Zoro, the city's hottest and most elusive graffiti writer. The actual story of the movie concerns the tension between Zoro's passion for his art and his personal life, particularly his ...
Director: Charlie Ahearn
Stars: 'Lee' George Quinones, Lady Pink, Fab 5 Freddy.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084904/
Watched online, poor print.
23 songs in the Soundtracks.
The IMDb rating is 7.2 with almost 2k reviews. Here's a quote from an IMDb review: "...Wild Style isn't about the story. It's not about the acting, the direction or even the camerawork or sound recording (although the soundtrack is important). It is a film that has shaped a generation, purely with the members of the cast and the records used in the soundtrack. Wild Style is a historical document. It perfectly captures a time and place - the Bronx, New York 1982 - and most of the figures that made that time and place so special. The plot is merely a device with which to string along a series of scenes of rappers, DJs, B-boys and spraycan artists. Some of these people were the roots of the hip hop movement. To see the impact that this film has had, look at how many times the soundtrack has been sampled - not only the dialogue (Tommy Tee, Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, DJ Premier) but the backing loops. 'Tracks' such as Down By Law have become standards - no, classics - in battle cyphers and old school hip hop nights all over the world. ..."
I can't relate to any of it. The music has no melody, and I didn't pay much attention to the lyrics. The story is meh. The filming might be poor, or maybe it's the print: the nighttime street dancing looks extra grainy.
This is urban angst, set to a beat, and sprayed with paint. Both phenomena persist today. I wonder how much rap has changed; I don't consume it, so I don't know if it has evolved or is fundamentally the same as in this film. It sounds very similar to me, perhaps a bit more ornamented by now. NB: This is 35 years old!
Because this music isn't my cup of tea, and because this was dark and about teens/ya, I have no need to see this again. The dancing here was basic hip hop, spinning on the ground, and not photographed well enough for me to appreciate it.
indie, dir. Ahearn; 5-
