Directed by:
Edo BertoglioScreenplay:
Glenn O'BrienComposer:
Vincent GalloCast:
Vincent Gallo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Deborah Harry, John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Saul Williams, Anne Carlisle, Ted Bafaloukos, Fab 5 Freddy, Debi Mazar, Amos Poe (more)Plots(1)
Legendary painter, graffiti artist, poet and musician Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) was only 19 years old when he played the lead in DOWNTOWN 81, a striking "lost" film that chronicles the explosive early-'80s Manhattan art and music scene. Completed and theatrically released two decades later, it's the story of a charismatic artist who attempts to sell a painting amidst the rappers, junkies, strippers, models and art-world matriarchs of a pre-Giuliani Lower East Side. This vividly entertaining slice of life is also a fabulous showcase for the music of Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Tuxedomoon, The Plastics, DNA, The Lounge Lizards, and Basquiat's own band, Gray. Shot on location, DOWNTOWN 81 not only captures one of the most important and provocative artists of the 20th-century as he is poised for worldwide fame, but is also a vivid snapshot of a New York City that no longer exists. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Vincent Gallo
USA
Best movies:
Goodfellas (1990)
New York Beat Movie (1981)
The House of the Spirits (1993)
Jean-Michel Basquiat
USA
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Deborah Harry
USA
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
My Life Without Me (2003)
The Foreigner (1978)
John Lurie
USA
Best movies:
Paris, Texas (1984)
Down by Law (1986)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Eszter Balint
Hungary
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
Shadows and Fog (1991)
Saul Williams
USA
Best movies:
K-PAX (2001)
New York Beat Movie (1981)
One True Thing (1998)
Anne Carlisle
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Liquid Sky (1982)
Ted Bafaloukos
Greece
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Diner (1982)
Fab 5 Freddy
USA
Best movies:
American Gangster (2007)
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Juice (1992)
Debi Mazar
USA
Best movies:
Goodfellas (1990)
The Doors (1991)
Madonna: Celebration: The Video Collection (2009) (video compilation)
Amos Poe
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
The Foreigner (1978)
Danny Rosen
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
The Loveless (1981)
Victor Bockris
UK
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Arto Lindsay
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987)
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
Ikue Mori
Japan
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Giorgio Gomelsky
Italy
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Chris Stein
USA
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Roadie (1980)
Michael Holman
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Larry Sloman
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)
Uncut Gems (2019)
Satan's Little Helper (2004)
Roberta Bayley
USA
Best movies:
New York Beat Movie (1981)