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Basquiat

Basquiat

Drama · History · 1996

The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.

Movie details

Basquiat

“In 1981, a nineteen-year-old unknown graffiti writer took the New York art world by storm. The rest is art history.”

1996 Drama · History 1h 47m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Basquiat?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Julian Schnabel

Written by

Lech Majewski · Julian Schnabel · John F. Bowe

Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey Wright

Jean Michel Basquiat

Michael Wincott

Michael Wincott

Rene Ricard

Benicio del Toro

Benicio del Toro

Benny Dalmau

Claire Forlani

Claire Forlani

Gina Cardinale

David Bowie

David Bowie

Andy Warhol

Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper

Bruno Bischofberger

Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman

Albert Milo

Court is in session

Put Basquiat on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.