Julian Schnabel

Basquiat

Basquiat

Julian Schnabel’s tribute to his friend and fellow painter Jean-Michel Basquiat is less a conventional biopic than an impressionistic, sensory immersion into the much-mythologized downtown-Manhattan art world of the 1980s. Jeffrey Wright, in his first lead film role, stars as the visionary artist whose rise from graffiti tagger to art star forces him to confront the glare of sudden fame, along with racism, his own struggles with addiction, and the difficulties of being self-determining and free in America. Bolstered by an ensemble cast that includes a sublime performance by David Bowie channeling Andy Warhol, Schnabel’s directorial debut—presented here in the filmmaker’s own luminous black-and-white remastering—is a profoundly expressive elegy for a radiant life cut short.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1996
  • 108 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #1260

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration of the 2024 black-and-white version, supervised and approved by director Julian Schnabel, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the 2024 black-and-white version of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • 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

    New cover by Julian Schnabel

Purchase Options

Coming soon, available Apr 29, 2025

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration of the 2024 black-and-white version, supervised and approved by director Julian Schnabel, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the 2024 black-and-white version of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • 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

    New cover by Julian Schnabel
Basquiat
Cast
Jeffrey Wright
Jean-Michel Basquiat
David Bowie
Andy Warhol
Dennis Hopper
Bruno Bischofberger
Gary Oldman
Albert Milo
Michael Wincott
Rene Ricard
Benicio Del Toro
Benny Dalmau
Claire Forlani
Gina Cardinale
Courtney Love
Big Pink
Parker Posey
Mary Boone
Elina Löwensohn
Annina Nosei
Paul Bartel
Henry Geldzahler
Christopher Walken
The interviewer
Credits
Director
Julian Schnabel
Written by
Julian Schnabel
Executive producer
Peter Brant
Executive producer
Joseph Allen
Produced by
Jon Kilik
Produced by
Sigurjon Sighvatsson
Produced by
Randy Ostrow
Director of photography
Ron Fortunato
Editor
Michael Berenbaum
Costume designer
John Dunn
Production designer
Dan Leigh
Based on a story by
Lech J. Majewski