Legendary New York graffiti artist Lee Quinones plays the part of Zoro, the city's hottest and most elusive graffiti writer. The actual story of the movie concerns the tension between Zoro's passion for his art and his personal life, particularly his strained relationship with fellow artist Rose.
Wild Style is just as important a New York City musical as On the Town, so vital and exuberant are its scenes of a burgeoning cultural moment.
– Melissa Anderson,
Time Out New York,
12 Nov 2008
fresh:
Charlie Ahearn's groundbreaking film about hip-hop, graffiti, break dancing, and rap in eighties New York celebrates its 25th anniversary with a new 35-mm. print.
– Sara Cardace,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
10 Nov 2008
fresh:
Mixing early-'80s nostalgia with mild social anthropology, the film successfully crystallises the optimism and vivacity of the early New York hip hop scene and suggests that film and TV portrayals of the Bronx as a savage and inhospitable hellhole were pe
– David Jenkins,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
Wild Style lacks a lot of the style of the people in it, but it never neutralizes their vitality.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
30 Aug 2004
fresh:
Hip-hop rolls on tractor treads now, unafraid to colonize those who hesitate, but in 1982 it was small, self-selecting, and as specific to New York as the World Trade Center.