The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 3 nominations
- Shenge
- (as Jean Claude LaMarre)
- Tom Kruger
- (as Chuck Pfeifer)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat refused to allow his works to be used, so the director, Julian Schnabel, personally painted the reproductions which are used throughout the film.
- GoofsAs Basquiat walks with Gina for the first time, a woman is seen behind them walking a dog on a retractable leash. Retractable leashes were not available in 1981.
- Quotes
Rene: What is it about art anyway that we give it so much importance? Artists are respected by the poor because what they do is an honest way to get out of the slum using one's sheer self as the medium. The money earned, proof, pure and simple, of the value of that individual, the artist. The picture a mother's son does in jail hangs on her wall as proof that beauty is possible even in the most wretched. And this is a much different idea than fancier notion that art is a scam and a ripoff. But you can never explain to someone who uses God's gift to enslave, that you have used God's gift to be free.
- Crazy creditsAt the very end of the credits, a short clip showing a surfer riding on a wave is displayed. It's very similar to the surfing/wave shots that Basquiat keeps seeing whenever he looks up to the sky during the movie, but it's in full color instead of being blue-tinted.
- SoundtracksFairytale of New York
Performed by The Pogues
Written by Shane MacGowan and Jem Finer (as Jim Finer)
Published by Perfect Songs/MacGowan Music/SPZ Music, Inc.
Courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Born into a middle-class family in New York to parents of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, we first meet a 20 year-old Basquiat, played by Jeffrey Wright, living in a cardboard box. Already a cult figure in the city thanks to his spray-painted poetry under the guise of 'SAMO', a chance encounter with Andy Warhol (David Bowie) and art dealer Bruno Bischofberger (Dennis Hopper) propels him to the front-and-centre of the art scene. Basquiat is charming and charismatic, but also detached and inwardly focused. While this may compliment his art, he remains a mystery to his girlfriend Gina (Claire Forlani) and becomes clinically depressed when an article dubs him Warhol's 'mascot'. Wright gets all the mannerisms and facial expressions spot on, but he also bring a deep soulfulness to what is a terrific, career-making performance.
Peppered with a massive supporting cast that also includes Benicio Del Toro, Michael Wincott, Parker Posey, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Walken, Tatum O'Neal and Courtney Love, Basquiat seems frequently distracted and never really goes deep enough to unravel the thought processes of the enigmatic artist. There are moments of undeniable beauty - Basquiat dreams of moving to Hawaii and imagines the New York skyline as a surfer catching a wave - and there is a building air of tragedy as he begins his inevitable decline into isolation and drug addiction, but the film follows the familiar biopic formula to a tee. See it for the wonderful sense of time and place, and a truly astonishing performance from Wright.
- tomgillespie2002
- Sep 24, 2016
- How long is Basquiat?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,300,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,011,195
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $83,863
- Aug 11, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $3,011,195
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1