Beat Street (1984)

An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture.

Director:

Stan Lathan

Writers:

Steven Hager (story), Andrew Davis (screenplay),

Stars:

Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, Jon Chardiet

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Tracy Carlson
Guy Davis	...	Kenny 'Double K' Kirkland
Jon Chardiet	...	Ramon
Leon W. Grant	...	Chollie
Saundra Santiago	...	Carmen Cararro
Robert Taylor	...	Lee Kirkland
Mary Alice	...	Cora (as Mary Alice Smith)
Shawn Elliott	...	Domingo
Jim Borrelli	...	Monte
Dean Elliott	...	Henri
Franc Reyes	...	Luis
Tonya Pinkins	...	Angela
Lee Chamberlin	...	Alicia
Antonia Rey	...	Flora
Duane Jones	...	Robert

Storyline

An upbeat, lets-put-on-a-show musical about the wonders of hip-hop music and culture that tells the story of Kenny, a young hip-hop artist living in the rough slums of the Bronx with his younger brother Lee and their mother Cora. Kenny dreams of making it big as a disc jockey and playing in the most swank of Manhattan nightclubs, the Roxy. Into their lives comes Tracy, a composer and assistant choreographer from the City College of New York, who inspires him to try to continue his dream while romance begins to grow between them, despite coming from different neighborhoods and worlds. Meanwhile, Lee is part of a break-dancing crew set on dominating the scene of their street. The rest of their friends include Ramon, a graffiti artist determined to spread his painting to every subway car in the city while dealing with his girlfriend Carmen and Chollie, a fellow disc jockey who becomes Kenny's manager after he lands him a gig at a Bronx club. Many hip-hop groups, electro artists, break ...

---

Plot Keywords:

hip hop | d.j. | rap | graffiti | new york city | 

---

Taglines:

Get down, brother, shuffle those feet, shake a little boogie to the sound of that beat.

---

Genres:

Drama | Music

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Loucura do Ritmo

Filming Locations:

Fresh Pond Road Train Station, Fresh Pond Road, Ridgewood, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This project was sponsored by Puma. The original soundtrack LPs have the Puma logo printed on them, reading, "Puma as seen in 'Beat Street.'"

---

Goofs

When Lee first starts dancing at the Roxy battle, he has a knee pad on his left knee. As he starts his backspin, it disappears.

---

Quotes

Ramon: [quoting his father] "When are you going to stop writing on the walls and make some money, when are you going to stop tagging the subway cars, when are you going to make your son legitimate... legitimate shit."

---

Connections

References Style Wars (1983)

---

Soundtracks

"Play that Beat"
Performed by G.L.O.B.E. and Whiz Kid
Courtesy of Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records
by arrangement with Warner Special Products
© 1983 Tommy Boy Music Inc.

User Reviews

The best of all the breakdancing films.

Of all the breakdancing / hip-hop films released between 1983 and 1986, the 1984 film Beat Street is unquestionably the best one. The story follows a DJ, his younger breakdancing brother, a graffiti artist and a wanna-be showbiz promoter through one winter in which they try to break out of the ghetto using their "street" talent. The acting isn't always up to par and the characters aren't fully drawn out, but they are more than compensated for by down-to-earth dialogue, a plausible story, fantastic dancing sequences and a timeless hip-hop sound track. It should be noted this film was shot in the birthplace of breakdancing ("This ain't New York, this is the Bronx!"), and features appearances by the fathers of breakdancing, dance troupe Rock Steady Crew and rapper Afrika Bambaata. Rock Steady Crew provide the best scene in the film when they dominate a dance battle at the premiere breakdancing club of the early 80's, the Roxy. A must see for hip-hop lovers.