Wild Style - Arrow Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Wild Style is often referred to as a documentary. It’s not quite that. It’s not quite a narrative feature, either. It’s somewhere in between the two, creating its own genre, cobbled together out of the bits and pieces of other films that writer/director/producer Charlie Ahearn admires. This is the perfect platform for a movie about hip hop and graffiti - a kind of film that’s hard to pin down, precisely, as to what it is. All I know is that it works.

The film follows a young graffiti artist named Raymond (real-life graffiti artist Lee Quiñones), who goes by the name “Zoro”. In the film’s opening moments, we see him spraypainting a mural in the likeness of the masked crusader Zorro himself, in a hypnotic sequence, seeing such precision in the line art. Raymond’s movements with the can are like liquid; his arm makes grand gestures as the paint is applied perfectly to the image above.

Raymond is set to be interviewed by a journalist named Virginia (the legendary artist and actor Patti Astor, who was also in Assault of the Killer Bimbos), and he’s afraid of the attention that it might bring him. He may have been involved in some legitimate murals, legally commissioned, but he doesn’t want his picture out in the wild. It runs antithetical to what he wants to accomplish with his art, to have such pointed, direct attention—plus it shines a light on his illegal artwork, too, which he’s not crazy about.

We follow Raymond and his friend Phade (Fab 5 Freddy) through the musical venues of Brooklyn, to the streets where we see the art of the movement on full display. They make music. They make art. They get high. They have sex. They get into trouble. And we get to meet a lot of real-life artists playing versions of themselves, like Sandra Fabara (aka Lady Pink in real life) as Rose “Lady Bug.” We’re witnesses to impromptu freestyle rap sessions and competitive rap battles.

Wild Style features appearances from prominent figures of the day like Grandmaster Flash and Adam Horowitz, along with needle-drops from Busy Bee and Blondie - Blondie’s song “Rapture” was an early hip hop hit. It’s hard to say who benefits most from a film like Wild Style, hip hop’s biggest fans, or people like me, who get a terrific history lesson out of it. I’m a casual hip-hop fan, so going through the soundtrack and special features, I learned a lot about early '80s hip-hop I wasn’t familiar with. While the movie itself is very (and I mean VERY) slow, it’s a tour through the music, style, and fashion of that era of hip-hop, which is a vibe unto itself.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Wild Style receives a two-disc release from Arrow Video in a three-disc release: One 4K UHD Blu-ray, one regular Blu-ray containing special features, plus a CD containing the film’s soundtrack. Also included is a 120-page booklet with essays, stills and artwork, a double-sided poster, a comic book, and stickers. NOTE: Because we were only issued check discs for this review, we only received the 4K disc, and the soundtrack CD, and not the bonus features disc. If we get a retail copy in hand soon, we'll ciricle back and add more thoughts about the extra features. 

Wild Style was originally shot on 16mm film, and for this release, Arrow Video has scanned it in 4K from its original camera negative. 16mm suits the film’s cinéma vérité style, a quasi-documentary that allows us the opportunity to be a fly on the wall as we tour through the music and art of this era. Through its Dolby Vision HDR grading, we get to see the colors of graffiti murals pop gloriously. The clothes and brightly colored fashions of the time look great, too. It’s amazing how great Wild Style looks for a no-budget film shot on 16mm. Night sequences look especially great; the areas beyond the main action, which seem to be lit with a bright spotlight, are a deep-black, inky void.

Viewers only have one audio option: An LPCM mono mix, and it’s great. Wild Style has a very busy sound design, balancing music, dialogue, and the hustle and bustle of the streets of Brooklyn. Everything is levelled perfectly: Music shines in those moments, and it’s crystal clear in realization. Dialogue, during the film’s talky moments, is always prioritized, never losing sight of it over the ambient effects of a train going by or the rush of nearby traffic on the street.

Wild Style comes packed with tons of extras and features, both old and new, including featurettes, interviews and more! Again, because we weren't issued the dedicated bonus features disc for review, all we can do is list the materials at this point. We hope to have a full retail copy at some point soon so we can revisit this area. But, between the two commentaries and the music featurette on the 4K disc, the list of extras on that bonus disc looks impressively exhaustive.

4K Disc

• Audio Commentary - Newly recorded commentary with Jeff "Chairman" Mao and Andrew "Monk One" Mason
• Audio Commentary - Legacy track featuring director Charlie Ahearn and Fred "Fab 5 Freddy" Brathwaite
• Down by Law: Creating the Music of Wild Style (HD 27:22) - New Interview with Charlie Ahearn, Chris Stein and Fred "Fab 5 Freddy" Brathwaite

Blu-ray Disc

• The Origin Story - Interview with Lee Quiñones and Fred "Fab 5 Freddy" Brathwaite
• Studio/Benchmark - Interview with Lee Quiñones
• Archive Footage - Wild Style's 1983 Japanese Tour
• Panel Discussions - Footage from the Wild Style 40 exhibition
• ZDF TV Wild Style 30th Anniversary Featurette
• Rammellzee in the Battle Station Featurette
• Featurettes - From the Wild Style 20th, 25th and 30th anniversary shows
• Smith Projects Gym (1977)
• Archival Featurettes and Interviews - From the players and performers of Wild Style
• Outtakes
• Subway Rap Music Video
• 2025 Restoration and Theatrical Trailers

Soundtrack CD

Movies like Wild Style give such a personal, insightful view into a specific place, during a specific time. The quasi-documentary style allows us to be a casual viewer, watching young people create new art, both in the form of murals and in music. Visually and auditorily, Wild Style is a feast for the senses. Arrow’s release looks and sounds amazing, and is packed with a wealth of special features. Wild Style is Highly Recommended.