Biggie & Tupac (2002)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Great Film overall

A lot of fun.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

In 1996, the music industry was rocked at the news that multi-million selling rapper Tupac Shakur was gunned down in his car after attending an event in Las Vegas, and later died from internal injuries. A year later, another giant in the rap industry, Notorious B.I.G., was also murdered in similar circumstances from a drive-by shooting. To this day, their murders remain two of the most famously unsolved murders in history. Documentary film-maker Nick Broomfield starts his own investigation, and starts asking questions and sticking his nose in where other people dare not, and reveals some alarming truths and circumstances.The most alarming thing about this documentary is not the sight of the intimidating Suge Knight in the climatic prison interview, or the revelations about the sheer incompetence of the police during their investigation and their possible connections to the murders, but the apparent amateurish way that director Nick Broomfield goes about his business. He barges into locations with his microphone and headphones, asks probing questions, and in one scene, actually runs out of sound recording and cuts the interview short. But it actually works in his favour. His seemingly bumbling approach allows his interviewees to feel more at ease and see Broomfield as less of a threat. And working on charm and determination alone, manages to bank an interview with rap mogul Suge Knight after he had already turned down the interview after simply turning up at the prison.The documentary itself is as riveting, fascinating, and surprisingly sad as you would hope. Broomfield gets answers that even the police officer taken off the case for 'asking too many questions' is impressed with. It reveals a glamorous and terrifying world where these multi-millionaire musicians wanting to play gangster got more than they were expecting, and their links with the 'bloods' and 'crips' of the L.A. gangland. It's clear that Broomfield's suspicions lie with Knight, who seems to have a finger in every pie, and is the instigator of the East-West Cast rivalry that seemed to hit its peak in the mid-90's. A quality documentary, and a rather damning insight into the rap industry.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

I saw Nick Broomfield's documentary of 2pac and Biggie after seeing 'Kurt and Courtney'and i loved that and just the whole style of Broomfields movies.Also already being a huge Tupac and Biggie fan anyway i was really exited about this film and i must say i was not disappointed whatsoever.The film is told in such a unique style and was amazing to me the things that Broomfield and us as an audience find out on his journey to find out more about the Biggie/Tupac murders. The people he interviews such as a confined prisoner who was believed to have helped Suge Knight organise the Biggie murder,ex-police officer Russel Poole who was investigating the Biggie murder and the corruption on his own police force surrounding it and even a prison interview with Death Row records producer and friend of Tupac, Suge Knight. The information they all nervously give Broomfield and his crew make it a very astonishing film and one to really listen to.This film should not go missed. 10 out of 10.

Biggie and Tupac is a chronology of Broomfield's complete failure to unearth any interesting material on his subjects, totally overshadowed by his blandiose, wooden narration.I found his attitude and treatment of his subjects to be insufferable, from his attempts at pidgin English (akin to reading Dick and Jane novels aloud) to his unprepared, incompetent interviews (showing up and ambushing people, losing sound files, etc.) Broomfield has a unique talent for getting in the way of the story he is purporting to tell. He was more interested in hearing himself talk, and following his own blundering, as he put up increasing barriers between himself and his subjects.In addition, how does the director expect us to be engaged by the story, when it is clear he has no interest in hearing what people have to say? Ambush journalism fails when you are being aggressive without asking anything of import. He can't ask an interesting question, how can one expect him to spin a compelling narrative?This movie was a pathetic attempt by a director worth ignoring.

Anyone expecting a tawdry,shoddy sleazefest along the lines of "Kurt and Courtney" should be pleasantly surprised here- this is an excellent film.For a start, the conspiracy theory explored here is a far more credible one, and the evidence Broomfield turns up is very convincing in places. One has to wonder how genuine Broomfield's "camera on at all times" approach is, how much was created at the editing stage- he appears to get away with some very transgressive behaviour here on the basis of sheer amateurism, though it is clear the man has balls of iron. he thoughtlessly wanders through some of the worst neighbourhoods in LA and New York- in one classic scene his cameraman deserts him out of sheer fear, leaving him to manage a ludicrous prison interview with despotic Death Row records overlord Suge Knight alone. Irony being lost on Americans for the most part, Broomfield also manages to get away with some outrageous cheek- for instance asking Knight to deliver his "message for the kids" in a tone of smirking condescension.For the heads, there is some great, rare footage on offer- a teenage Biggie ripping up a street corner freestyle battle, hoods dancing on their cars at his funeral, an electrifying Snoop Dog calling out New York at the notorious 95 source awards....plenty in there for the hip hop fan, along with some vintage Biggie and (for some reason) Gang Starr on the soundtrack. Broomfield manages to talk to every major player in the drama, with the notable exception of Afeni Shakur- which also explains the lack of 2Pacs' music on the soundtrack.Despite its grim subject matter, there is much humour on offer here. In short, this is the best "rockumentary" in a very long time, and one that lingers in the mind for some time afterwards.Something of a triumph.