Style Wars

In 1983; director Tony Silver, and producer Henry Chalfant dropped this bomb upon the unsuspecting (except for those lucky enough to live in NYC at the time) populous via PBS. The world was exposed to true urban art, and it's unlikely Picasso's- the bombers and taggers of NYC's resilient subway system...

Not only that, but also to 'acrobatic body dances like breaking', and to rocking the mic. This is so much more than just a documentary about the evolution of graffiti. It is truly a time capsule, full of unforgettable characters, stuffy bureaucrats, and the chaotic urban landscape of early 80's NYC...

There are so many memorable lines and incredible characters indelibly etched in my brain from this film. Just writing this review makes me want to run over to the DVD player and watch it over and over again...

I would gladly pay the price of admission (approximately $25) just for the film. However, our good friends at Plexifilm have once again delivered the goods, including a staggering 3.5 hours of bonus footage to accompany this one-of-kind historical document...

The bonus footage includes 32 artist galleries, interviews, trains, and ultra-rare photos from the best-of-the best, including: Skeme, Seen, Frosty Freeze, Dondi, Blade, Rammellzee, and many others...

This is a must have document for Hip-Hop heads, historians, social anthropologists, and cool people. Buy this now and support good art...

While searching my video shop for Hip Hop movies I came across this film. Having not heard of it before and the fact that it was a 70 minute documentary made me a bit skeptic about hiring it, but after reading a quote by Krs-One on the front cover saying it was what I had to see for true Hip Hop I was eager to get it out. It turned out to be a great documentary on graffiti and Hip Hop in the early eighties which I throughly enjoyed.

It was interesting to see how mixed the scene was race wise back then. This could be quite funny at times, like seeing a hardcore subway graffiti artist with a tight Van Halen t-shirt on and long red hair. This showed that graffiti, DJing, breaking and MCing weren't all considered Hip Hop back then. To do one didn't mean you were into the other.

Style Wars makes you understand the pride and enjoyment the artists get out of bombing trains, but you also realize how awful it is for the government to replace or clean trains and especially how bad it is for one bomber's mother.

Style Wars is primarily a documentary on graffiti but it also briefly touches on breaking and MCing. Funny that it doesn't mention DJing as a main part of Hip Hop, since that is considered the original and sometimes most important element these days.

Overall, Style Wars is a fantastic documentary and a must see for fans of Graffiti and early Hip Hop.

It is a shame so few people have seen the 1982 PBS documentary "Style Wars". It is not listed in either Lenny Maltin's or Videohound's giant books. This story of NYC graffiti writers fighting transit cops, their parents, and each other is still the definitive word on graffiti and early hip hop culture in the days before it became commercialized. This was probably the 1st film anywhere to examine break dancing and hip hop in any depth well before either became mainstream. For that reason alone it is an important part of hip hop history, to see what it was all about before corruption by cash and fame.

Some standout personalities in this film include one armed Case, former NYC mayor Ed Koch, graffiti "villan" Cap, and Skeme and his mom. On the 2nd DVD many of the still living graffiti writers are interviewed in 2001, and although Skeme is now a major in the US army, his (now) little old lady mom is still afraid someone's kid is going to get hurt in the subway tunnel. Some of the kids from Style Wars are dead like Shy and Dondi (both have tributes),and some went to prison like Min. Some are successful 40 and even 50 somethings today. One or two even go paint the occasional subway car still.

The 1st DVD contains outtakes from Style Wars, some of which could have been removed originally to make the filmmakers look better. The transit authority cop says he thinks the film will encourage others to commit vandalism. It is also apparent when watching this DVD that Cap was made out to seem worse than he was thru creative editing. The 2nd DVD contains a great short film from 1976 (I think) called Classic hits by Tracy 168 (from Wild Style).

Overall this film tries to look at graffiti from the perspectives of the writers themselves, citizens of New York, and the establishment. Even the artists saw the end of the golden age coming with barbed wire fences and eventually even dogs being employed to keep them out of the train yards. It's just unfortunate that such an original art form was so unrecognized by mainstream society. Maybe it had to be that way anyway, when the art community did notice and galleries did start showing the art on canvas, it tended to become fossilized. The scene in the gallery is funny because the artists who are planning to cash in on graffiti try to convince themselves that "getting up" can be be done on canvas as well as trains. A young Swedish woman at the art gallery correctly observes its not the same on canvas, that is an art form that belonged on the trains, not on a gallery wall.

The definitive book to go along with Style wars is "Subway Art" by Henry Chalfant who also produced style Wars. He and Martha Cooper spent a huge amount of time photographing NYC subways, and their hard work is well documented on the 2nd DVD which contains 32 artist galleries and a 30 minute loop of train photos.

If all you have ever seen about graffiti is "Wild Style" or "Beat Street", pick up Style Wars. If you can find it. Stylewars.com

Many in the world of Hip Hop already know this film in and out. For those with only a passing interest in Hip Hop culture and Graffiti, this film is a must. Any lover of great documentary film making would appreciate Style Wars. Any individual who remembers, or wants to see, what New York City was like in the 70's and 80's should view this film. There are so many reasons to watch Style Wars. For those of you who have seen the film on worn out VHS dubs and bootlegs, toss those old copies in the closet or give it to the 10 year old down the block and go out and get the DVD. The double disc set comes with , no joke, hours of extras. Interviews with the writers as adults, art galleries, outtakes, extra short films and so much more I can't even get into. This may be the closest we will get to a sequel. I was watching the discs for 3 hours last night and didn't get through everything. Style Wars is a small film worthy of the Big Treatment it has received on DVD from Plexifilm.

Anyone who has even a passing interest in Hip-Hop or its history owe it to themselves to see this film. It's an often times brilliant documentary about on of the most important art movements in the last century. Henry Chalfant is a true visionary who saw art where others saw only crime. His dedication and professionalism helped to bring street culture to a grand scale. If the train writers took graffiti All-City, Chalfant took it All-World.

Another reason to see this movie is to get an unfiltered look at the early foundations of Hip-Hop. Regardless of what the current marketing machine would have you believe Hip-Hop was a multi-cultural phenomenon. That means whites, Puerto Ricans, blacks, Mexicans and everything in between. It could only happen in New York.

The DVD is also a must have, as it contains many interviews with the writers and where they are (were) in the year 2002. Just imagine seeing someone that looks like your dad do an ill 8 foot piece.