Beat Street (1984)

Beat Street is an American dramatic musical film directed by Stan Lathan and written by Andrew Davis, David Gilbert, and Paul Golding. The film features a talented cast including Guy Davis, Rae Dawn Chong, Saundra Santiago, Doug E. Fresh, Mary Alice, Shawn Elliott, and the late Duane Jones, known for his role in Night of the Living Dead. Orion Pictures released this film on June 8th, 1984, five months after Breakin' had been released.

The Beat Street Crew looks to put their mark on the South Bronx, and they won't let anything stop them. Ramo is into tagging and is always chasing an elusive, brand-new, all-white subway car. His friend, Lee, wants to make his mark on New York City's breakdancing culture and has been tearing up the floor at local nightclubs. His older brother, Kenny, wants to be a world-famous DJ. This crew has the passion, the skills, and the drive to work hard for what they want.

Beat Street is an awesome look at New York City's hip-hop culture of the 1980s. A perfect call and response to the more cartoonish musical dance films that had come before it, Beat Street is a fuller film about Breakin’ or its sequel. And it has a deeper message. Breakin' was set on the West Coast in Los Angeles and featured a lot of the hip-hop and breakdancing prevalent at the time. However, Beat Street is a star-studded love letter to East Coast hip-hop culture. It's definitely what Roger Ebert was talking about when he said that Breakin' was opening the door for bigger-budget breakdancing movies in the future.

Keeping in tradition with the rest of the movies that I watched for Breakdancing week, Beat Street offered an amazing soundtrack curated and composed by Harry Belafonte Jr. and others. Belafonte's signature Calypso tunes are definitely there, meshing with traditional breakdance beats to create unique sounds and vibes. Many of the songs have that infectious Miami Sound Machine-type sound. Melle Mel, Afrika Bambaataa, Treacherous Three, Doug E. Fresh—these are just a few of the names who appear in the movie. We're definitely going to have a lot of songs to add to the Spotify playlist.

Rae Dawn Chong was fantastic. She's got this energy that just doesn't quit. Guy Davis is cool personified. Robert Taylor is a great dancer and he really makes Lee's character iconic. And those actors were so good in those roles. But they just didn't carry the same weight as the know-it-all, street-smart Graffiti artist Ramo.

John Chardiet's Ramo turned in a killer performance that stole the show for me. He reminded me a lot of Matt Dillon’s character in The Flamingo Kid. Ramo is at that stage in his life where he's becoming a man who understands that he wants his art to be what defines him. His unapproving father, played by Shawn Elliot, just wants him to be a good person and make something of himself. Of course, he misunderstands his son and doesn't identify with Graffiti Art. But towards the end of the picture, his father gets to see some of Ramo's work and he understands. It’s the deepest part of the film and the best.

While the story may not be the strongest, it boasts amazing character development and captures an energy that is almost unmatched. Unfortunately, it doesn't receive the recognition it deserves. There are deeper and more intimate tales that will come out this year, but Beat Street might be one of the best dance/musical films of the year. It feels so real compared to Electric Boogaloo. After watching the movie, a line rang through my mind, “If Art is a Crime, May God Forgive Me.” This was a solid three-and-a-half-star film, but the character work here just puts it over the edge to four stars.