Delves deep into the creative process, unlike almost any film before it, to show where and how producers and rappers come together to make a hit song.
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11/08/04
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Jay Z - Fade to Black (2004)
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:24
Rotten:14
Average Rating:6.2/10
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Reviews for Jay Z - Fade to Black
A precedent-setting concert doc.
11/07/04
A spectacular concert documentary that also gives some fascinating insights into the making of 'The Black Album.'
11/05/04
While billed as 'an intimate look' at Jay-Z, the film reveals next to nothing about him beyond the fact that he possesses a formidable ability to spin and remember lengthy rhymes, however vulgar and reductive their content.
11/05/04
Against a vibrant, well-lit backdrop, he performs his biggest hits with an intensity and clarity that should allow even the uninitiated to appreciate the lyrical dexterity which makes him the genre's dean, the first rapper profiled on 60 Minutes.
11/05/04
Much as with official corporate send-offs, the excitement of this documentary builds steadily for about five minutes and then, before you know it, there's nothing left to see.
11/05/04
Relentlessly upbeat infomercial.
11/05/04
Top CriticMostly comprises rousing, well-edited concert footage that shows off Jay-Z's talent as a dynamic live performer.
11/05/04
Documents a concert that by all accounts -- certainly by the looks on the faces of the audience -- was one for the history books.
11/05/04
Although also picturing the well-dressed rhyme merchant backstage and in the studio, the feature is rarely more than a standard concert souvenir.
11/05/04
It's a music video, a future DVD release for hip-hop fans, and nothing else.
11/05/04
It will be interesting only to die-hard hip-hop enthusiasts.
11/05/04
Top CriticBoth elements show the love Jay-Z gets from fans and his peers in the rap game, sure. But while the concert footage is astounding, the studio sessions are so sparse you never quite get a picture of the man behind the image.
11/05/04
The movie has the good sense to stay focused on the music.
11/05/04
Top CriticJay-Z fans will show up, but they should demand more - like having additional footage that means something. Otherwise, you might as well just watch back-to-back music videos.
11/05/04
Spare and riveting.
11/04/04
Though Fade to Black veers into vanity-production territory at such moments, it mostly is a triumph of stagecraft and speaker-blowing freestyling.
11/04/04
Top CriticIf you knew nothing else about rap, you'd know from watching him in action that the man knows what he's doing. And, when you can hear what his audience is shouting back, you feel the burn of his energy and breadth of his power.
11/04/04
Top CriticThe rapper Jay-Z performs his own movie-length swan song set to thumping rhythms in Madison Square Garden.
11/04/04
Top CriticThis is standard concert-film fare geared to the faithful.
11/04/04
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