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<em>Style Wars</em> Director Dies
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 10, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 10, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Director of the legendary hip-hop documentary Style Wars, Tony Silver, died last weekend after battling an irreversible brain condition for several years.
Shot in New York City in the early '80s and originally airing on PBS in 1983, his documentary is considered to be the first film about hip-hop culture. While the 70 minutes covers rap and breakdancing, its main focus is on graffiti, which at the time was viewed by some as a groundbreaking art form. Style Wars shows an altered urban landscape and serves as a snapshot of life here in the early '80s, with a "cast" ranging from Mayor Koch to renowned graffiti taggers to the Rock Steady Crew to subway maintenance workers. Check out the original trailer (and the full 70 minutes here):
The film won the Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival upon its release. In 2003 Silver revisited his work and released a companion film called Style Wars: ReVisited. The 34-minute piece checks in on 26 of the of the original film's participants.
Tagged
city
death
documentary
film
film festival
graffiti
Grand Prize
hip hop
mayor
mayor koch
movie
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new york city
pbs
rock
style
Style Wars
Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
Tony Silver
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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