Tupac: Resurrection (2003)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Lauren Lazin

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Tagline:

In his own words

Plot:

Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time. |

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Tupac Shakur	...	Himself (archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rappin' 4-Tay	...	Himself (archive footage)
Conrad Bain	...	(archive footage)
Bill Bellamy	...	Himself (archive footage)
William J. Bennett	...	Himself (archive footage)
The Notorious B.I.G.	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Biggie Smalls)
Todd Bridges	...	(archive footage)
Pat Buchanan	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Cagney	...	(archive footage)
Connie Chung	...	Herself (archive footage)
Eldridge Cleaver	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kathleen Cleaver	...	Herself (archive footage)
Gary Coleman	...	(archive footage)
Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Puffy Combs)
Chris Connelly	...	Himself (archive footage)
Anthony 'Treach' Criss	...	Himself (archive footage)
Peter Criss	...	Himself (archive footage)
Nancy Davis	...	Herself (archive footage)
Snoop Dogg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bob Dole	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dr. Dre	...	Himself (archive footage)
Doctor Dré	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eazy-E	...	Himself (archive footage)
Omar Epps	...	(archive footage)
Faith Evans	...	Herself (archive footage)
Fab 5 Freddy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ace Frehley	...	Himself (archive footage)
Yafeu Fula	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ed Gordon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jasmine Guy	...	Herself (archive footage)
Arsenio Hall	...	Himself (archive footage)
Fred Hampton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins	...	(archive footage)
Albert Hughes	...	Himself (archive footage)
Allen Hughes	...	Himself (archive footage)
Humpty Hump	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Shock G)
Ice-T	...	Himself (archive footage)
Janet Jackson	...	(archive footage)
Jesse Jackson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Johnny J	...	Himself (archive footage)
Khalil Kain	...	(archive footage)
Sardar Khan	...	Himself / Candyman 187 (archive footage)
Regina King	...	(archive footage)
Rodney King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Marion 'Suge' Knight	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kurupt	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kurt Loder	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes	...	Herself (archive footage)
Ed Lover	...	Himself (archive footage)
Harold McCoo	...	Himself (archive footage)
Money-B	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Norris	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	(archive footage)
Dan Quayle	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Vice President Dan Quayle)
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Simon Rex	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tim Roth	...	Himself (archive footage)
Afeni Shakur	...	Herself (archive footage)
Al Sharpton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gene Simmons	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Singleton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gene Siskel	...	Himself (archive footage)
Will Smith	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tabitha Soren	...	Herself (archive footage)
Paul Stanley	...	Himself (archive footage)
C. Delores Tucker	...	Herself (archive footage)
Voletta Wallace	...	Herself (archive footage)
Dionne Warwick	...	Herself (archive footage)
Marlon Wayans	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chris Webber	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bokeem Woodbine	...	(archive footage)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and images of drugs, violence and sex.

Runtime:

USA:112 min | Argentina:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Amaru Entertainment Inc.

Trivia:

Eminem produced three songs for the film's soundtrack free of charge as a sign of respect to Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Boondocks: The Story of Gangstalicious (#1.6)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Vincent

Fascinating and tragic (***1/2)

There is no doubt that Tupac Shakur is one of the most intriguing, fascinating personalities in pop music history. He is made up of a seemingly endless list of contradictions: ruffian / nice guy, obnoxiously arrogant / sweetly humble, hedonist / activist, "gangsta" / poet. And most interesting is that none of these "sides" of him seem at all false. He really is that complicated.

Being a fan of his, especially his acting, ("GRIDLOCK'd" is one of my favorite movies) I choose to remember the admirable parts of his personality more often, but I know that he was no angel, and I'm glad that "Tupac: Resurrection" doesn't try to paint him as a hero.

Made very much in the style of last year's great documentary "The Kid Stays In The Picture" (so much so that I was surprised there is no connection), it combines seamlessly edited footage, photos that "float" around to look 3-dimensional, well-chosen music, and fluid narration to create a dreamlike and slightly eerie portrait of one person's lifetime in his own words.

Unlike "The Kid Stays In The Picture", though, in "Tupac: Resurrection" the narrator telling his life story is dead.

Tupac is the one and only narrator of this film (through an edited collection of insightful interviews), and it's a distinctly poignant and eerie experience to hear it, almost like he is, "Sunset Boulevard"-style, telling you his story from beyond the grave. Adding to the "Sunset Boulevard" feeling is that the story starts in Las Vegas where he was killed, and then rewinds to the beginning of his life. But sadly, you know it's eventually going to end up in Las Vegas again.

This is an extremely well done, gripping documentary that I highly recommend even to people who don't care for rap music. Tupac's life story is a true American tragedy, and anyone can learn from those.