Downtown '81
The film is a day in the life of a young artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, who needs to raise money to reclaim the apartment from which he has been evicted. He wanders the downtown streets carrying a painting he hopes to sell, encountering friends, whose lives (and performances) we peek into.
Your rating
Your review
Cast
27 people
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean (archive footage)
Also in
A Conversation with Basquiat
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
Saul Williams
Jean's Narration (voice)
Known for
K-PAX
Sinners
Anna Shroeder
Beatrice
Debbie Harry
Fairy Godmother
Known for
Videodrome
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
Giorgio Giomelsky
Landlord
Coati Mundi
Self
Known for
Who's That Girl
Sid and Nancy
Vincent Gallo
Himself
Known for
Buffalo '66
The Brown Bunny
Debi Mazar
Peppermint Lounge Dancer
Known for
KAOS
Entourage
George Quinones
Graffiti Artist
Walter Steding
Self
Also in
Blank Generation
Steven Brown
Self - Vocals, Tuxedomoon
Also in
Fuck Your Dreams, This is Heaven
Ghost Sonata
Eszter Balint
Self
Known for
Stranger Than Paradise
The Dead Don't Die
Edo Bertoglio Director · Glenn O'Brien Writer Vincent Gallo Composer
United States release July 13, 2001 · Produced in United States · Languages Chinese, English, Japanese, Spanish
Production
New York Beat Films
Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
Chinese · English · Japanese · Spanish
Release dates
Hungary · October 5, 2000
Premiere · Titanic International Filmpresence Festival
United States · July 13, 2001
Limited theatrical
Brazil
February 7, 2003 · Theatrical · São Paulo
If you liked Downtown '81
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.