FINALLY!!!! If, like me, you were waiting for the restoration of this classic hip-hop documentary to be completed... the moment has arrived. Considered by many to be the first hip-hop documentary, and definitely the best even today, the 16mm negatives had decomposed. A furious campaign was launched to drum up money so that the movie could be restored and transferred to 1920x1080 resolution. This campaign spanned the Style Wars website, Auction Cause, Kickstarter, and event parties. Like many other small-time donors who pitched in $50 I was included in the restored movie's credits. I have now become one of the few people that can say their name appears in the same movie credits as Brad Pitt and Kenau Reeves ;-). Yep, they and a handful of other celebrities were donors too. Graffiti crews and artists, even the mysterious "The X-One" are listed in the credits too! Very cool.
I know it sounds funny, but the blu-ray MENU is even cool, and it's the first thing you see. It's comprised of various first-person view shots of the subway moving along the platforms. The footage is grainy and "real" I guess you could say, and shows sights of New York City back in the 80's that gets you right in the mood for the rest of the film.
The big attraction is seeing all those old moving subway trains with graffiti on them. It's there. I could kinda end this review right there, but there is a lot more on this blu-ray for the die hard hip-hop fanatic.
The outtakes: This is the highlight of the disc for me. It's basically a second version of Style Wars with never before seen footage. Notable stars like Futura 2000, Fab Five Freddy and Keith Haring make appearances. They never made it to the final cut, and the reasons why are explored in depth with another added feature: Style Wars on the Cutting Room Floor. Basically it was a movie made while Style Wars was filmed, and it documents the internal debates amongst the filmmakers regarding what would eventually be included in the movie. One interesting tidbit is that Tony Silver remarks about how they thought they were documenting a movement that was in its last days, only to find out mid-film that they were on the ground floor of the beginning!
One interesting part of the outtakes is that a city worker admonishes the film makers for showcasing graffiti, as it will inevitably spread what she saw as a damaged culture. Maybe her assessment of the culture was incorrect but her take on the film's effect was not!
The other extras are "B-Boy Showcase" which is a lot of footage from the Rock Steady vs. Dynamic Rockers breakdance contest, and a version of the film with Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's commentary.
Admittedly, there are a couple of rough spots in this release, It was shot in 16mm, meant for television, and so some of the grain shows in the higher resolution version, which you would not see on the old televisions. I don't have a 5.1 surround system so I can't vouch for the audio on this release either.
All-in-all, if you have the cassette version and DVD of Style Wars already, you will still want to get this too. If you are new to the movie, this is the best version to start with.
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
DVD
August 23, 2005 "Please retry" | — | 2 |
—
| $22.55 | $8.00 |
|
DVD
April 22, 2003 "Please retry" | — | 2 |
—
| — | $7.71 |
Watch Instantly with 
| Rent | Buy |
| Style Wars | — | — |
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2014
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2023
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2010
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2005
Top reviews from other countries
F. Eagles
Excellent documentary + Blu-ray works with Region B players
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2023Javier
Imprescindible documental. Como nació el Graffitti. Fantástica banda sonora
Reviewed in Spain on June 2, 2013