Calisthenic breakdancing and big, bold graffiti art were in top form and popularity in the U.S. in the early and mid-'80s, and this documentary extols the spirit and the talents of a variety of New York youngsters who were expert in either one or both of these challenging pastimes. Public reactions are wildly varied. On the one hand, the youth brave a police crackdown on graffiti and face barbed-wire fences and guard dogs in the railroad yards where they spray paint subway cars with oversized lettering. On the other hand, their art is shown in a municipal gallery and analyzed with the same seriousness as a Rembrandt or a Renoir. Whether viewers judge the graffiti an "eyesore" or a bit of post-modern expressionism, it is true that both the art and the dancing are incisively presented in this hour-long exploration. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
Shot between 1981 and 1983 and aired on PBS, Style Wars is remarkable as a relatively early filmed document of hip-hop culture at its source and an intelligent defense of an oft-maligned and misunderstood art form, graffiti. It is constructed as an investigative news piece with stentorian narrator Sam Schacht, presenting an equally weighed back and forth debate over whether graffiti is art or vandalism. But from an opening scene, when a young writer pouts while his mom harangues him over his hobby, it's clear where directors Henry Chalfant andTony Silver's sympathies lie. Cameraman Burleigh Wartes captures subway train murals at opportune locations, where the car-length paintings majestically unfurl for maximum impact. Editors Sam Pollard, Victor Kanefsky, and Mary Alfieri edit these sequences to the 4/4 beat of early rap music, one of the first attempts to develop a hip-hop-influenced cutting technique. Though not addressed directly, the documentary also helps refute a common myth about graffiti culture -- that it had an integral connection with break dancing and rapping and was mostly carried out by black and Hispanic kids. Some of the most interesting footage tracks writers on tagging runs -- jumping fences into train yards and navigating the city's underground tunnels. Though the passion and thrill of artistic discovery is palpable, one is left with the feeling that graffiti was, for the most part, a movement that flowered during a unique situation in New York's history. Style Wars captures this movement as it is just starting to wane, when mayor Ed Koch's crackdowns started having a serious effect and a general overall increase in New York City's quality of life demanded more effective cleanups. The growing media saturation is typified by the clueless and somewhat exploitative attention given by the Soho galleries crowd. Of further note are appearances by writers Dondi, Daze, and Cap One, and a performance by the Rock Steady Crew. ~ Michael Buening, All Movie Guide