BASQUIAT

BASQUIAT
4K Restoration in Black and White

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, Benecio del Toro, Parker Posey, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe) lending their talents to one of the high points of 90s independent cinema, an intimate elegy for a once-in-a-generation artistic phenomenon.

Directed by Julian Schnabel
Written by Julian Schnabel
Starring Jeffrey Wright, David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Michael Wincott, Benicio del Toro, Claire Forlani, Courtney Love, Parker Posey, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe
Year: 1996
1h 48m