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:

The music and break-dance explosion of the summer!

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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

Vin Diesel admitted on Jimmy Kimmel that he was an extra in the movie.

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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.

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Quotes

Grandmaster Melle Mel: [rappin'] A newspaper burns in the sand, And the headlines say 'Man Destroys Man', Extra extra, read all the bad news, On the war for peace that everybody would lose, The rise and fall, the last great empire, The sound of the whole world caught on fire, The ruthless struggle, the desperate gamble, The game that left the whole world in shambles...

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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

Featured in How Hip Hop Changed the World (2011)

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Soundtracks

Battle Cry
Composed by Arthur Baker
Performed by Rockers Revenge

User Reviews

Great hip hop flick

When released in 1984, Beat Street was one of the best hip hop themed films released at the time. The movie gets a 10 just for combining all of the elements of hip hop which are the mc,dj, graff and b-boy. The soundtrack is one of the best I've ever heard.