Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide

Released Jun 25, 2021

1h 17m

Documentary

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Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide was made over 11 years and features interviews and rare archival footage with Kenny Scharf, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper, Yoko Ono, Kaws, Marilyn Minter, and Jeffrey Deitch. The documentary shows Scharf's New York City arrival in the early 1980s where he quickly befriended Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. This trio, amongst the fervent creative bustle of a depressed downtown scene, would soon take the art world by storm. While Basquiat and Haring both died tragically young, Scharf lived through cataclysmic shifts in New York City and the art world. Despite setbacks along the way, Scharf continues to follow his particular high-tone, technicolor artistic vision while growing public and critical appreciation for his earlier work has cemented his place as a pop art icon.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Made with spirit and affection, the film frames Scharf's prodigious output and energy... as a triumph of having nourished an artistic soul rather than carefully modulating an artistic career.

Jul 15, 2021

Full Review

Glenn Kenny

New York Times

Makes a considered and not entirely uncritical case for Scharf's relevance.

Jun 24, 2021

Full Review

Kathy Fennessy

Video Librarian Magazine

Though the co-directors depict a considerably longer life and career, their documentary ends up feeling shallow and surface-level by comparison. A strong optional selection.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 17, 2021

Full Review

Pat Padua

Spectrum Culture

This colorful documentary portrait of an artist is ultimately a touching portrait of a father - and a story of growing up.

Rated: 78/100

Jul 29, 2021

Full Review

Robert Denerstein

Denerstein Unleashed

Scharf kept working and following his own path. He's still at it and still committed to the notion that to be meaningful art needn't be stripped of either playfulness or (heaven forbid) fun.

Jun 29, 2021

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

One hopes this documentary, directed by his daughter Maria with Max Basch, will trigger renewed appreciation for the complexity and remarkable technique that people failed to appreciate in his imagery the first time around.

Jun 28, 2021

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Torin F

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE is a colorful, rich and engaging portrait, with Kenny Scharf as its subject, that is just as much about the periods in which he's worked (especially 1980s New York), as well as a study of the human artistic impulse and the struggles and rewards of an artful life lived outside or beyond fixed categories and expectations (of normative behavior, perception, sexuality, expression, etc.) that is simultaneously inspiring and perhaps unenviable.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

Full Review

dave d

A remarkably average film, for a remarkably unique individual. Dennis Hopper shows up as a talking head and he looks remarkably healthy considering he's been dead for 11 years. How long was this footage archived. Little explanation is given as to why Kenny Scharf deserves a movie other than him being a rebel who's misunderstood. He certainly deserves a biopic, but one that delves deeper into that fascinating brain of an artist who is brilliant! Final Score: 5/10

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Malia Scharf

Director

Max Basch

Director

Kenny Scharf

Self

Jean Michel Basquiat

Actor

Irving Blum

Actor

Jeffrey Deitch

Actor

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Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide was made over 11 years and features interviews and rare archival footage with Kenny Scharf, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper, Yoko Ono, Kaws, Marilyn Minter, and Jeffrey Deitch. The documentary shows Scharf's New York City arrival in the early 1980s where he quickly befriended Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. This trio, amongst the fervent creative bustle of a depressed downtown scene, would soon take the art world by storm. While Basquiat and Haring both died tragically young, Scharf lived through cataclysmic shifts in New York City and the art world. Despite setbacks along the way, Scharf continues to follow his particular high-tone, technicolor artistic vision while growing public and critical appreciation for his earlier work has cemented his place as a pop art icon.

Director: Malia Scharf, Max Basch
Producer: Anne Acheson, David Beal, Ryan Brooks, Giancarlo Canavesio
Screenwriter: Max Basch, Malia Scharf
Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co: Mangusta Productions, Curatorial, Maliable Films, Green Hummingbird Entertainment, Octopus Originals
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 25, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 25, 2021
Runtime: 1h 17m

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