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DVD: Wild Style
82 minutes
WEA Corp/Rhino
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry
The four elements of hip-hop are crucial to this story, which has long been considered the greatest film of its kind. Those ingredients (emceeing, graffiti, break-dancing, and deejaying) are the backdrop to a 1982 love story set in the South Bronx. Zoro and Pink are infamous graffiti artists whose predominantly clandestine artwork in the neighborhood has them bumping into one another on a regular basis. Eventually romance sets in among the rubble, broken bottles, and old tires that frame their world, and we begin to see the bigger picture -- director Charlie Ahearn's statement with the main characters. This blossoming relationship serves as a symbol of the new music and style that began with two turntables, a microphone, and a naïveté of the budding movement.
Authentic old school graffiti legends were cast to play the lovers, with "Lee" Quinones as Zoro, and Sandra "Pink" Fabara as Ladybug. The always-amazing Fab 5 Freddy of "Yo! MTV Raps" fame is also on hand as Phade. Freddy (Fred Brathwaite to his mom) not only helped produce Wild Style, but he was also the musical director, and one of the major characters in the film. He arrived with first-hand knowledge of the scene through his experiences with music and as a graff writer. There are cameo appearances by Grandmaster Flash, Chief Rocker Busy Bee, The Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, and many more, as Wild Style became a resonant historical document -- a freeze frame (not intentionally invoking the J. Geils Band's legacy).
This was before graffiti had been so staunchly looked down upon. It was also prior to its deviation from the intricate works of art that involved aerosol cans. Graffiti artists used to turn subway yards into lively, colorful places with murals that traveled from neighborhood-to-neighborhood collecting passengers. Later, anyone with a Sharpee marker who could write their nickname in an odd way became known as a 'tagger,' and the artistic manifestation was lost. Wild Style hearkens back to a Golden Age when graffiti made sense. In the early eighties, New York City was a brutal and fairly dismal place to live. The work of people like Zoro and Pink gave it some culture -- something to enjoy while you were getting through your daylight hours.
The film has proven enormously influential in the world of hip-hop music. Rapper MF Doom appears to be a graffiti artist himself and has captured some of his work in the jacket to "Operation: Doomsday." His debut is also full of samples from Wild Style, as are many other hip-hop songs and albums. This picture spent so long in the Betamax graveyard that the recent re-release onto DVD is nothing short of a miracle. Its viewing is a pre-requisite for hip-hop fans. The restoration of the film, with the added deleted scenes and extras, will only disappoint you by ending.
© 2003 - Jason Thornberry