Beat Street (1984)

Beat Street: Directed by Stan Lathan. With Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, Jon Chardiet, Leon W. Grant. An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture.

“Great time-capsule of the Bronx and u0026#39;hood in the 1980s, and the b-bop culture/dress/dance. Kids walking the snowy streets, abandoned buildings (sealed with concrete, then broken into), marked-up subway cars…New York as it was then. Itu0026#39;s a well put-together, but not u0026quot;slicku0026quot;, movie, with a good, believable story and characters with some depth. The breakdancing is u0026quot;realu0026quot; and pretty thrilling. I taught at Roosevelt High in the Bronx at this time, and this movie catches the scene. Interesting to note how upbeat, pleasant it all was, too, vs. todayu0026#39;s more sinist”