Wild style
(DVD)

Originally produced as an American motion picture in 1983.

"Digitally remastered."

Special features: Commentary with director Charlie Ahearn and Fred Brathwaite (Feb 5 Freddy) [audio feature]; Wild Style 25th anniversary reunion 2007 [featurette] (7 min.); Wild Style 20th Amphitheater jam 2002 [featurette] (6 min.); Interviews with Wild Style players 2006 [featurette] (10 min.); Bongo barbershop 2005 [featurette] (8 min.); Busy on the beach 2006 [featurette] (4 min.); Theatrical trailer (2 min.); Outtakes [featurette] (5 min.); Wild Style subway rap [featurette] (4 min.); Photo gallery [slide show].

Directors of photography, Clive Davidson, John Foster ; sound, Bernd Nobel, Larry Sharf ; editor, Steve Brown ; music, Fab 5 Freddy, Chris Stein.

"Lee" George Quinones, Sandra "Pink" Fabara, Frederick Brathwaite, Patti Astor; Rap [by] Busy Bee, Double Trouble, Fantastic Freaks, Cold Crush Bros., Grandmaster Flash; Breaks [by] Rock Steady Crew, Pop-O-Matics, Electric Force.

The slender story line of "Wild Style" features red-hot graffiti artist Zoro. He's got girl and family trouble, but is discovered by a reporter, and thus embarks on a journey from outsider to gallery artist. This low-budget art movie is almost documentary in that it includes a who's who of early hip-hop, which was a creative movement played out in Bronx basements, kitchens, dingy bars, and on stoops, one of many things to do on Saturday night. The film is a panoply of the war-zone streets that birthed hip-hop, freestyle MCs, break dancing, and beautifully, meticulously tagged subway trains from the days when hip-hop was more than just music--it was a small, self-selecting, micro youth culture as specific to New York as the Statue of Liberty. The film is a fascinating time capsule for anyone interested in the cultural roots of hip-hop, practically anthropological, not so much old skool as pre-school.

Rating: R.

DVD; NTSC, region 1, aspect ratio, 1.37; Dolby Digital sound.

English audio.