Biggie & Tupac

Biggie and Tupac (2002)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Nick Bloomfield is someone you could call a controversial filmmaker because his documentaries are usually attacked by people for a number of reasons. His style is also something that rubs a few people the wrong way and both of those things are on hand here in this documentary that takes a look at the murders of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious BIG. This documentary takes a look at their murders, what connection they might have to each other and what role the LAPD might have played in them.

BIGGIE AND TUPAC isn't done in the sleazy style as the director's KURT AND COURTNEY but it's certainly just as entertaining. It seems that these murders may eventually go down in history as giant mysteries but there's no question that Bloomfield tries to get to the bottom of them. This includes him going into rather bad areas to interview people and his questions are also to the point where he challenges people to answer. Considering how shady some of these people are, when you watch Bloomfield press them you can't help but feel a little tension.

The biggest thing here is that Bloomfield manages to interview Russell Poole, the LAPD Detective who basically accused the department of a major cover up and accused several people of being involved in the murder. He is interviewed here and discusses various bits of information as it applies to the murders. There's no question that his stuff is some of the best here but we also get interviews with several people who knew Tupac as well as Christopher Wallace. Wallace's own mother is also on hand here being interviewed.

BIGGIE AND TUPAC shines a light on many of the conspiracy theories out there so it's interesting to see them discussed and broken down. The documentary is certainly very entertaining and we get a lot of information on not only the murders but also the whole East Coast vs West Coast rap battle that started the whole situation.

If the revolutionary music of rap icons Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and Tupac Shakur was the only thing to discuss about them, there would still be a plethora of documentaries just concerning that subject alone. Not only is their music open to interpretation, analysis, and limitless discussion, but their deaths are also some of the most highly-questionable slayings in the history of the music. Wallace and Shakur have endured a great deal of posthumous popularity, and it's only fair that a documentary like Biggie & Tupac exists, which looks to put their music, their relationship, their upbringings, their success, and, most importantly in this film's case, their deaths under an analytical microscope.

Documentarian Nick Broomfield is a one-man crew with this film, lugging around microphone, which is attached to a lengthy boom, as well as strapping himself of several recorders and mixers in order to capture and record audio, as well as his camera to document all the impromptu interviews he is obtaining with this project. He tirelessly works to interview people who knew Wallace and Shakur personally, as well as their family members, and even those attached to Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records, which were Wallace and Shakur's affiliated record companies, respectively. Broomfield tries to piece together a plausible thesis for who killed the men, which requires illustrating the popular East Coast/West Coast rivalry that took place in the 1990's and shocked the hip-hop/rap world raw, as well as illustrating the numerous South Central Los Angeles gangs such as the Crips, the Bloods, and the Pirus.

We learn that both Wallace and Shakur had incredibly different upbringings from not only each other, but the personas they adopted in their music. For example, Wallace was a well-off young black kid, who grew up on the good side of the neighborhood, as opposed to the bad side. He worked as a bagger in a grocery store for his teenage years, and made solid money doing it, all the while coming home to a loving mother by the name of Voletta Wallace, who he kept close to her until his death. Voletta states that, contrary to his son's lyrics that stated "there wasn't food on the table," "there was not one second where the wasn't food on the table (in my house)." Shakur's lifestyle was violent and unpredictable, with a crack-addicted mother he still lovingly cared for, and an unstable home that changed every few months. However, Shakur had clearly notable talents, which consisted of acting and impersonating to being able to rap tricky verses at impossible speeds. Both traits would lead to his success as a performer and an artist.

Broomfield relies on one key person to formulate his ideas about who killed Wallace and Shakur and that person is ex-LAPD officer Russell Poole, who has analyzed both cases for years and pieces together an interesting theory as to why the killers of the men had to be LAPD officers themselves. For one, Poole states that if the shootings were just basic gang violence, there's no way they'd still be unsolved today; they had to be clearly-orchestrated, well-planned shootings that could only be covered up by people in power. Another theory is that Death Row Records CEO Suge (pronounced "Shug") Knight had ordered Shakur killed because he was looking at other labels and also owed him $10 million in royalties.

Biggie & Tupac makes a compelling case for Knight and the LAPD's involvement in both murders, especially by detailing Knight's known history of manipulating and humiliating artists as well as the frightening aura Knight bears. When this film was made, Knight was serving prison time for probation violation, and even as he walks with a cane in a baby-blue prison jumpsuit, Knight is a frightening presence, not just because of the way he has been built up in this film before the interview is conducted, but just because of the way he seems to bleed authority, with his swagger and thick cigar. Even Broomfield's cameraman can barely keep the camera still when he sees him, fearing for what he may do - and he's in prison, I'll just remind you.

Biggie & Tupac is an intriguing, if admittedly speculative, documentary concerning two of the music industry's most intriguing icons and their untimely and extremely questionable deaths. Broomfield is a fine documentarian, conducting amateur, investigative journalism in a very do-it-yourself manner, which gives the film the idea of citizen action. Throw in an inherently interesting murder mystery about two already charismatic icons and you have a memorable music documentary where the music isn't the most entertaining part.

Directed by: Nick Broomfield.

So I have to place a disclaimer: I probably only watched 30 minutes or so. I loved a lot of the footage, so, I'm sure if someone is a fan of these artists, it's going to be interesting, regardless.

There were several reasons why I shut this film off: 1) Don't do an ambush interview when you're trying to get an honest portrayal of these artists; it was excruciating to watch, and the Biggies mom interview - the camera work is awful, where she's over exposed and has heavy shadows on her face. 2) Talk to these interviewees and don't stick your big microphone in their face.

It just made me feel this director didn't care one bit about the story of these two very important artists. He had all the right people and he ruined it. I'll never watch one of his films again.

My two words to describe this film: excruciatingly painful

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 Documentary on the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls and the East Coast/, hip-hop/rap rivalry that happened in late 1996/1997. It has a very different style, and director Nick Broomfield is a very intrusive and un-forgiving documentarian. His unusual style puts me off of this documentary, and his constant repetitiveness and dull mono-tone voice adds insult to injury. Unlike a lot of documentaries Nick Broomfield is the main star in this documentary, and takes every opportunity to jump in front of the camera, and now and then throws in a rough piece-to-camera, describing what we have already just seen. However, there is some fantastic access, and I believe that Nick made the most of his contacts, and gained some fantastic access. His interviews with Tupac's mother, a very intense and truthful interview is just one of the fantastic moments in this film, as well as an extremely revealing interview with Biggies bodyguard, who reveals who he believes to of killed Biggie. From the amazing dangers taken, you can see that Nick Broomfield has a massive drive to make his documentary as revealing and factual as possible, and this is shown by the highly dangerous locations that they perspire to film in, one being one of the most notorious gun capitals in the east of America, and another being a high security prison. In both circumstances, Nick Broomfield fearlessly and intrepidly gets as much information as he can from local people and inmates, to get the broadest picture on the events as possible.

While all these points are very impressive, you still cannot sway from the mindless boredom that Nick incites. His on screen demine is highly irritating. Another grudge I have for this movie is the lack of time. There is no natural progression between each interview, and the events jump from one to another, rather than unfolding as they actually did.