Thirty years ago, of course, New York had a whole different energy.
The opportunity to experience that era again is merely one reason "Wild Style," the 1983 hip-hop verite-drama celebrating its 30th anniversary this week at IFC, is a must-see.
"It was a portrait of people I thought were spearheading a whole new movement that was going on," says "Wild Style" director Charlie Ahearn.
"These guys in the Bronx had developed hip-hop into a language. It was like making a big art movie populated by all these creative individuals."
The film holds a place in history for being the first representation on film of New York's hip-hop scene. In it, a graffiti artist named Raymond (Lee Quinones) who, under the pseudonym "Zoro," traverses the city - especially the South Bronx - spray-paining subway cars (stationary targets are too easy for him).
He avoids the cops, romances a girl (Sandra Fabara) and hits big when he tags the background for a major "underground" rap competition outside an abandoned downtown theater.
Among the famous faces in the film are Fab 5 Freddy, Grandmaster Flash and Busy Bee.
The Lower East Side edifice that's used in the film for the big rap competition was used by Joe Papp for Shakespeare in the Park, says Ahearn.