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IMDb > Basquiat (1996)
Basquiat
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Basquiat (1996) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   7,375 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Lech Majewski (story) and
John F. Bowe (short story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Basquiat on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
9 August 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
In 1981, A Nineteen-Year-Old Unknown Graffiti Writer Took The New York Art World By Storm. The Rest Is Art History.
Plot:
Basquiat tells the story of the meteoric rise of youthful artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Starting out as a street artist... more | add synopsis
Awards:
2 wins & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
Shame on the critic... more (63 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Build a Fort, Set It on Fire
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MPAA:
Rated R for drug use and strong language.
Runtime:
108 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the film, David Bowie is adorned in the actual wigs worn by the real Andy Warhol. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Basquiat is painting on the floor in his studio, part of the painting in the upper-left hand corner disappears and reappears. more
Quotes:
Basquiat: How long does it take to get famous?
Benny Dalmau: Four years. Six to get rich.
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Movie Connections:
Features New York Beat Movie (1981) more
Soundtrack:
This Is the Last Song I'll Ever Sing more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
14 out of 23 people found the following comment useful.
Shame on the critic..., 16 June 2002
Author: x111b3825 from Nowhereman, Norseland

Why is it whenever a work comes out about an artist of a modern slant, there arrives the masses claiming their dogs might paint better...and how about the simple complaint that "they didn't show us what was going on in his mind..."

Hogwash. Art will always be in the eye of the beholder, and unless you hear it from the horse's mouth, nobody knows what is going on in the head of anyone else. Take a look at Julian Schnabel's most recent work "Before Night Falls," and subject it to the same analysis. The only reason we might know more about Reinaldo Arenas is because he wrote it down...the motives are not always as clear as we might hope to believe we have grasp of...

How about Jackson Pollack? How many of us know that the "Wizard of Oz," an apparently simple, innocent childhood fable, was actually a political statement of the author (and this is from the "horse's mouth")?

Take the film for what it is and don't spend your time looking for the boom mic to peek into shots or read Basquiat's mind and you might find it enjoyable. For the art critics out there, let us not pretend to understand the process unless you are somewhat of an artist yourself, okay. Because you cannot understand the motive does not change the fact it may exist on some other plane than we perceive. Okay, off of my soap box!

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more (63 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Basquiat (1996)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Did anyone else feel sad for Gina? glittery_kiwi
What's that song? TeeWW
why did Basquiat pay for the guys laughing at him? dinokashani
Am looking for Basquiat footage... celieus
Song that no one has asked for eric_koston2
Build a Fort, Set It on Fire? Bixbyfan
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