It is more fitting than ironic that an impressionistic biopic about the acclaimed neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat would also be written and directed by another painter. For his directorial debut (the first in a line of acclaimed releases including Before Night Falls (2000) and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)), American painter Julien Schnabel would first hit the film scene with a 1996 picture that paid homage to his friend and cultural icon Basquiat. Lead by an excellent Jeffrey Wright (in his first leading role), Basquiat is a film that loosely follows the artist’s rise in the ‘80s art scene, his turbulent romantic relationships, his friendship with Andy Warhol, and his personal battles with fame, drugs, and racism. Refusing to constrict itself to a detailed narrative or be described as a conventional biopic, Basquiat is a film that is as audacious and soulful as the work of its subject. The film begins with the line “no one wants to be part of a generation that ignores another Van Gogh,” a statement said by poet and art critic Rene Ricard (played by Michael Wincott) as Basquiat emerges from a cardboard box behind him, setting forth to pursue his destiny as an art “king.” By making this film, Schnabel achieves in making sure that his friend’s career and spirit are anything but ignored.
Jeffrey Wright as Jean-Michel Basquiat in BASQUIAT. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Jeffrey Wright’s (Ali; Casino Royale) lead performance as the influential, troubled artist is one of vulnerability and wonder. As Basquiat wanders the Manhattan art world of the ‘80s, coming across figures such as art dealer Bruno Bischofberger (Dennis Hopper), art dealer/collector Mary Boone (Parker Posey), and painter Albert Milo (a cinematic surrogate for Schnabel himself, played affectionately by Gary Oldman), he creates his art (ranging from graffiti on buildings to syrup-made paintings on diner tables) with daring wonder and improvised passion. His essence alone represents the power of art and the limitless boundaries art can carry. Basquiat is no less fitting a film for its subject as the film carries no real narrative, it instead takes a lean, impressionistic approach for a subject that is better for it. Schnabel is not interested in the concrete details of Basquiat’s rise to fame nor does he linger too much on the sensationalistic details of his life (his drug use is shown but not used as an emotional crutch, and his famous relationship with Madonna is mentioned as an afterthought). Togging the roles of both storyteller and visual painter, Schnabel does what he should do with helming a film such as this — he creates his canvas based off the strength of feeling rather than the strength of narrative.
L-R: Jeffrey Wright as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Benecio del Toro as Benny Dalmau in BASQUIAT. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
In addition to Wright’s on-point casting, Basquiat boasts an extensive list of other great supporting players including Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction), Benecio del Toro (The Usual Suspects), Claire Forlani (Mallrats), Courtney Love (The People vs. Larry Flynt), and Willem Dafoe (Platoon). Sharing a good amount of screen time with Wright, Forlani delivers an equally great vulnerable performance as Basquiat’s main love interest Gina Cardinale. As she witnesses Basquiat deal with the pressures of fame and his increased drug use, his look of daring wonder magnified on the screen is replaced with her look of regretful concern and painful love. Bowie carries a wonderful deadpan performance of the enigmatic Andy Warhol, expressing the famed artist’s mannerisms to a T. With Wright carrying Basquiat’s presence to a comparable level, he and Bowie work great together on screen, delivering fine chemistry. Walken is another highlight in the cast as a condescending reporter who interviews Basquiat and delivers racist microaggressions in his pointed questions.
David Bowie as Andy Warhol in BASQUIAT. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Julian Schnabel presents a wide, colorful canvas in his fluid 1996 directorial debut. A blue hue enveloping a young Basquiat and his mother walking through a museum as the haunting opening vocals of The Pogues’s “Fairytale of New York” blares through. An unknown Basquiat looking up into the sky and seeing a man surfing on waves in the clouds, paired with a later scene (where his work has started to gain notoriety) where he looks up and sees just a blue sky. Schnabel’s film references many dreams and visions and his direction alone is surreal and dreamlike. The wonderful visual motifs presented here are glorious in Criterion’s Blu-ray 4K digital restoration. This Criterion edition carries two versions of the film, the 1996 colorized version and a 2024 black-and-white version of the film, supervised and approved by Schnabel himself. A polarizing choice, indeed, but one none less surprising coming from an audacious artist such as Schnabel. While the color version is much preferred by myself for its visual motifs, the black-and-white version is also powerful in its own right because it forces the audience to focus on its liberating subject — Basquiat. Wright’s performance is no less dazzling in the black-and-white version and Schnabel’s fluid direction is no less daring. In the supplemental features, there is a great new interview with Jeffrey Wright where he discusses his journey to playing the famed artist as well as his time on set playing with some of his favorite actors (Hopper, Walken, Bowie, etc.) and there is an archived 1996 Charlie Rose episode where Rose interviews Schnabel and Bowie about the film. Rounding it out, there is an essay written by film scholar Roger Durling in the linear notes. For fans of Basquiat’s work, Jeffrey Wright’s work, Julien Schnabel’s films, or for fans of daring art in general, this well-composed Criterion release is a must-have.
Basquiat Blu-ray Special Features:
- *New* 4K digital restoration of the 2024 black-and-white version of the film, supervised and approved by director Julian Schnabel, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Audio commentary featuring Schnabel and writer and curator Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan
- *New* 4K digital restoration of the 1996 theatrical version
- *New* interview with actor Jeffrey Wright
- Interview from 1996 with Schnabel and actor David Bowie
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film scholar Roger Durling
Available on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray from The Criterion Collection on April 29th, 2025.
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