Thug Immortal - The Tupac Shakur Story (1998)

From his early appearances on record with Digital Underground to his popular and influential solo albums, Tupac Shakur was a rap phenomenon, and one of the pioneers of gangsta rap. Though often attacked by the media (and Dan Quayle) for his "thug" lifestyle, Tupac's life and art were filled with complexities that his detractors either did not see or just ignored in order to have a villain or a more sensational story. THUG IMMORTAL is an intimate look at Tupac's life told through never-before-seen footage and interviews with his close friends, revealing an artist who grew up a thug, but one who soon tired of that lifestyle and its trappings, revealing a Tupac far different from the one most of America knows. Synopsis A timely profile of the perilous life and mysterious death of gangsta rapper and nascent actor Shakur, including interviews with showbiz colleagues and exclusive personal footage of the star. Product Description

Interesting and informative, but it doesn't get to the essence of the man

Let me start by saying I came to this documentary knowing next to nothing about Tupac Shakur, his music, or hip hop/gangsta culture. I don't think I ever even heard of Tupac until the rumors started about how he faked his death, etc. Thus, it should come as no surprise that I found Thug Immortal a pretty informative documentary. I'm not sure it really captured the essence of the man, however, so I'm still on the fence as to whether the positives of his life outweigh the negatives. A diverse range of his friends and associates talk about the man behind the thug persona, but the facts of his life make it a little hard to buy into some of what they are saying.

This isn't a biopic, as the vast majority of the material consists of interviews with those who knew Tupac from his early days in San Marin to his final days with Death Row records leading up to his murder. As far as his childhood is concerned, all we really learn is that his mother was a major player with the Black Panthers. The story here really starts after his move from Baltimore to California as a teen. That's where his pursuit of a rap career really started, and I greatly enjoyed the interviews with those who knew him and rapped with him then. Of course, most of those stories couldn't be farther away from role model material, but it's hard not to laugh with these guys about the crazy stuff that went down back then. The most surprising thing to me was the fact that Tupac, while never one to back down from a fight, seemed to get beaten up a lot. It's here in these formative years, though, that we see the idealistic Tupac who wants his rap to mean something and to help change for the better some of the aspects of life as he has lived it. It is not until his portrayal of Deacon in the film Juice that he turns more to the hard core rap and lifestyle he is best remembered for today, and several of his friends express some sadness about this change in his life, arguing that it wasn't the real Tupac.

Apart from Shock G, I had never heard of any of the rappers interviewed for this documentary, so I'm not sure how prominent any of them may have been (my knowledge of rap does not go very far beyond old school artists like Run DMC and Whodini), but the words of Death Row head honcho Suge Knight, who was almost killed himself when Tupac was gunned down, certainly leave a few lasting impressions. For me, though, the greatest insights into the life and legacy of Tupac come from some of the journalists and writers who interviewed him, such as Malcolm Hoover of 4080 Magazine and editor Tony Patrick, who seemed to sum Tupac's life up with the following words: "age without maturity, knowledge without wisdom, ... order turned into chaos."

In the end, though, I don't feel as if I know very much about Tupac yet. The limited video of the man himself included here (much of it from home movies) do not show the intellectual artist that many of his associates describe. I certainly know little more about his music, as that is in no way a focus of this documentary. As for his death, you'll find no conspiracy theories here, just the sad reflections of a life of great potential cut short by unknown assailants. August 19, 2008

Did not Like

I am an ETERNAL Tupac fan and this video is about 85% interviews with people who KNEW him and 15% Pac! I would have rathered it be the other way around. June 27, 2007

pointless

imagine that you make it real big and die. THEN they go back to an old neighborhood you lived in and do interviews. that's all this is. people talking about pac. it was whack in my opinion cause for one a LOT of haters came out of nowhere talking mad noise about him. the thing is they were all rappers at one time so it came off to me as them being mad they were still in the same spot. one dude even said pac deserved to be shot. you want a real documentary then i recommend thug angel or Resurrection. May 7, 2005

Don't Get Mugged by Thug Life

This video is a collection of interviews with minor characters in Tupac's life. Tupac never shows up in it! What they had to say about the performer could have been condensed into a 10 minute production--if that. Your money is much better spent buying the Tupac Resurrection video, which is really very good and actually has Tupac giving the interviews. March 6, 2005

Trust me, This Video/DVD sucks.

Im a huge 2Pac fan, and Im here to tell ya' dont waste your money on this video/DVD. Its basically just no-thrills video footage of some old friends of Pacs from Baltimore, hanging around their neighborhood talking about Pac, some of their memories are funny and its amusing watching them clown around telling their stories, but most of it is entirely forgettable. Theres a few home made video segments that Pac and his boys took of each other back in the day, but nothing too great. If youre a crazy Pac fan that must own everything with his name attached to it, then go ahead and buy this Video/DVD. But, if youre just a big fan of Pacs who wants to pick up a video/DVD about him, I recommend the Tupac Movie documentary "Tupac/Resurrection" which is really a must own for any real 2Pac fan. Also although not all about just Tupac himself "welcome to Death Row" is interesting to watch, but do yourself a favor and save your money rather then spend it on this video/DVD. Trust me people, this video/DVD sucks, dont believe any of the reviews that said it was great or whatever. Pac himself would be the first to blast on this video/DVD saying that its garbage. March 3, 2005

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