Personally I think that Christopher Wallace is the greatest rapper of all time, which makes me biased a bit when it comes to the biopic, Notorious. Luckily I’m not here to review the movie, but to talk about the special features now that it is coming out on DVD.
The question about special features are always the same, do they enhance the film watching experience? In the case of the Notorious special features they really do. From watching old performance footage to in depth interviews with the cast and crew this bonus material really does enhance the movie in a lot of ways.
While the special features are plentiful (over 90 minutes worth) and eye opening, they don’t dig any deeper into the world of Biggie than the movie does. I would have liked to have seen more of the relationship between Sean Combs and Biggie. They seemed to only show one side of Puffy’s personality and to handle the character with kid gloves. The deleted scenes don’t have a lot to do with Puff so it’s obvious that they had no intention on exploring his character more. This really handcuffed Derek Luke as an actor and took something away from his performance.
It was very interesting to learn about Biggie’s mother and their relationship as well as her involvement with the project. The fact that Voletta Wallace poured so much of her heart and soul into the film was inspirational, and it shows in how well acted the film was by all the parties involved. The other pleasant surprise was learning more about Biggie's young son Christopher Jordan Wallace who played his own father in the movie. The behind the scenes quality of the special features was very revealing, and the producers seemed to welcome the cameras into the filmmaking process.
The most important part of this DVD set is that it makes you hungry for more information. It makes you want to do a little research into the events that took place during this historic time in Hip Hop music and find answers for yourself. In the end Notorious is an enjoyable movie that Hip Hop fans need to see, and the special features only enhance the experience.
Three-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD Specs:
Bonus features include:
• Unrated Director’s Cut and theatrical versions of the film
• 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 Voletta Wallace, Producer/Biggie's Co-Manager Wayne Barrow and Producer/Biggie's Co-Manager Mark Pitts
• Behind the Scenes: “Making of Notorious” Featurette
• I Got a Story to Tell: The Lyrics of Biggie Smalls
• NOTORIOUS Thugs: Casting the Film
• Biggie Boot Camp
• Anatomy of a B.I.G. Performance
• Party & Bulls**t (never-before-seen footage of the real B.I.G.)
• The B.I.G. Three-Sixty
o The Petersen
o Directing the Last Moments
o It Happened Right Here
o The Petersen Exit
o The Shooting
o The Impala
o The Unfortunate Violent Act
o The Window
• Deleted Scenes
o Assassin assembles his gun
o Taking care of business
o Big on his own
o Finding inspiration
o The assassin watches
o In the hotel pool
o East Coast in the house
o After the accident
o The assassin backs up
o Extended Concert: Primo Street Rap
• Digital Copy
The Unrated Director’s Cut Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.99 and $34.98, respectively. A single-disc DVD will also be available for the suggested retail price of $29.98.
