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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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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

It was the producers' idea for the main cast to wear Kangol hats and Puma sneakers all throughout production of the film even though many of the dancers felt that it wasn't authentic.

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Goofs

When Spit tags over Ramo's burner with the Dyer Ave train, you can see the "Sp" in "Spit" from a previous take.

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Quotes

Cora: You better eat your eggs before I break your legs.

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Connections

Featured in Here We Come (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Nothin's Gonna Come Easy"
Composed by Arthur Baker, Chris Lord-Alge and Tina B.
Performed by Tina B.

User Reviews

Bronx Old School

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