Comments on: RIP, Tony Silver, director of Style Wars

RIP, Tony Silver, director of Style Wars

YoungAmerican — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:09:51 -0800

Tony Silver, the director of the groundbreaking hip-hop documentary Style Wars passed last night. He was a family friend of mine, and had been sick for several years with a irreversible brain condition. Style Wars is considered by some to be the best hip-hop film ever made, and by everyone to be the first. It was shot at the very start of the 1980s, when graffiti was still hip-hop's dominant form, and the idea of graffiti as art was brand new. I recommend checking out the deluxe DVD edition of the film Tony put together a few years ago after many years where it was only available as an expensive educational-only VHS, but you can also check out the 1hr 10m version on Google Video.

By: grouse

grouse — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:39:16 -0800

Don't link to friends' or family members' sites.

By: Doug

Doug — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:48:54 -0800

Grouse, take it to metatalk, please. YA, I'm sorry for your loss. That was a great film.

By: YoungAmerican

YoungAmerican — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:59:18 -0800

I felt Style Wars was the greatest hip-hop film ever made before I ever knew Tony. His wife is a good friend of my mother's. I mention the family connection only so that folks will know that this is real news, in the absence of a news link.

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:08:34 -0800

I love Style Wars. "That's some never forgive shit!" My condolences to his family.

By: sleepy pete

sleepy pete — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:12:15 -0800

YA, thanks for pointing this out. I'm sorry for his family's (and your family's) loss. That movie is a great documentary of not only the graffiti and burgenoning hip hop scenes, but is also an interesting document of NYC in the early 80s.

By: Demogorgon

Demogorgon — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:39:56 -0800

"Is that art? I don't know, I'm not an art critic. But I can sure as hell tell you that that's a crime." One of my favorite movies of all time. I recommend checking out the sequel for anyone who's a fan of the original. There are a lot of cool interviews with people who were featured in the first Style Wars. I've never seen anything else by Tony Silver, but maybe now I will.

By: goo

goo — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:09:18 -0800

Thanks! I look forward to watching this.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:32:47 -0800

Style Wars is one of my most beloved DVDs. I could watch the train montage for hours on end. RIP Tony Silver.

By: beaucoupkevin

beaucoupkevin — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:52:48 -0800

I know what I'll be watching tonight. RIP, Tony.

By: Fupped Duck

Fupped Duck — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:06:33 -0800

Never saw it before, and having watched just the first 20 minutes now, its taking me back to the NYC I knew and loved, and miss quite a bit in these times. Thanks for the link. Private to grouse: whats in a name?

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:19:55 -0800

I loved Style Wars. I think about it quite a lot. It's a great movie. RIP.

By: cashman

cashman — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:42:21 -0800

By: humannaire

humannaire — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:43:52 -0800

Terrible news, great film, and sorry about the loss. But the fpp is still bloggy newsfilter. Anyhow... .

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 22:34:30 -0800

That looks really good. Thanks for posting it, and sorry for your loss.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:00:38 -0800

It's also on Folkstreams (via deleted post from Miko). Great movie (and *awesome* site I missed the first time it was posted).