Style Wars & Style Wars :ReVisited

Tony Silver:
Style Wars & Style Wars :ReVisited (USA, 1984)
104 min. - English
K-13

Tony Silver’s Style Wars won the award for best documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in 1983. Instantly the film gained loads of attention, and by now it has become an undeniable subculture film landmark that is referred to everywhere - from literary works to bar discussions. Style Wars presents the New York street culture of the 1980s and the graffiti culture, an art form substantially attached to street culture and which was, depending on who you asked, either the best or the worst thing the big apple gave to the world in the 80s.

In Style Wars, Tony Silver managed to memorialize the public playground, cultural battle field and endless canvas for the graffiti artists to paint on: the New York subway. The graffiti flourished at the same time as MCs, DJs and break dancers took over the city with their new sounds and moves, and the break dance battles of the street corners became performance art. Mayor Edward Koch, NYPD and the Metropolitan Transit Authority tried to fight these artists of the street at any cost. Style Wars beautifully documents this battle between the new culture and the old order, from within.

New York’s legendary graffiti artists and break dancers have earned a special place in the birth stories of hip hop. As for Style Wars, it has become to symbolize the original spirit of hip hop that spread from the underground tunnels, suburban streets, clubs and playgrounds to all over the world.
Style Wars :ReVisited, a supplement to the original film, was released in 2003. It gathers the best parts of the footage shot for Style Wars that was left out from the original film. :ReVisited will be screened back to back with Style Wars.

The makers of the film wish to restore Style Wars and update it into a digital high definition format. The original negative is damaged, but luckily it can be fixed. At the Style Wars website you can read about and participate in the restoration process.

» www.stylewars.com

Check out also:

» Doug Pray: Scratch
» Henry Corra: NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell
» Banksy: Exit Through the Gift Shop
» Doug Pray: Scratch
» Henry Corra: NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell
» Banksy: Exit Through the Gift Shop

« back

La 19.11.2011 18:00 at Tapio 3