Underplayed Gems

Basquiat (1996)

Basquiat poster
Directed by
Julian Schnabel
Genre
drama film, independent film, biographical film, LGBTQ-related film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 42m
Rated
R
Rating
6.6 of 10 from 316 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This biographical drama follows the rise of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat from a graffiti tagger in Brooklyn to a celebrated figure in the New York art scene. The story shows his friendships with fellow artists like Andy Warhol and his struggle with fame and personal demons.

rawintimateoffbeatreflectivemelancholicexperimentalcharacter-drivenunderstated

What happens

Basquiat is a 1996 American biographical drama film directed, written and co-scored by Julian Schnabel in his feature directorial debut. The film is based on the life of American postmodernist/neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. It is the first film about an American painter written and directed by another painter. Jeffrey Wright portrays Basquiat, a Brooklyn-born artist who used his graffiti roots as a foundation to create collage-style paintings on canvas. David Bowie plays Basquiat's friend and mentor, pop artist Andy Warhol. Additional cast members include Gary Oldman as a character based on Schnabel, Michael Wincott as the poet and art critic Rene Ricard, Dennis Hopper as Bruno Bischofberger, Parker Posey as gallery owner Mary Boone, and Claire Forlani, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, Courtney Love, Tatum O'Neal, and Benicio del Toro in supporting roles as "composite characters". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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