Product Description

For jimmy Smith, Jr. (Eminem), life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment... is another chance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8874 in DVD
• Brand: Universal Studios
• Released on: 2003-03-18
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.com
Rap star Eminem makes a strong movie debut in 8 Mile, an urban drama that makes a fairly standard plot fly through its gritty attention to detail. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), nicknamed B Rabbit, can't pull himself together to take the next step with his career--or with his life. Angry about his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and worried about his little sister, Rabbit lets out his feelings with twisting, clever raps admired by his friends, who keep pushing him to enter a weekly rap face-off. But Rabbit resists--until he meets a girl (Brittany Murphy) who might offer him support and a little hope that his life could get better. Under the smart and ambitious direction of Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) and ably supported by the excellent cast and the burnt-out environment of Detroit slums, Eminem reveals a surprising vulnerability that makes 8 Mile vivid and compelling. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker
In Eminem's first movie, the white rap star plays a barely disguised version of his pre-celebrity self: Jimmy Smith, Jr., a wounded young man who lives in a trailer in inner-city Detroit with his slatternly mother (Kim Basinger). During jousts at a local club, Jimmy goes up against the best black rappers and fights for the respect of the black audience. These improvised raps are his only release, a spasmodic assertion of self. Curtis Hanson, working from a script by Scott Silver, lays out the narrative and the character relationships methodically, even slowly. The movie may be a shrewdly engineered piece of proletarian pop in the tradition of "Rocky" and "Saturday Night Fever," but Eminem's vile candor gives it a convincingly gritty tone, and the great Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto ("Amores Perros") keeps the visual palette ugly and raw. With Mekhi Phifer as a local rap impresario and Brittany Murphy as a bright-eyed little mover who takes to Jimmy. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

WOW!
This is the first time I've ever seen a movie on opening night, and it was well worth the wait and trouble. I'm extrememly lucky to get tickets, practically all the theaters in the entire area have been sold out!

Jimmy Smith, Jr., a.k.a. Bunny Rabbit (Eminem) lives in inner city Detroit, with his alcoholic, yet highly interesting mother, played by Kim Basinger; and his younger sister, Lily, who is absolutely adorable, and Rabbit's only obvious weakness. He dreams of making it big, along with his group, 313, including Future (Mekhi Pfipher) and his buddies, including the hilarious, [silly] Cheddar Bob, and the politically active Iz.

Jimmy works in a stamping factory, where he meets Alex (Brittany Murphy), an ambitious woman with dreams of modeling, whose only real wish is simply to leave Detroit and escape to New York City. "All I need is a plane ticket."

Future resides over rap battles at the shelter, and, having faith in Rabbit's skills, invites him to rap. After we open with Rabbit choking on his lines, he is invited once more. Soon, we are faced with a dilemma, because Rabbit must choose between making it on his own through his talent at the battles, or his friend Wink's supposed connections at a record company, who promises to give Rabbit fame if he meets with a record producer.

Eminem is an impressive actor, though he isn't exactly stretching to meet his role. However, compared to the "Glitter trauma" that affects so many singers who aspire for the big screen, it's an affecting debut.

"8 Mile" is rated R, based mainly on the language, of which the affect wears off after the first 15 minutes, but also for some graphic sexuality, including Jimmy walking in on his mom, and making love with his girlfriend in the factory.

This was an impressive movie and I was glad to have seen it, I would reccommend it to anyone over the age of 15.

I Didn't Want to Like Eminem
Eminem always drove me crazy. I always saw him as one of those people so desperate for attention he was willing to say or do anything. With his inflammatory lyrics and personality, I assumed he had little talent and instead tried to get noticed by being controversial. I refused to give him any attention, even negative attention because I thought that was what he wanted.

Then 8 Mile came out. I am a huge film buff and I read a lot of reviews. Reviewer after reviewer kept saying good things about it. I finally admitted that I wanted to see it - for curiosity if nothing else. And I have to (begrudgingly) admit that he is talented, both as an actor and a performer. That almost makes me even more angry - if he really is talented, and I believe he is, why not allow that to carry him to the top? I always think that people who use shock value to get attention do so because they can't get attention on talent alone.

In any case, he can act. Eminem plays Rabbit, a guy in the poor section of Detroit, going through the motions of life, desperate for escape. He has two moods - depressedly morose, or explosively angry. I don't know if this is indicative of the real Eminem, but I hope that he smiles sometimes in real life. I don't think Rabbit ever does. To escape the monotony and sadness in his life, he participates in "battles" at a club where two rappers hurl insults back and forth at each other on stage.

I wasn't crazy about the Brittany Murphy character, Alex. I thought a lot more could have been done with this role. I would have liked to see more development with her and Rabbit. But all in all, it is a gripping tale. The final showdown between Rabbit and his archenemy at the club is astonishingly climactic and full of an energy that will leave you buzzing. I came away not necessarily an Eminem fan, but certainly with a newfound respect for him and his talent.

Eminem Displays Talent in New Film
Eminem, probably the most controversial rapper today, who is best known for his highly disturbing lyrics, stars in the first motion picture of his career, 8-mile. Eminem plays Jimmy Smith Jr., a young white rapper trying to make it big in a black dominated area in Detroit near 8-mile road, the barrier that seems to keep him from accomplishing his goals. He struggles trying to deal with home life in a trailer park with a near psychotic mother, as well as earning respect as a white rapper. He attempts to gain recognition for his talent by competing in battles between rappers of the street, he being the only one who's white. The movie seems all too familiar, being somewhat based on Eminem's real life. Kim Basinger plays his mother, Brittany Murphy his "sort of" girlfriend, and Mekkhi Phiffer stars as Future, the DJ of the battles.

As all movies do, this one too has its high and low points, but overall 8-mile is a fairly good film, taking critics and moviegoers all over the country by surprise. Eminem proves he actually has acting ability and shows he doesn't qualify to be put into the "singer trying to act" category. He shows depth and emotion in his role with a performance that goes far beyond his otherwise annoying self. Kim Basinger also nails the role of the mother, giving a truly great performance in the film. The film is mostly dramatic but also contains comedy with a few strong, humorous lines delivered throughout. Some downsides are the excessive amount of vulgarity, seeming like every other word out of every characters mouth is a swear word, as well as some pointless scenes in the film that should have been left on the cutting room floor. If vulgarity is hard on your ears, stay as far away from this film as you can. However, an unexpected but highly energetic ending seems to make the whole movie worthwhile.

The film goes beyond most people's expectations of what they believe it would be, showing talent as well as a solid plot. The movie is a must see for Eminem fans and anyone who enjoys rap music or entertaining, high intensity films.