Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.0

Notorious Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 21, 2009

Already released on Blu-ray in North America, George Tillman Jr.'s “Notorious” (2009) arrives in the United Kingdom courtesy of 20th Century Fox-UK. The disc contains the theatrical and extended versions of the film. All of the the supplemental features from the US release have been ported to the UK release. Region-B "locked".

In Brooklyn

Notorious (2009) is George Tillman Jr.’s second feature film, a summation of the life and legacy of the late Christopher Wallace, better known in the hip-hop community as Notorious B.I.G. It is executive-produced by Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs.

The film opens up in a night club in Los Angeles, California where Biggie (Jamal Woolard) and his closest friends have gathered to promote his upcoming album. The date is March 8, 1997. We see everyone having plenty of fun, congratulating the rapper and wishing him all the best. A few hours later, on his way out of the club, Biggie is killed by a masked man.

Rewind. A schoolyard in Brooklyn, New York, 1983. Two boys are looking at a magazine with a picture of rap legend Kurtis Blow and dreaming about being famous. One of the boys asks a girl and her friend if they would like to have their autographs. The girl smiles, looks at the boy and his friend, and utters: “Chris Shy-ass can’t be in no magazine. He is too fat, black and ugly.” This is the day when young Christopher decides that it is time for him to start working on his dream.

A few years later. Christopher has become Biggie, an ambitious pusher selling drugs on the streets of Brooklyn. He has also gotten his girlfriend pregnant and started rapping. During a street battle with another wannabe rapper, Biggie meets Lil’ Kim (Naturi Naughton). Soon, the two start seeing each other regularly. A friend also introduces Biggie to Sean 'Puffy' Combs (Derek Luke), who tells him that rapping could be more profitable than selling drugs. A friendship is formed.

After a few quick gigs, Biggie is noticed. His music starts selling and money starts coming his way. During a night out in the city, Biggie meets West Coast-based rapper Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie). The two like each other and become friends. In 1993, 'Puffy' sets his own company, Bad Boy Records, and gets Biggie the type of record deal he has been dreaming for. Meanwhile, Biggie meets Faith Evans (Antonique Smith) and quickly marries her.

The “Ready to Die” album is soon to be finished. The radio stations have hyped it up so much that people could hardly wait until it gets released. While polishing it up at Quad Studios in New York, however, Biggie witnesses something that would cost him his life – his friend Tupac is attacked and seriously wounded in the lobby of the building.

During The Source Awards in New York City, Suge Knight (Sean Ringgold), the owner of Death Row Records, a West Coast-based label, initiates the notorious West Coast-East Coast feud. The rest is history. After Tupac is released from jail, he joins Death Row Records and starts blaming Biggie and Bad Boy Records for the Quad Studios incident. On September 7, 1996, he is seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting while exiting a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas. A few days later, he dies at the University Medical Center. A year later, on March 9, 1997, Biggie is killed in Los Angeles, where he has been promoting his upcoming “Life After Death” album.

Simply put, Notorious is a flawed film. It is also a very carefully scripted one, with subtle messages that practically dismiss everything that took place between Bad Bay Records and Death Row Records as a fable, a product of someone’s imagination. Yet ironically, Notorious is one man’s idea – Sean 'Puffy' Combs’, not director George Tillman Jr’. – of what might have taken place, not what did.

Unsurprisingly, there are large holes in the film that would surely bother those of you who followed the East Coast-West Coast rivalry during the late 90s. For example, Suge Knight, the man who according to the film started all the drama, is hardly even mentioned. We only see him producing his famous speech at The Source Magazine Awards in Madison Square Garden. The other high profile Death Row Records artists, Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog, who were also actively involved in the feud, are not mentioned at all.

The manner in which Tupac is portrayed is also controversial. The creators of Notorious basically describe him as a paranoid individual with some serious issues. Some of the issues are partially addressed, others aren’t. However, the viewer is conveniently pointed in the “right” direction, which places the blame for the tragic events that took place between 1996 and 1997 squarely on the shoulders of those who were associated with Death Row Records. I don’t buy that. I think that there is a lot more that took place between Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records. I also think that a lot of money exchanged owners so that Biggie and Tupac’s killers remain “unknown”.

Notorious looks terrific. Michael Grady’s lensing is notably convincing. With the exception of a few rough cuts during the second half of the film, the editing, courtesy of Dirk Westervelt, is also top notch. Veterna composer Danny Elfman’s soundtrack, together with the numerous tunes from “Ready to Die” and “Life After Death” serve the film well. Newcomer Jamal Woolard deserves a special mention for his terrific impersonation of Biggie as well.

Notorious Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Notorious arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox-UK.

This is a good transfer that does the film justice. Contrast is consistently strong, detail pleasing and clarity excellent. The color-scheme is also solid – blues, yellows, browns, reds, blacks and whites are lush and well saturated. This being said, I noticed a bit of edge-enhancement popping up here and there, particularly during the first half of the film. On the other hand, macro-blocking is not an issue of concern. I did not spot any excessive digital noise either. Additionally, the actual transfer looks notably healthy – there are absolutely no scratches, specks, dust, or debris that I was able to detect. All in all, this is a pleasing transfer that should make British fans of the film quite happy. For the record, the Blu-ray disc herein reviewed contains both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" disc. Therefore, in order to access its content, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player).

Notorious Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, 20th Century Fox have provided optional English HOH, French and Spanish subtitles. Please note that when turned on, the subtitles appear inside the image frame.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. The bass is full-bodied and rich, the high-frequencies not overdone and the surround channels intelligently used. A lot of the supporting tracks – mainly those from the club scenes – sound absolutely fantastic. Furthermore, the dialog is crisp, clear and very easy to follow. This being said, I did not detect any pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review. On the contrary, my experience with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track was simply fantastic. All in all, Notorious has received a solid audio treatment that will surely impress many of you.

Notorious Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Commentary with director George Tillman Jr, co-screenwriter Reggie Rock Bythewood, co-screenwriter Cheo Hodari Coker and editor Dirk Westervelt.

Commentary with producer/Biggie's Mom Violetta Wallace, producer/Biggie's co-manager Wayne Barrow and producer/Biggie's co-manager Mark Pitts.

Life After Death: Making Notorious – a 1.1 Profile feature, playable only on Bonusview players, that gives one access to footage from the shooting of the film, interviews with the cast and crew, live performances etc. All of the extra footage is also available as one large file via a "Play All" option. (1080p, 27 min).

Behind the Scenes: The Making of Notorious – a standard featurette where the director and crew member share their thoughts on the film. Some casting footage is available as well. (1080p, 28 min).

I Got a Story to Tell: The Lyrics of Biggie Smalls – a look at the lyrics of late rapper. (1080i, 10 min).

Notorious Thugs: Casting the Film – the director talks about what were the type of challenges his team faced while trying to select the type of actors that would most accurately recreated the real men and women that were part of Biggie's life. (1080i, 9 min).

Biggie Boot Camp – a look at the specific training the cast underwent before shooting of the film began. (1080p, 7 min).

Anatomy of a B.I.G. Performance – the director of the film talks about what type of archival footage was studied in order to recreate the atmosphere from Biggie's live shows as best as possible. (1080p, 5 min).

Party & Bulls**t – an archival footage from a performing of the famous song (480p, 4 min).

The B.I.G. Three-Sixty – provides the viewer with a 360 degree interactive experience of the Notorious B.I.G murder scene.

Deleted scenes – "Assassin Assembles His Gun" (29 secs), "Taking Care of Business" (1 min), "Big of his Own" (23 secs), "Finding Inspiration" (1 min), "The Assassin Watches" (33 secs), "In The Hotel Pool" (2 min), "East Coast in the House" (54 secs), "After the Accident" (58 secs), "The Assassin Backs Up" (33 secs), "Extended Concert: Primo Street Rap" (2 mins). All of the deleted scenes are in 1080p.

Trivia Track – by activating this feature, trivia will appear during each Notorious track. Viewers can create a playlist of their favorite songs and purchase them through iTunes.

Notorious Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Notorious is an ambitious but, ultimately, very controversial film. It appears that a lot from the mystery surrounding the killings of Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur has been intentionally left unaddressed by the creators of the film. This said, the UK-produced disc herein reviewed looks and sounds very good. It is also loaded with supplemental features. If you enjoyed Notorious, you will certainly appreciate what 20th Century Fox-UK have done with this Blu-ray disc.