New 4K Restoration
An intimate elegy for a once-in-a-generation artistic phenomenon—Jean-Michel Basquiat.
No painter electrified the 1980s art scene like Jean-Michel Basquiat, a New York street kid whose visionary blending of expressionism, pop art, and the radical new aesthetics of hip-hop and graffiti propelled him to international fame before a tragic early demise. Julian Schnabel’s stunning debut charts Basquiat’s dizzying rise and fall with an insider’s eye for authentic details of the downtown arts demimonde as well as a fellow postmodernist’s interest in the dream-like and surreal. Jeffrey Wright’s brilliant introductory performance provides trenchant insight into the artist’s creative passions and personal demons. Cemented by David Bowie as a spot-on Andy Warhol, Basquiat’s supporting cast is a murderers’ row of Hollywood legends and art lovers (Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Benicio del Toro, Parker Posey, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe) lending their talents to one of the high points of '90s independent cinema. [107 min; drama, biography; English]
"A stylish and interesting look at a moment in New York City's art world where everyone stopped to look at one person, who never seemed to quite fit." — Blake Davis, KFOR Channel 4 News
"Wright is brilliant." — Nell Minow, Movie Mom
"Most movies stress the agony of art ... Schnabel's exceptional film honors his friend by showing the act of creation as a natural high." — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
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