Blair Loveday
Seven years after Tupac’s death, the movie Tupac: Resurrection was released.
I knew Tupac’s music, but I had never heard of Tupac: Resurrection so figured it was worth a watch. It was more than worth a watch, it’s an incredibly delivered ode to a flawed but great artist.
Tupac: Resurrection is presented in the most incredible way, it is narrated by Tupac himself.
The filmmakers achieved this by collecting things he has said and creating a surprisingly coherent narration over the movie. If it was made today I would assume that it was some AI trick, but it is pretty incredible what was achieved 20 years ago in this movie. This really does mean Tupac is telling his own story here which is pretty special.
The movie itself is slices of his life from his childhood to his death.
One thing that surprised me, having only listened to his music and not his interviews before, was how softly and well spoken he was. Tupac wasn’t a kid born to the streets, he went to a decent school, and got a great education, in no small part due to his mother doing everything she could for him. This makes video footage of him at high school a really fascinating contrast to what I pictured listening to the music.
Throughout the movie we get to see Tupac make great and bad decisions.
Listening to him reflecting on some of the mist steps adds a layer of depth to each of these moments. You see the influences that helped and hindered Tupac. The film is loaded with old school footage, from interviews on TV to behind the scenes stuff. All of this really paints an interesting picture of a deeply intricate man. It still throws me off how soft spoken and eloquent he can be when he wasn’t playing up his persona.
The DVD is loaded with some special features including an early video of him giving a speech, music videos, and a fascinating deposition where he was being sued because of an incident after someone allegedly listened to his music.
The last one was really interesting because hearing Tupac explaining his music reminds me of when metal bands had to explain their music in the same era as people were looking for anything to blame for gun violence.
Oh how times have changed. Every time you get an unfiltered look at Tupac, I found him more fascinating.
Tupac: Resurrection is a pretty incredible film.
It’s really built around Tupac telling his own story so isn’t overly critical, but it is a really interesting look at a truly fascinating man. Even if you aren’t a fan of his music I still highly recommend watching it and this DVD with the extras is a great way to enjoy it.
