Downtown 81Movie Reviews

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Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 90
    L.A. Weekly | Ernest Hardy

    Poignant, funny, and proof of Basquiat's magic. Read full review

  • 80
    Variety |

    Extraordinary real-life snapshot of hip, arty, clubland Manhattan in the post-punk era. Read full review

  • 70
    Village Voice | J. Hoberman

    Doesn't dawdle and, despite some eye-rolling dialogue, is a generally amiable time-trip. Read full review

  • 58
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Sean Axmaker

    Makes a great time capsule, a shot-on-the-streets glimpse into the texture of a bygone time, place and attitude, but a listless, lightweight odyssey. Read full review

  • 58
    Portland Oregonian | Kim Morgan

    Although amateurish, often poorly acted and containing dialogue and narration that comes off as pretentious and embarrassing, it's worth watching for the environment it envelops you in. Read full review

  • 50
    TV Guide | Ken Fox

    As a piece of cinematic art, this meandering, shambolic film isn't much to speak of, but as a time capsule, it's priceless. Read full review

  • 50
    Christian Science Monitor | David Sterritt

    Its main value is the prolonged look it gives of the late artist Basquiat. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | Dave Kehr

    It's as a documentary that Downtown 81 is most successful, particularly at those moments when the somewhat unfocused filmmaking allows us to look past the foreground characters and catch glimpses of a vanished cityscape. Read full review

  • 38
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    Alternates between being amusingly pretentious and studiously dull. Read full review

  • 38
    New York Post | Jonathan Foreman

    Amateurish in the extreme, the film is a feast of bohemian cliché, bad writing and worse acting. Read full review

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