Director’s Family Starts Public Fund to Restore Cult-Classic Hip-Hop Film

The ground-breaking film 'Style Wars' is looking to get revamped. The documentary, often regarded as one of the original hip-hop films, featured world-renowned breakers Rock Steady Crew and followed early '80s street culture in New York City, including legendary New York graffiti writers Dondi, Daze, Seen, Skeme, Min One, Cap, Iz the Wiz, Mare, Duro and many more. 'Style Wars' took home the Grand Prize for Documentaries at the 1983 Sundance Film Festival and quickly became a cult-classic. After years of storage, the film's original negative is in need of repairs, and the family of the film's director Tony Silver, who passed away in 2008, has announced a fundraising drive to restore the film.

"The original footage is damaged and fading," states the classic graffiti/hip-hop film's website. "Public Art Films is currently on a fund-raising mission to restore the original print, and to create a new high definition master which will preserve the record of the first painted trains to its original vivid colors." Public Art Films plans to use digital technology to improve the original footage's "sharpness and clarity and the vibrant colors of the painted trains."

To that end, they have asked fans to donate towards their fund raise goal of $500,000, of which they've raised $2,500, thus far. The restored digital print will be released with bonus outtakes, culled from the 30+ hours of footage in the Academy Film Archives, including more scenes from the B Boy battle between Rock steady and the Dynamic Rockers and interviews with Skeme and his mom, Dez, Kase 2, Seen, Dondi and many others.

For more information, or to donate, click here. Check out a clip from 'Style Wars' after the jump.