Tupac: Resurrection (2003)

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.

Director:

Lauren Lazin

Stars:

Tupac Shakur, Rappin' 4-Tay, Conrad Bain

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited 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)
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	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sean Combs	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Puffy Combs)
Chris Connelly	...	Himself (archive footage)
Anthony 'Treach' Criss	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

hip hop | 90s | drugs | ghetto | rap music | 

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Taglines:

In his own words

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Pictures [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

2Pac: Resurrection

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,632,847 (USA) (14 November 2003)

Gross:

$7,707,563 (USA) (19 December 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amaru Entertainment Inc., MTV Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Quotes

Tupac Shakur: What makes me saying 'I don't give a f - -' different than Patrick Henry saying 'Give me liberty or give me death'?

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Connections

References Scarface (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Same Song"
Composed by Shock-G, Tupac Shakur, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins
Performed by Digital Underground

User Reviews

A biased but beautiful documentary about a brilliant mind

One never knows what to expect out of rock films. Going into Tupac: Resurrection, I half expected another mediocre blaxploitation groaner. The other half expected a gushy MTVish drool-fest out to promote the soundtrack artists, including current corporate media darling 50 Cent.

Resurrection is neither. The producer is not some slick Hollywood mogul with no understanding of rap except as a source for making a quick buck. Instead, Afeni Shakur, the late rapper's mother, takes charge. As both executive producer and the dominant force in her son's short life, her personal agenda impacts every frame. Like all documentaries, this is an extremely one-sided account, and it is likely due to her input that the movie downplays the darker aspects of Pac's self-destructive downward spiral after his move to Death Row Records. Nor is the film harsh enough on Tupac's seemingly endless capacity for paranoia and irresponsibility.

Fortunately, she also makes the crucial decision not to dwell on more tired hash-rehash of so called East Coast/West Coast rap war, which the movie clarifies as less of a reality than a media event. Nor does it choose to linger on the numerous rumors and conspiracies surrounding Tupac's murder.

Shakur and director Lauren Lazin wisely decide to let Tupac's voice carry the film. Lazin wisely refrains from using the masterful, propagandistic gimmicks of a Michael Moore documentary. There are no distracting interviews or massively-edited montages. As a result, the movie has a lyrical, sacred tone. History has mystified Pac as a martyr for West Coast gangsta rap, although during his lifetime he only released one such album. Few choose to remember that Death Row was the twilight of his life, that he spent the first half-decade of his career recording in the East where he grew up. It is here that the film takes its cue.

Resurrection lays bare a magnetic, arrogant, charismatic spirit that immediately affirms why Pac remains one of rap's only true megastars. Though the film is not hard enough on how his growing obstinacy may have hastened his demise, it does not shy away from the controversy, the premonitions of death, the sex abuse conviction, and the inflated ego. The result is a well-drawn sketch of man aware of his genius but haunted by demons, a tortured soul navigating a realm more thuggish than he was at his core, a contradiction which plays as a general commentary on rap's manufactured images.

This movie's production value alone easily outclasses nearly every other cinematic work that has ever pretended to be about hip-hop. It bears little resemblance to How High or Belly or to the shameless self-promotion of the vanity project 8 Mile, which was so sanitized as to kill any revelations it might have made about its star Eminem, the most high profile rapper to yet arise. I don't understand how someone could praise 8 Mile for its beauty and honesty (it isn't) and then criticize this film.

By contrast, the sincerity of Resurrection solidifies Pac's reputation as `the only rapper that matters.' It shows why he is peerless and maybe the greatest artist the genre has yet produced: whatever can be said about his music, as an intelligent personality there is simply no one else in his class. He is so much more painfully relevant than all star rappers, and the sharpness of his observations on everything from politics to poverty leaves dust in the eyes of all his contemporaries. He represents a paradigm that has become all-too-rare in a musical form now dominated by cartoon images: a constructive rather than destructive point-of-view.

A ball of contradictions, Tupac is finally much more complex and brilliant than most people would expect. People are uninformed and uninterested in hip-hop probably will get little out of this movie. Those who know will realize that the biggest tragedy is that not that Tupac died before reaching his full potential, but that other young black men with similar sensibilities rarely reach his level of visibility. 9.5/10.