Downtown '81

Jul 13, 2001

1h 12m

★ 6.7

Overview

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.

Genres

Drama

Comedy

Music

Production Companies

New York Beat Films

Downtown '81 Trailers

Cast

Jean (archive footage)

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean's Narration (voice)

Saul Williams

Beatrice

Anna Shroeder

Fairy Godmother

Debbie Harry

Landlord

Giorgio Giomelsky

Self

Coati Mundi

Peppermint Lounge Dancer

Debi Mazar

Graffiti Artist

George Quinones

Self

Walter Steding

Self - Vocals, Tuxedomoon

Steven Brown

Self

Eszter Balint

Self - Vocals and Guitar, Kid Creole & The Coconuts

Kid Creole

After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.

7.3

The Terminal

Jun 17, 2004

An Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.

7.2

Men in Black

Jul 2, 1997

After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.

6.4

Men in Black II

Jul 3, 2002

Kay and Jay reunite to provide our best, last and only line of defense against a sinister seductress who levels the toughest challenge yet to the MIB's untarnished mission statement – protecting Earth from the scum of the universe. It's been four years since the alien-seeking agents averted an intergalactic disaster of epic proportions. Now it's a race against the clock as Jay must convince Kay – who not only has absolutely no memory of his time spent with the MIB, but is also the only living person left with the expertise to save the galaxy – to reunite with the MIB before the earth submits to ultimate destruction.

7.9

Ben-Hur

Nov 18, 1959

In ancient Judea, a Jewish aristocrat opposing Roman occupation of his homeland reunites with his childhood friend, now a Roman commander — setting in motion a saga of betrayal, adventure, tragedy, revenge, and faith.

4.1

Fuckland

Sep 20, 2000

Fabián, a magician from Buenos Aires, saves his money from weddings, birthdays, and bar mitzvahs, and uses a hidden camera to document a week-long trip to the Falkland Islands where he has a patriotic plan: to impregnate a British woman. If 500 Argies do this annually, the islands will soon be overrun with children belonging to both cultures.

7.4

The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob

Oct 17, 1973

In this riot of frantic disguises and mistaken identities, Victor Pivert, a blustering, bigoted French factory owner, finds himself taken hostage by Slimane, an Arab rebel leader. The two dress up as rabbis as they try to elude not only assasins from Slimane's country, but also the police, who think Pivert is a murderer. Pivert ends up posing as Rabbi Jacob, a beloved figure who's returned to France for his first visit after 30 years in the United States. Adding to the confusion are Pivert's dentist-wife, who thinks her husband is leaving her for another woman, their daughter, who's about to get married, and a Parisian neighborhood filled with people eager to celebrate the return of Rabbi Jacob.

8.5

GoodFellas

Sep 12, 1990

The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.

7.2

The Travelling Players

Jul 1, 1975

A traveling theatre troupe tours the Greek countryside from 1939 to the early 1950s, staging “Golfo the Shepherdess”. As the years pass, its members endure persecution, betrayal, executions, and exile. Their personal stories become entangled with the country’s major historical events, in a seemingly endless cycle of violence and loss.

3.3

Beginner's Luck

Jan 1, 1986

A law student finds himself involved in a menage-a-trois with a free-spirited neighboring couple.

7.8

Life of Brian

Aug 17, 1979

Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.

7.5

Ghostbusters

Jun 8, 1984

After losing their university jobs, three parapsychologists start a ghost-catching business in New York City and uncover a supernatural threat that could destroy the world.

8.2

The Usual Suspects

Jul 19, 1995

Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.

7.4

When Harry Met Sally...

Jul 12, 1989

Sex always gets in the way of friendships between men and women. At least, that's what Harry Burns believes. So when Harry meets Sally Albright and a deep friendship blossoms between them, Harry's determined not to let his attraction to Sally destroy it. But when a night of weakness ends in a morning of panic, can the pair avoid succumbing to Harry's fears by remaining friends and admitting they just might be the perfect match for each other?

5.0

Home

Mar 10, 2005

On a hot summer night in Brooklyn, singles and couples converge in a brownstone apartment to flirt, fight, hook up and break up. A dreamy comedy-drama about sex, love and freedom, "Home" packs a lot of stories into just two floors.

7.7

Annie Hall

Apr 19, 1977

New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.

7.8

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Apr 3, 1975

King Arthur, accompanied by his squire, recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot and Sir Galahad the Pure. On the way, Arthur battles the Black Knight who, despite having had all his limbs chopped off, insists he can still fight. They reach Camelot, but Arthur decides not to enter, as "it is a silly place".