Downtown 81

Rating:
Summary: A look back...
Review: A window into NYC in 1981 and the short, fast life of Jean Michel Basquiat. The movie is choppy, edgy, and sometimes just weird, but so were the times. The music scenes at the Mudd Club (Max's KC) were great!
If you know his art, and are interested in the period of time, Downtown 81 is a good illustration of what the scene was like.

Rating:
Summary: a holy grail film
Review: Boy, If I was happy when this film came out in New York a few years back.
I believe, the director made the effort to release it, 20 years after it was made, as an alternative to Julian Schnabel's film "basquiat". Back in the New York 80s, there were two type of artistic world. The Soho type, which followed the Andy Warhol's double edge philosophy: "Making money is an art",and the East Village type, which followed the tradition of the Beat poets.

Ofcourse, the legacy Warhol left when he produced the Velvet Underground as an "art form" and also films of conceptual ideas,( 1960s) were not part of the "making money" image of Soho.

This phase in Warhol's career ( before he became really rich) was the source of the east village bohemians, the so called "Children of Andy Warhol",
Those hipsters, were the one producing the art films and punk bands.
Noone was painting in the east village at the time. One was either a film maker or a member in a punk band. Cool art was graffiti, because it was not considered art by the status quo, and that was precisely what the scene of the east village was looking for: anti-art.
It was not so much wealth what we were after, but be part of the pantheon of die-hard hipsters.

Punk musicians were more and more expressing themselves through film. Basquiat was a member of Gray.(a No Wave Band)(NO Wavers was the underground within the underground in those days)

Debby Harry a member of Blondie. It was said at the time that what made Basquiat truly known within that underground was his encounter with Blondie, who got him into the film. IT is true that he was known as Samo, but that was something else.
Why is this film a holy grail? well, se how many films Picasso did about himself; only one Le Mystere Picasso. In Downtown 81 we not only see the legend, we see the neighborhood and the bands. It is an historical documentary. Something that the author himself ( Im sure) never had in mind when filming it. That is the reason why it was lost for so long. They never thought it was important.
That brings to mind the words of Picasso: "Art is stronger than I, because it makes me do what she wants"

They worked on one more punk film, when in fact it was a jewel in the making, something beyond their grasp. They were merely the instruments that help create a documentary that was destined to exist.

I think this film is as important as the "in the Horse's mouth" by Alec Guiness and Le Mystere Picasso by Claude Cluzot.

These three films about artists, could become the unholy trinity
for those who listen to the beat of a different drum.



Rating:
Summary: A trippy almost surreal peek into the 80s New York art scene
Review: If you can bypass the bad,out of sync dialogue(It seems the original master audio might have been lost and recreated solely for the re-issue)this is a really good ,dare I say it, art movie. It's a rare treat for anyone to see classic No Wave bands like DNA,Tuxedomoon & James White and the Blacks on film,hands down. And who can ever say even one bad word about the Japanese band the Plastics? My only slight beef with the film was that it sometimes tried to drive the point too much in the premise that "This is New York,baby!!! We're the center of the world!" Also,it vacillated between Basquiat,his syntax art and the bands so often you weren't sure what was the film's true focus. Still,for a 21 year old lost movie(that survived only by the master negative being locked away and forgotten)it's a gem of a period piece. The special appearance by Debbie Harry makes things even more quirky. Very definitely an excellent companion video to the Basquiat biopic.

Rating:
Summary: a time and a place
Review: important film for documenting a great time and place. the music scenes make it worthwhile as well as getting to see basquiat in action, only downside is the kid creole stuff which was is and shall always be awful. if they could delete kid creole i'd give it 5 stars. the extras are pretty good.

Rating:
Summary: The extra star is for the Time Capsule.....
Review: Movie is really a "loose term" here, there's not much of a linear story going on, but it is excellent for capturing a exciting time period for NYC.

Enjoyed seeing the different groups, Kid Creole and Deborah Harry a/k/a Blondie in their respective primes. I bought it for Basquait, but it was decent. Yeah, the dialogue sucked, watch it on mute and turn up the musical #'s... I don't blame the filmakers though, apparently the original sound was lost.

Rating:
Summary: The extra star is for the Time Capsule.....
Review: Movie is really a "loose term" here, there's not much of a linear story going on, but it is excellent for capturing a exciting time period for NYC.

Enjoyed seeing the different groups, Kid Creole and Deborah Harry a/k/a Blondie in their respective primes. I bought it for Basquait, but it was decent. Yeah, the dialogue sucked, watch it on mute and turn up the musical #'s... I don't blame the filmakers though, apparently the original sound was lost.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous for Kid Creole Scenes
Review: This is an OK movie if you like Warhol films &/or Warhol film wannabes. You get to see a snapshot of a lively time & place: Mudd Club (ala Max's Kansas City) & "downtown art" scene. The problem is that by this time it was all too obvious that all the art scene was about was self-promotion & some camera time (yawn...as they used to say in the funny papers). Still there's some fabulous unforgettable music here, especially Kid Creole & Coati Mundi & The Coconuts & that nutty great Japanese group The Plastics. You could erase the rest of the film & leave them & I'd give it 5 stars!

Rating:
Summary: a time and a place
Review: This movie is totally not what I expected, and I am very glad it is not! It is a funny story with good screen shots of Jean-Michel and his co-stars. Not a documentary but a movie worth watching again and again. You will be pleased.

Rating:
Summary: KID CREOLE ROCKS
Review: This movie is totally not what I expected, and I am very glad it is not! It is a funny story with good screen shots of Jean-Michel and his co-stars. Not a documentary but a movie worth watching again and again. You will be pleased.
one might take notice of the Kid Creole performance...looks very familiar to the Talkin Heads "stop making sence" concert performance video of 1984. well, Creole did it in 1981! David Byrne obviously saw it and got away with it...till now! Kid Creole ROCKS!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A day in the life of Basquiat
Review: This movie seemed to have no true message, except to display the life of the famous artist, Basquiat. This movie, although it doesn't exactly convey a message, is interesting to watch and it shows basquiat doing his thing. I would recommend this movieto pretty much anyone who finds Basquiat's lifestyle interesting. Personally, I had never even heard of Basquiat before seeing this movie, but I am now very intrigued with him. Whether or not you know a good deal about Basquiat, this movie is still very enjoyable.