Downtown 81

Downtown 81
Directed byEdo Bertoglio
Written byGlenn O'Brien
Produced byGlenn O'Brien
StarringJean-Michel Basquiat
Anne Carlisle
CinematographyJohn McNulty
Edited byPamela French
Music byVincent Gallo
Release date
  • October 5, 2000 (2000-10-05)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$108,058

Downtown 81 is a 2000 American film shot in 1980–1981. The film was directed by Edo Bertoglio and written and produced by Glenn O'Brien and Patrick Montgomery, with post-production in 1999-2000 by Glenn O'Brien and Maripol. It is a rare real-life snapshot of an ultra-hip subculture of post-punk era Manhattan. Starring renowned artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and featuring such East Village artists as James Chance, Amos Poe, Walter Steding, Tav Falco and Elliott Murphy, the film is a bizarre elliptical urban fairy tale. In 1999, Michael Zilkha, founder of ZE Records (the label of several of the film's artists), became the film's executive producer.