''Downtown 81'' is a 2000 American film that was shot in 1980-1981. The film was directed by Edo Bertoglio and written and produced by Glenn O'Brien and Patrick Montgomery, with post-production in 1999-2000 by Glenn O'Brien and Maripol. It is a rare real-life snapshot of an ultra-hip subculture of post-punk era

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. Starring renowned artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and featuring such East Village artists as James Chance, Amos Poe, Walter Steding, Tav Falco and Elliott Murphy, the film is a bizarre elliptical urban fairy tale. In 1999, Michael Zilkha, founder of

ZE Records ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003. History Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a British-born Oxford graduate of Iraqi descent, the ...

(the label of several of the film's artists), became the film's executive producer.

Synopsis

The film opens with Jean (Basquiat) in the hospital with an undisclosed ailment. After checking out, he happens upon an enigmatic woman, Beatrice (Anna Schroeder), who drives around in a convertible. He arrives at his apartment only to discover that his landlord, played by former Yardbirds manager

Giorgio Gomelsky Giorgio Sergio Alessando Gomelsky (28 February 1934 – 13 January 2016) was a filmmaker, impresario, music manager, songwriter (as Oscar Rasputin) and record producer. He was born in Georgia, grew up in Switzerland, and later lived in the Un ...

, is evicting him. Later, while trying to sell his art work, he encounters many downtown New York characters, from musician

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation ''No New York''. In ...

and his band DNA to David McDermott to graffiti artists Lee Quiñones and

Fab Five Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown ...

. Jean eventually does manage to sell some of his art work to a rich middle-aged woman who is interested in more than just his art, but she pays with a check. As the film progresses, he wanders the streets of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, looking for Beatrice. He catches performances by Kid Creole and the Coconuts and James White and the Blacks. Finally he happens upon a bag lady (

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

) who turns into a princess when he kisses her. As a reward, she gives him a stack of cash.

Parallels to real life

Writer and Producer O'Brien had a popular music column "Glenn O'Brien's Beat" in ''Interview'' magazine and created the film to showcase the bands that he had been writing about. The film was initially titled ''New York Beat'', referencing the music. The story was created to string together the live performances, shot on the RCA 24-track mobile recording unit, the best live recording technology at the time. O'Brien, who knew Basquiat from his '' TV Party'' program and the Mudd Club, cast then-unknown Basquiat in the film, and said of the movie: "The film is an exaggerated version of life," he said. Jean-Michel Basquiat was homeless at the time of the movie and slept in the production office during most of the shooting. "The production bought Jean his first real art supplies and gave him his first real studio, which he lived in," said Gina Nanni, widow of O'Brien. "All of the books that talk about rt dealer Annina Nosei giving Jean-Michel his first studio, that wasn't actually true. The film production gave him his first studio, and the first paintings that he made were the paintings that you saw him carrying around in the film."Eric Fretz.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: A Biography
''. Greenwood Press, 2010. Debbie Harry (who plays the fairy princess who gives him money), and her boyfriend

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film ''Wild Style'', and writer ...

, both of the band Blondie, bought a painting of Basquiat’s for $200 after the end of shooting.

Production

''New York Beat'' was shot over December 1980 and January 1981. The film was funded by

Rizzoli Rizzoli is an Italian surname. People *Achilles Rizzoli (1896–1981), an American artist *Angelo Rizzoli (1889–1970), an Italian publisher ** RCS MediaGroup, formerly "A. Rizzoli & C." and "Rizzoli Editore", a publishing company founded by Angel ...

, but the movie was abandoned in the mid-'80s due to financial problems. Producer O'Brien resurrected the film after acquiring the rights in 1999 (over a decade after Basquiat's death). It was released in 2000 as ''Downtown 81'' at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. The dialogue audio for the film was lost, so actor

Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film '' Slam ...

dubbed the late Basquiat's voice. However, the musical soundtrack, mostly live club performances recorded on location using an RCA 24-track mobile unit, survived.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features music by: Jean-Michel Basquiat with Andy Hernandez; Basquiat's own band, Gray;

John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and ''Down by Law''; has composed a ...

and the Lounge Lizards, DNA, Tuxedomoon, the Plastics, Marvin Pontiac,

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

, the Specials,

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furio ...

with Blondie, Liquid Liquid, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, James White and the Blacks, Vincent Gallo,

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

, Steve French and

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

. Many of the recordings were of live performances, but DNA and Tuxedomoon were recorded in the studio for the soundtrack.

Reviews

After it premiered as "Downtown '81" at the 2000

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

, reviews were mostly favorable. ''Variety'' called it “an extraordinary real-life snapshot of hip, arty, clubland Manhattan in the post-punk era.” A rare movie review in ''Artforum'' said, "Basquiat is a joy to watch. He floats through the movie with cool grace and unflagging energy; he's a natural in front of the lens..."Mike McGonigal.
Same Ol' Samo
"

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

, Summer 2000. British art critic Adrian Searle wrote that "''Downtown 81'' captures that New York moment when punk, emerging rap, art school cool and the East Village art and music scenes were at their creative best.”Adrian Searle
“Downtown 81”

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

, August 2000. While the main appeal of the film seems to have been the art and music, some commentators also appreciated giving the modern viewer a peek at the decimated

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

of 1980, saying "the real star of the film is the gritty milieu of a New York long gone", and that "''New York Beat''...conveys the vast gulf between Manhattan’s rich and the forgotten corners of the city, and the marginal existence of the artistic underground who tried to survive in between these worlds."

References

External links

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''Downtown 81''
full movie o
archive.org
{{Jean-Michel Basquiat Films set in New York City American independent films 2000 films 1981 films Jean-Michel Basquiat 2000s English-language films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 2000s American films