The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.
Acting
Jeffrey Wright's star-making, barely-contained hurricane of a performance.
Direction
Schnabel actually knew these people and it shows in every frame.
Costume
Armani suits over paint-splattered everything. Peak 80s excess.
Director
Julian Schnabel
Jeffrey Wright
Jean Michel Basquiat
Michael Wincott
Rene Ricard
Benicio del Toro
Benny Dalmau
Claire Forlani
Gina Cardinale
David Bowie
Andy Warhol
Dennis Hopper
Bruno Bischofberger
Gary Oldman
Albert Milo
Christopher Walken
The Interviewer
Willem Dafoe
The Electrician
Jean-Claude La Marre
Shenge
Parker Posey
Mary Boone
Elina Löwensohn
Annina Nosei
Paul Bartel
Henry Geldzahler
Courtney Love
Big Pink
Tatum O'Neal
Cynthia Kruger
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Julian Schnabel was already a famous neo-expressionist painter when he directed this—he literally painted on the film itself for certain transitions.
The real Rene Ricard, played by Michael Wincott, was the critic who first named Basquiat 'the Radiant Child'—a phrase that became the title of the definitive documentary about him.
US
