| Style Wars | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Tony Silver |
| Produced by | Tony Silver Henry Chalfant[1] |
| Starring | Various |
| Music by | Various |
Production company | Public Art Films[2] |
| Distributed by | PBS |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 70 minutes 111 minutes director's cut |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Style Wars is a 1983 Americandocumentary film onhip hop culture, directed byTony Silver and produced in collaboration withHenry Chalfant. The film has an emphasis ongraffiti, althoughbboying andrapping are covered to a lesser extent. The film was originally aired on the television networkPBS and was subsequently shown in severalfilm festivals to much acclaim, including theVancouver Film Festival. It also won the Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at theSundance Film Festival.[3][4]
The documentary captures and includes many historical moments ofhip hop culture during its earliest days in the 1970s onward towards the early 1980s. Many film elements fromStyle Wars, including outtakes, are now housed at theAcademy Film Archive as part of the Tony Silver Collection.[5]
The documentary explores divergent perspectives on graffiti, articulated by graffiti artists, city officials including formerNew York City MayorEd Koch, and other stakeholders such as police officers, subway maintenance personnel, and citizens. Prominent figures in the graffiti community, including artistsKase 2,Dondi, Shy 147,Seen, and Skeme along with his mother, feature prominently. The film also highlights contributions from graffiti documentarian and co-producerHenry Chalfant and breakdancerCrazy Legs ofRock Steady Crew.
While the documentary posits graffiti as a legitimate artistic expression, it concurrently portrays the vigorous efforts by municipal authorities and law enforcement to curtail this form of urban art. The administration under Mayor Koch undertook substantial measures, including the allocation of considerable funds towards anti-graffiti campaigns in subway systems, the construction of barriers at subway entry points to deter graffiti artists, and the deployment of police dogs to these locations.
The narrative extends beyond mere criminalization, presenting viewpoints from established artists who argue that the lack of accessible venues drives young artists to express themselves on public and private edifices. This demographic, often marginalized, seeks to engage with the community and articulate their identities through visible, albeit illegal, marks on urban landscapes. The documentary navigates these complex social dynamics, positioning some participants as intermediaries who recognize the artistic value while critiquing the methods of execution, thus embodying a dual role in the discourse on graffiti as both art and act of defiance.
In 2009,A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times examined the film:
"Style Wars is a work of art in its own right too, because it doesn't just record what these artists are doing, it somehow absorbs their spirit and manages to communicate it across the decades so that we can find ourselves, so many years later, in the city, understanding what made it beautiful."[6]
A 2018 review fromThe New Yorker also recommends the film, citing its soundtrack and its ability to capture the historical moment it centers on.[7]
Pitchfork referred to the film as the "defining documentary of early hip-hop culture".[8]
The digitally remastered DVD edition also contains:
On June 9, 2011 it was announced thatRed Hot Chili Peppers bassistFlea along with actorsBrad Pitt andJames Franco and directorSpike Jonze were donating items to aneBay auction that would raise money for restoring the film negatives forStyle Wars. The auction ended on June 11, 2011.[9]
DJ Mutt used quotes from the movie in his song titled "Big Lights, Big City" taken from his albumTreading Water.Black Star used a clip from the movie in the intro to the song "Respiration" onthe Black Star album. TheDrum and Bass group Ganja Kru, composed ofDJ Hype,DJ Zinc, and Pascal, used quotes from the movie in their song titled "Plague That Never Ends". Swedish bandThe Radio Dept. used audio samples from the film in their single "Never Follow Suit" from the albumClinging to a Scheme.[10]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - | Sundance Grand Jury Prize: Documentary 1984 | Succeeded by |
