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One needn't be a rap aficionado to appreciate Nick Broomfield's latest documentary offering. The British director, whose controversial projects include Kurt & Courtney and Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam, has made his name by venturing into often lurid subject matter and asking questions that many have been afraid to ask. Biggie & Tupac is a journey across the lives and deaths of two of hip-hop's biggest names: Brooklyn-born rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. Christopher Wallace) and West Coast icon Tupac Shakur. Broomfield often has the demeanor of an absent-minded professor; his combination of brashness and naivete, while often grating, somehow manages to get results. This time around, he ventures forward into a pair of crimes that remain unsolved after seven years, attempting to determine whether the murders of Biggie and Tupac were a result of the often-referenced East Coast/West Coast rivalry and if Death Row Records impresario Suge Knight should be implicated. Through a balanced mix of regurgitated footage and guerrilla-style interviews, Broomfield deftly chronicles the twists and turns of the two police investigations and manages to capture a distinctly human element of the story through conversations with Wallace's mother. After a rather startling accusation by B.I.G.'s former bodyguard Gene Deal, and an unprecedented visit with Knight in a correctional facility, it's clear that Broomfield has stirred up a hornets' nest, and urgent questions linger long after the cameras stop rolling. -- LaShieka Purvis

All Movie Guide

Nick Broomfield, director of Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam and Kurt and Courtney, unleashes another provocation with Biggie and Tupac. Considering Broomfield's track record, that the film is dangerous, sensational, and occasionally very funny is no surprise. What is somewhat shocking, in a very rewarding and commendable way, is how moving Biggie and Tupac is. Using archival footage of the two rap stars and interviews with many of those involved, Broomfield uncovers significant evidence that corrupt LAPD cops were involved in the two deaths, and that the FBI was doing surveillance on Biggie (Christopher Wallace) on the night he was murdered. Broomfield's film also strongly suggests that Death Row Records head Suge Knight orchestrated both murders. Few satisfactory conclusions are drawn, but the film should at least encourage further investigation of these claims. By running the camera constantly, even before the interviews begin, Broomfield frequently catches his subjects off guard. But even if Broomfield had uncovered nothing, Biggie and Tupac would still be an entertaining and valuable telling of the tragic deaths of two talented young men. The filmmaker's interviews with Biggie's friends, and particularly his charming mother, Voletta Wallace, paint a picture of a surprisingly sensitive and goodhearted young man. Broomfield was granted less access to Tupac Shakur's family (Tupac's mother is still involved in business dealings with Knight; she doesn't appear in the film and she refused Broomfield permission to use Tupac's music), but he still manages to expose the controversial rapper's essential humanity. Some will find Broomfield's sarcastic and edgy attitude grating. He doesn't have the puppy-dog charm of a Michael Moore. But with Biggie and Tupac, he's shown a bit more of his sensitive side, and he's taken a step forward as a filmmaker. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Product Details

• UPC: 074645212999
• Source: RAZOR & TIE THEATRIC
• Time: 1:47:00
• Sales Rank: 9,265

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