Stars: Jeffrey Wright, David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Michael Wincott, Benicio Del Toro, Courtney Love, Parker Posey, Paul Bartel, Willem Dafoe, Tatum O'Neal, Christopher Walken, Claire Forlani, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, Jean Claude Le Marre, Elina Lwensohn

Director: Julian Schnabel

Summary: In 1981, Jean-Michel Basquiat became the darling of New York's art critics. This film gives a dramatised account of his life of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll which lead to his demise. Features music by The Pogues, Iggy Pop, Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel and David Bowie.

An insider's look at the kinetic New York City art world, told through the tragic life story of Jean-Michel Basquiat (a brilliant performance by Jeffrey Wright). A black, 19-year-old graffiti artist who catapulted to superstardom with his controversial paintings, Basquiat rubbed elbows with the likes of Andy Warhol and Julian Schnabel before burning out permanently from a drug overdose at the age of 27. Schnabel, himself a celebrated figure in the art world, makes his directing debut with this star-studded biopic about the overlapping yet conflicting worlds of art, commerce, and celebrity.

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In his writing and directorial debut, Julian Schnabel's film Basquiatdepicts the life of graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, aka SAMO, and the turbulent period from the late 1970s to 1988, as his life was catapulted into fame and notoriety. As Jean-Michel's work gained favourable attention from New York's elite art community, he went from a street punk living in a cardboard box to the first black artist to succeed in the all-white dominated art world. Tony Award-winning actor Jeffrey Wright does a brilliant job portraying a man tortured by self-doubt and thoughts of suicide, struggling to survive and be acknowledged as an artist. The film's use of dream-like imagery and rhythmic pace tells the story from the perspective of Jean-Michel's eyes as he manages to "float" through relationships and gallery showings,until his impending death in 1988 from a heroin overdose. Brimming with talent, the film also stars David Bowie as pop-artist Andy Warhol, Michael Wincott as poet Rene Ricard and many others, including Gary Oldman, Benicio del Toro, Dennis Hopper and Courtney Love. --Michele Goodson

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1996
Release Date:	June 30, 2003
Runtime:	106 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P 8918 D V D
Keywords:	Music, Rock, General, Pop, Drama, Basquiat
Genre:	Drama