Alex Heaton (azanti0029) Beat Street was always the film you watched back in the 80's if you took Hip Hop and Break Dancing seriously and wanted a better idea of how this new wave of music was infecting the youth culture at the time. Oh how we laughed at those who thought Electric Bogaloo was the film to watch,if you hadn't seen this, you didn't know anything.Beat Street as a film in its own right is something of a rare gem and still stands up today, despite a really weak performance from Rae Dawn Chong,the rest of the performances from mostly non or inexperienced actors are raw and real. The plot, such as it is revolves around two brothers, KK a DJ, Lee a dancer and their close friends who are all hustling with the new movement of dance, music and graffiti art to make their marks in the run down impoverished Bronx of New York. Thrown into this story is something of a rather flimsy love plot involving the older brother (Guy Davis) and a dance from the local arts school, where it seems only the rich kids go. What is more interesting is the relationship between talented artist Ramo (John Chardliet, shame he didn't do more acting) and his girlfriend and mother of his young child,(Santiago, excellent in anything she is in) as they struggle to make ends meet while he strains to retain his title of the spray can king. At the time this was made it was seen by many as a fictionalised version of the documentary Wild Style, the films almost go hand in hand. In the latter an artist called 'Cap' always sprayed over everyones work, just for the hell of it. Here someone called 'Spit' does the same, ultimately with Tragic results.The film features the dance groups of the time, Rocky Steady Crew and New City Breakers, as well as Africa Bambata, Doug E Fresh, Grandmater Mel and the Furious Five and others. It is gritty, rough around the edges, but has a charm and is often funny and touching. The ending with the concert and mesh of styles and music of the time is a really rewarding sequence which I have watched many times. Anyone who looks at this film dismissively is really missing the point. It was an attempt to counter point god awful films like Breakdance 1 and 2, to show a more realistic depiction of the types of kids who were involved in this music and culture at the time (Most of them in the film actually were) and though the film enjoyed some success it left many of its participants wondering at the end, what happens now? What indeed? It almost feels as if the film was the last cry of a generation that became fragmented and lost its way just before drug culture impacted so heavily on communities.Beat Street played out of competition at the Cannes festival in 1984, which that year found Paris / Texas scooping up all the awards, but as an impact on youth culture on an international stage that film cannot claim to have even a fraction of the influence that Beat Street did, especially behind the iron curtain where pirate copies were being sold for as much as 100 dollars. Sometimes it feels as if it were criminally overlooked, not least of all, by Cannes. Anyone who doubts its impact only needs to go and look at Art and Hip Hop in France, and you will find many of its influences orginate from this film. It was a voice for a time that many over looked, but those interested in the beginnings of Hip Hop should seek this out. As a statement on musical culture given voice through a drama, in this way, this film has not been equalled.

charlessmith702210 I guess when "Beat Street" made a national appearance, "Flashdance" came at the same time. The problem with "Flashdance" is that there was only one break dancing scene and the rest was jazz dance and ballet. That was one of the reasons why "Beat Street" was better. The only movie that could rival "Beat Street" seems to be "Footloose", because both movies focused on how dance had been used by people to express their utmost feelings.The break-dance scenes in "Beat Street" come just before the middle and at the end of the flick. And I loved all of them. Almost all of the break tricks were featured in the break jam scenes: the jackhammer, the flares, the head spins, the suicide sit, the crazy legs, the mortal, the forward flip, the figure four---almost everything.Like "The Warriors", "Beat Street" does have violence related to the gang life in the hip hop world...but in a much less violent way than the former. The only major fight scene in "Beat Street" was when graffiti artist Ramon (which in the movie was abbreviated as "Ramo") is chased by a rival gang member on the New York City subway tracks.....fighting each other on the third rail and both dying by electrocution on that rail. Well, although that chase scene ended tragically, it was better that they died that way than having blood exploding from a gang gunshot.Most of the gang stuff in the flick was graffiti related to the hip-hop culture, and rap music. A lot of rap music appeared in the flick, because hip-hop members used rap music as a diversion to the negative aspects of gang life. Even the theme song of the movie, which closed the curtain to the flick, was not just an homage to hip-hop culture--it also was an homage to the death of Ramon.By the way, during the dance scene called 'Tango, Tango', I guess the female drummer in the pit orchestra conducted by actress Rae Dawn Chong was Sheila E. making a cameo appearance.

murphyguide Great time-capsule of the Bronx and 'hood in the 1980s, and the b-bop culture/dress/dance. Kids walking the snowy streets, abandoned buildings (sealed with concrete, then broken into), marked-up subway cars...New York as it was then. It's a well put-together, but not "slick", movie, with a good, believable story and characters with some depth. The breakdancing is "real" and pretty thrilling. I taught at Roosevelt High in the Bronx at this time, and this movie catches the scene. Interesting to note how upbeat, pleasant it all was, too, vs. today's more sinist

symixosis Being that I am a true product of the hip-hop and electronic dance music generation, this is without a doubt one of my favorite movies of all time. Beat Street, although not as "authentic" in some respects as Wild Style, is a film that is guaranteed to tug the heart strings of anyone who takes pride in the culture of urban sample/DJ-based music and electro-club culture. Although I will admit that at times the dialogue is somewhat cheesy, you can't help but feel for the characters, and ultimately "wish you were there" for the beginnings of hip-hop culture in New York City in the early eighties. The b-boy battle scene at the Roxy nightclub (a real-life, real-time competition between the legendary Rock Steady Crew and the NYC Breakers) is just as essential to a hip-hop fan's archives as any classic album. Watch some of the breakers' moves in slow-motion if possible to truly appreciate the athletic and stylistic expertise of a seasoned B-boy/B-girl. All praises due to the Zulu Nation!!!