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Notorious
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Notorious (2009) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 51 | slideshow) Videos (see all 30)
Notorious (2009) -- Jamal Woolard stars in the chronicle of rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s life.
Notorious (2009) -- Clip: Our minute is up
Notorious (2009) -- Interview: Jamal Woolard "On portraying Christopher Wallace"
Notorious (2009) -- This is the teaser trailer for Notorious, the Biggie Smalls biopic directed by George Tillman Jr.
Notorious (2009) -- This is some behind-the-scenes footage from Notorious, the Notorious B.I.G. biopic directed by George Tillman Jr.

Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   8,123 votes
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Up 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Reggie Rock Bythewood (written by) and
Cheo Hodari Coker (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Notorious on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 January 2009 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
No dream is too big more
Plot:
The life and death story of Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Reviews:
An interesting story more (77 total)

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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Untitled Notorious B.I.G. Project (USA) (working title)
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MPAA:
Rated R for pervasive language, some strong sexuality including dialogue, nudity, and for drug content.
Runtime:
122 min | 128 min (unrated director's cut)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Jamal Woolard heavily prepared for his role for months, which includes listening and remembering the lyrics to all songs by Biggie, gaining weight and vocal lessons at Juilliard School to get the voice right. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: During the scene where Biggie walks across the street to sell crack to Sandy there is a 2008-2009 Ford E150 or E250 Van in the street, yet Biggie died in 1997. more
Quotes:
Voletta Wallace: What kind of grown-ass man calls himself "Puffy?" more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

What are the differences between the theatrical version (R-Rated) and the unrated version later released on dvd?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
When is Notorious coming to DVD?
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7 out of 10 people found the following review useful.
An interesting story, 9 April 2009
6/10
Author: Taf123 from Longreach

I watched this movie with great expectation. Besides the hype surrounding it, for someone who embraced hip hop for many years being influenced by the like of Biggie Smalls, Nas & Tupac to mention a few, it only made sense for me to want to watch this movie.

From the beginning i could not seem to get over the way in which B.I.G was portrayed as this smart, lovable young boy because it made me look at him in a whole different light that i initially thought. I feel his son played the part well (though he did not have much to do). The story line is pretty straight forward and there are a few surprises concerning the emotions the characters invoke in you and make you understand them more deeply. The acting was not bad, i actually like the guy who acted as Biggie, he made the character quite interesting and lovable. The rest of the cast were not too bad either: Puffy, Faith Evans and the guy who played Biggie's manager were good too (don't expect any Oscar winners though!)

From a neutral point of view (without being a Notorious B.I.G or Tupac fan) i really felt that they tried to explain the beef between the artists with a more lenient view of Biggie. When watching the movie i couldn't help but think how much Biggie was the 'bigger man' in the beef and that Tupac simply caught a fit at the wrong people. Then i had to ask myself a few questions about that. The movie makes you want to take Biggie's side on the whole issue. I don't know if this is true but i felt that it was rather unfair no matter how much of a nice guy Biggie was. In watching this movie its hard to see it any other way than that the beef was Tupac's fault. It's up to you to believe it or not.

All in all it was a good effort, nothing too memorable but a story worth knowing especially if you want to know more about some of the most critical times in Hip Hop. Biggie fans will undoubtedly love this.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Notorious (2009)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
7 Things that were very WRONG about Notorious. RShaBazzEMS2002
? (2-Pac and Puffy) nasojf
Was 'Ready To Die' not his first album? justxme
yo biggie, inhale your weed! lazycrazykz
Huge Goof denzeljacobs
Song help Vince_Vega7896
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