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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Some call it tagging, some call it writing, still others call it bombing--it's all graffiti. Whether it's art or not is another matter, but it's undeniably illegal. Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's historic PBS documentary Style Wars tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the peak of its popularity, graffiti was as much a part of B-boy culture as rapping, scratching, and breaking. The filmmakers present a sympathetic, but well-rounded portrait of their subject through extensive interviews with taggers--notably Seen, Kase, and Dondi--art collectors, transit authorities, and even Mayor Ed Koch, who would eventually put the hammer down. Along the way, they documented the burgeoning breakdance scene, with a focus on the world-famous Rock Steady Crew. The soundtrack features selections from Grandmaster Flash, the Treacherous Three, and other tagger-approved icons of old-school hip-hop. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Product Description
When director Tony Silver and co-producer Henry Chalfant delivered the broadcast version of their prize-winning film to PBS in 1983, the world received its first full immersion in the phenomenon that had taken over New York City. The urban landscape was
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I, like many, first saw Style Wars back in the early 80's on PBS as an impressionable youth who was just discovering Hip Hop in all it's forms. It has remained to this day, one of the best (certainly the most honest) accounts of Hip Hop in it's relative infancy. While the focus is squarely on the "writers" (graffiti artists for all you new jacks), we do get to see other aspects of Hip Hop culture in play (most notably b-boying with the Rock Steady Crew). Watching the film on dvd after so many years was literally like going back in time. It not only holds up, it has aged like fine wine. Every shot in the film reeks of NY & Hip Hop in the early 80's. A true, 100% bonafide classic in every sense of the word. The filmakers have succeeded beautifully in capturing the spirit of the time, the place, the people and the culture. This is a true time capsule if there ever was one.
Ok, enough with accolades. Now on to the disc. Dang. Talk about getting the deluxe treatment. Whereas the Wild Style DVD is incomplete (see my review), Style Wars is not only complete, uncut and un-altered, it is absolutely full to brim with fantastic extras...close to 4 HOURS worth. Highlights include art and interviews with many of the films participants. Most notable for me was MIN ONE. He's the tough little curly-haired, white kid who tries to get the rest of the writers to retaliate against Cap for "going over their burners". ("That's never forgive action"). All I can say is he looks like he's been through one hell of a lot in the last 20 years. Very sobering to say the least.
Other extras include outtakes, audio commentary by the filmakers, and (this is very cool) a 30 minute loop of "whole cars".
If you consider yourself a serious Hip Hop head, you have no excuse not to own this dvd.
Ok, enough with accolades. Now on to the disc. Dang. Talk about getting the deluxe treatment. Whereas the Wild Style DVD is incomplete (see my review), Style Wars is not only complete, uncut and un-altered, it is absolutely full to brim with fantastic extras...close to 4 HOURS worth. Highlights include art and interviews with many of the films participants. Most notable for me was MIN ONE. He's the tough little curly-haired, white kid who tries to get the rest of the writers to retaliate against Cap for "going over their burners". ("That's never forgive action"). All I can say is he looks like he's been through one hell of a lot in the last 20 years. Very sobering to say the least.
Other extras include outtakes, audio commentary by the filmakers, and (this is very cool) a 30 minute loop of "whole cars".
If you consider yourself a serious Hip Hop head, you have no excuse not to own this dvd.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It's as if Style Wars co-star (and graffiti pioneer) Iz The Wiz was predicting the outcome of this classic documentary when he emphatically yelled:"This is it...this is it!" in one of it's scenes. Some 20 years later, the world over is echoing Iz's exact same sentiments. With Style Wars, creators Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver assembled one of the best and historiaclly correct Hip Hop documentaries to date. Taking place around '81, '82 during the Koch administration, Style Wars delves mostly into NY's subway graffiti and B-boy culture. By far, two of the more illustrious facets in the cultural jewel known as Hip Hop. Style Wars captures graffiti and B-boy pioneers (most in their teens) doin' what they do best and ultimately shaping the course of Hip Hop culture. All the "true-school" legends are here (i.e., The Rocksteady Crew, Dondi, Seen, Dez a.k.a. DJ Kay Slay, etc.) equipped with a vintage NY backdrop and killa soundtrack. As "fresh" as it was back in '84 when PBS "broke" it, Style Wars works because it not only deals with the creative forces behind it's subject matter, but those effected by it as well. From the linoleum kitchen of famed graffiti artist Skeme to the B-boy battlegrounds of the U.S.A. skating rink, Style Wars is there. With unforgettable scenes like dopey Mayor Ed Koch screwing-up at a press conference to graffiti legend Duro mispronouncing the word "negotiate", Style Wars captures it all. Celebrating it's 20th anniversary, Style Wars' recent double DVD release only adds to it's greatness. Packed with 4 hours of nothing but flavor, this double delight doesn't dissappoint. It would've been great to have seen graffiti great Kase 2 (or Noc) make the DVD, but the revisiting of Skeme and Mom Barbara (minus the kitchen) definitely makes up for it. So, if you're thinking of spending your hard earned on anything boasting unadulterated Hip Hop, Style Wars is a sure-shot. In the immortal words of Iz The Wiz: "This is it!" --James "Koe" Rodriguez.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Pork Chop
Format:DVD
Style Wars (1983) from directors Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver,
is a grass roots, street-level documentary that is easily
digested, as it's pleasing to the eyes.
It offers a glimpse of 10 to 16 year olds, in the inner cities of
Brooklyn, Bronx back in the 1970's and 1980's, who are surrounded
by high rises, who brainstormed for ideas back in the 1970's to
have fun and pass the time.
In this particular instance, it involves dance competitions, art
competitions, music competitions, expressed in various
recreational halls through the break-dance styles, DJ-ing and
rapping, free-styling with rhymes as well as by using up 15 to 20
canisters per subway train in color painting them.
This subculture, comprising the "personal lives" of dozens of
youths (in contrast to school, or professional endeavors) is
specialized to the point that various youths' aliases become
"stars" in their own right, with verbal histories or accounts
being told and passed down to other joining this movement, who
are pigeon holed in this ghetto.
The psych of those taking part, is underpinned by a sense of peer
pressure in the group for the best art, dance moves and ability
to rhyme, coupled with a sense of ego gratification by somehow
having become world-class, as their assigned names or tags are
seen on trains crossing the city. Perhaps a sensitive point for
the undertrodden in the inner cities, housing projects,
accustomed to poverty, yet crossing all background and cultural
lines.
The images taken are numerous, well chosen, and the narrative
well planned, the testimonies frequent, the educational aspects
to the masses very understandable. Underground terminology such
as "bombing" (meaning to deface a train for the first time),
breaking and rocking (meaning, doing a style of dance), are a few
explained.
Some locations are reminiscent of those seen in Escape from the
Bronx, by Enzo Castellari or Warriors by Walter Hill, such as the
manhole entrance, or the underground warehouse, etc.
Inevitably the idea is taken from the ephemeral, to amateur, to
professional, as viewers see graffitists sketching ideas back
home, planning out missions on trains, organizing themselves in
time and space, approprating 15 paint cans at a time, from
stores, in their competition. To the point that 8 year olds are
given an apprenticeship of sorts into become accomplished
graffittists.
All sides of the story are told, with messages from the mayor of
the city, police detectives, concerned parents, outraged public
transit users, keeping in mind that these deeds against property
pale in comparison to behaviors against people also processed in
the justice system (murders. etc) or even, the 3-card-Monte,
pickpockets, shoplifts, etc.
The movie redeems itself, by calling attention to art galleries,
school programs for those with a talent in visual art, by
suggesting that the "big time" is possible into the mass media.
It also underlines sensitivity campaigns against graffiti, by
boxers Hector Camacho and Alex Ramos.
is a grass roots, street-level documentary that is easily
digested, as it's pleasing to the eyes.
It offers a glimpse of 10 to 16 year olds, in the inner cities of
Brooklyn, Bronx back in the 1970's and 1980's, who are surrounded
by high rises, who brainstormed for ideas back in the 1970's to
have fun and pass the time.
In this particular instance, it involves dance competitions, art
competitions, music competitions, expressed in various
recreational halls through the break-dance styles, DJ-ing and
rapping, free-styling with rhymes as well as by using up 15 to 20
canisters per subway train in color painting them.
This subculture, comprising the "personal lives" of dozens of
youths (in contrast to school, or professional endeavors) is
specialized to the point that various youths' aliases become
"stars" in their own right, with verbal histories or accounts
being told and passed down to other joining this movement, who
are pigeon holed in this ghetto.
The psych of those taking part, is underpinned by a sense of peer
pressure in the group for the best art, dance moves and ability
to rhyme, coupled with a sense of ego gratification by somehow
having become world-class, as their assigned names or tags are
seen on trains crossing the city. Perhaps a sensitive point for
the undertrodden in the inner cities, housing projects,
accustomed to poverty, yet crossing all background and cultural
lines.
The images taken are numerous, well chosen, and the narrative
well planned, the testimonies frequent, the educational aspects
to the masses very understandable. Underground terminology such
as "bombing" (meaning to deface a train for the first time),
breaking and rocking (meaning, doing a style of dance), are a few
explained.
Some locations are reminiscent of those seen in Escape from the
Bronx, by Enzo Castellari or Warriors by Walter Hill, such as the
manhole entrance, or the underground warehouse, etc.
Inevitably the idea is taken from the ephemeral, to amateur, to
professional, as viewers see graffitists sketching ideas back
home, planning out missions on trains, organizing themselves in
time and space, approprating 15 paint cans at a time, from
stores, in their competition. To the point that 8 year olds are
given an apprenticeship of sorts into become accomplished
graffittists.
All sides of the story are told, with messages from the mayor of
the city, police detectives, concerned parents, outraged public
transit users, keeping in mind that these deeds against property
pale in comparison to behaviors against people also processed in
the justice system (murders. etc) or even, the 3-card-Monte,
pickpockets, shoplifts, etc.
The movie redeems itself, by calling attention to art galleries,
school programs for those with a talent in visual art, by
suggesting that the "big time" is possible into the mass media.
It also underlines sensitivity campaigns against graffiti, by
boxers Hector Camacho and Alex Ramos.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Documentary
I don't know if its the original documentary broadcast on Pbs, and seriously I doubt it. Nonetheless, a classic of its' kind. A manifesto? Maybe. Read more
Published 16 months ago by V. Cheng
5.0 out of 5 stars
PBS: Style Wars
I still have the recording of the PBS airing. The video spawned Beat Street, Style Wars had Cap, Beat Street had Spit. Read more
Published 19 months ago by MC
5.0 out of 5 stars
It takes you back to a place you've never been.
As a pre-teen youngster growing up in a rural community outside of Pittsburgh, PA, how I got into hip-hop music in the 80's is anybody's guess. Read more
Published on December 18, 2010 by DJ Luke Duke
5.0 out of 5 stars
A unmistakakeble jewel reflecting early, real hip hop culture
It's hard to deny, or well argumented break down this movie. Simply because it was shot at the right time, at the right place, by the right people and thus formed the main source... Read more
Published on October 12, 2010 by Tom von Lucky
4.0 out of 5 stars
pretty excellent doc
From the Amazon review: "Some call it tagging, others called it writing, still others call it "bombing" yo--but it's all graffiti. Read more
Published on May 16, 2010 by 2 cents
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crime as Art
This is a true PBS classic. I grew up primarily in a rural Ohio setting, and when my art teacher showed this documentary to our high school class in '83 or '84 it opened up a whole... Read more
Published on February 12, 2009 by M.Worrell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
This is one of few documentaries I can actually watch over and over and still enjoy.
From the very beginning, with the dark shots of the trains rolling through the... Read more
From the very beginning, with the dark shots of the trains rolling through the... Read more
Published on December 10, 2008 by Alex Goldberg
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Bible for the birth of hip hop culture!!
This documentary is timeless! Perfectly outlines the birth of Hip-Hop Culture on the streets of it's birthplace, New York City and it's boroughs. Read more
Published on June 12, 2008 by Salvatore M. Danisi
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a great buy!
you get so much bang for the buck with this DVD. Not only is the documentary fantastic, but the supplemental DVD has recent interviews with lots of the superstar graffiti artists,... Read more
Published on March 17, 2008 by Christine E. Atkins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old School
I had heard about Style Wars when i was in high school in 89', my friend had the hardcover book. Seeing the video just made me re-live those days of seeing trains with the fresh... Read more
Published on November 7, 2007 by Freddie O. Orange
