A Blu-ray reissue of the iconic 1983 documentary Style Wars was released for the first time earlier this week. In addition to original footage documenting the early ‘80s graffiti scene, the reissue features nearly an hour of previously unreleased outtakes and behind-the-scenes clips of the film’s original editing process.
Photographer and videographer Henry Chalfant took to Kickstarter to fund the Hi-Def reissue last October in hopes of releasing the latest version in time for the original film’s 30th anniversary earlier this year. Chalfant’s production partner and Style Wars director Tony Silver passed away in 2008 from a brain tumor.
Explaining early ambitions for an HD version of the film to Rolling Stone, Chalfant recently detailed difficulties with the restoration process.
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“About 10 years ago, [director] Tony Silver and I had a dream to make an HD version of Style Wars from the original 16 mm negative,” Chalfant said. “Sadly, the negative had deteriorated over the years and required extensive restoration. But with the help of generous fans of the film we have finally achieved our dream; we’ve been able to make a 2k transfer and carry out the restoration digitally.”
The new reissue is available to preorder through the MVD Entertainment Group and also features an extended version of a break dance battle between The Rocksteady Crew and the Dynamic Rockers that appeared in the original film. Watch the newly released B-Boy showcase and and a trailer for the new Blu-ray version below.
Style Wars: Breaking Clip from Henry Chalfant on Vimeo.
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