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) (as Steve Hager), Andrew Davis (screenplay) (as Andy Davis)

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 | new york city | d.j. | subway | graffiti | 

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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:

The Perfect Beat

Filming Locations:

South Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,218,040, 10 June 1984

Gross USA:

$16,595,791

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sha-Rock, Lisa Lee and Debbie-D, (aka US Girls), who sing their title track - in the first house party scene - also released another single about the breakdancers who played, "The Beat Street Rockers" in the film ... The New York City Breakers

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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

Afrika Bambaataa, Soul Sonic Force: [singing] Now do what you came here to, In order to get ready you gotta get loose, Say! Say what? Everybody say, Say! Say what? Everybody, say, Say! It's a frantic!
Roxy Crowd: It's a frantic!
Afrika Bambaataa, Soul Sonic Force: Situation!
Roxy Crowd: Situation!
Afrika Bambaataa, Soul Sonic Force: Worldwide!
Roxy Crowd: Worldwide!
Afrika Bambaataa, Soul Sonic Force: It's a musical drive.
Roxy Crowd: It's a musical drive.
Afrika Bambaataa, Soul Sonic Force: Ain't masterbation.
Roxy Crowd: Ain't masterbation
[...]

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Alternate Versions

UK theatrical prints were edited by four seconds to obtain a "PG" rating. The 1986 and 2002 video releases were uncut and received a "15" classification, though in 2008 the rating was downgraded to "12," again without cuts.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Breakin' (2016)

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Soundtracks

Us Girls
Composed by Lisa Lee, Sha Rock, Debbie Dee, Ross Levinson
Performed by Us Girls

User Reviews

Masterpiece of 80's nostalgia

Cinematically, this film stinks. So does a lot of the acting. But I

don't care. If there is a strong representation of what the 80's were

like(For a lot of us in the innercity anyways) and what hip-hop, Zulu

nation, and break dancing were really like.Great music, great

dancing! It almost seems like a documentary of a time now past

when hip-hop was a way of life. It's also interesting to see New

York looking like ground zero from a nuclear attack. Some viewers

may be too young to remember that It was a poor, run down city

during the 70's and 80's. This is the best of all the hip-hop/break

dancing movies that came out around that period. Of course the

80's are considered a joke now with all the bad tv shows and

movies, but those of us who lived through it will always remember

it fondly for a time when music, dancing, and graffiti were fresh, yo!