly good, with plenty of typically Noo Yark characters of all ages and races talking with an energy and passion on the subject as it was happening.
The link to break-dancing and hip hop is not as strongly made as I would have liked and it doesn't manage to explore the birth of this street culture as well as I would have hoped. That said though it is still interesting to see a documentary about the graffiti trend and have captured it as it was in its heyday before it was stamped out. The film doesn't pander to either side but clearly sides with those being creative and allows the quality of the work to shine through, mostly ignoring those who would just seek to quickly spray their names on a train with nothing else to offer.
Not as culturally important as I would have liked it to have been but nonetheless interesting and cool at the same time and well worth seeing for the real heads.
"Style Wars" is a certified classic that kept viewers intrigued for more than 20 years. The documentary is beautifully honest, exceptionally gritty, intensely fair, and wonderfully lively. While many hip-hop films will be forgotten, "Style Wars" remains the essential document for graffiti and hip-hop. True lovers of hip-hop must respect these artists who paved the way. This film educates us of a time and place when hip-hop inspired creativity, created peace within a dangerous atmosphere, connected races, and established the birth of a youthful urban culture. The movement's futility is a fascinating aspect. An artist's work could last forever on a canvas, but they choose to paint trains that may be washed or painted over within days. With little or no profit, the graffiti movement remains a vital aspect of hip-hop. If you don't believe me, ask Krs-One. There is something inside these revolutionary artists that transcends all cultural and societal limits. What makes these artists risk their lives (third rail, beef) or their freedom (police) to paint on a train that will be washed or painted over? Regardless of how futile their effort may be, their need to express themselves is the main element which empowers the culture. "Style Wars" is the classic definitive film that poignantly captures the birth of hip-hop. Ignore the toys! This Sunday evening, put on your gloves and your hoody, bring a couple of cans of Krylon, and go bombing for the fame!
Review by Todd E. Jones - toddejones AT yahoo DOT com
Review by Todd E. Jones - toddejones AT yahoo DOT com
Did you know
- ConnectionsEdited into And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop (2004)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Войны стиля
- Filming locations
- New York City, New York, USA(Location)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 9 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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