Product Description

FADE TO BLACK takes a look at the rapper’s career, providing a backstage glimpse during the concert and showing how his last album was conceived. Narrated by Jay-Z himself, the film features notable guest performances by Beyonce, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Pharrell Williams, Foxy Brown and appearances by P. Diddy and 2004 Grammy-winner Kanye West.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10286 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2005-04-05
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 109 minutes

Amazon.com
Fade to Black is a document of Jay-Z’s self-proclaimed final concert; a grand affair that took place before a sold-out crowd at New York’s Madison Square Garden in November 2003. (But anyone who follows celebrity news knows that Jay-Z was out of retirement and back performing at the Garden just a year later.) Fade to Black is a legitimately powerful record of a truly historic event in the annals of rap. Muttering offhand narration with typical bored, streetwise affect, Jay hails the concert as a momentous occasion for being the first time a hip-hop show was allowed to headline at the Garden.

It’s unlikely that the full impact of the live performances will hit home to viewers unfamiliar with Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella Records stable of artists. Another frustration is trying to identify the array of visitors who trade raps on Jay’s stage. Included in the star-studded lineup are Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, Pharell, Ghostface Killah, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and R. Kelly. One unmistakable figure--and we do mean figure--is Jay’s squeeze Beyonce, who raises the temperature and the roof with her skimpy outfit, flowing hair, soulful yowl, and sexed-up dance routine that leaves her boyfriend and the whole of Madison Square Garden slack-jawed with animal desire.

Twenty cameras captured the event, and some of the most powerful sequences are sweeping moves across the swirling, blissed-out masses as they lip sync along in perfect unison with Jay-Z’s complex, profane, quick-witted raps. Less effective are intermittent cutaway segments that show the artist in various studio settings working up beats and rhymes. These amateurish home video breaks may give some insight to Jay’s perfectionism and dedication to his craft, but they detract from the visceral power of the beautifully executed performance footage. --Ted Fry

Customer Reviews

New Found Respect
This is definitely a must-have for a Jay-Z fan. The film combines footage of Hov's farewell Madison Square Garden concert along with scenes involving the completion of the Black Album. The concert was surprisingly well-performed and energized by several guest stars that pay Jay respectful homage by their sheer presence, as well as lighting up the stage with their vocal collaborations. When Beyonce` pops-up to perform three songs, Jigga's facial affections are an unrehearsed mix of love, appreciation, and admiration. Things only get better when Ghostface joins Beyonce` to perform "Summertime". Behind-the-scene footage depicting the guests as they prepare to take stage enhances each duet, as well as amplifying the significance of their unique talents. The movie does a great job in capturing the emotions of the loving crowd who hang on Jay's every verse. As for the star himself, he performs in a manner exceeding his personal hype. Despite the "me-me-me" subject matter of the majority of his songs, he proves to be an impeccable lyricist and stage performer. He is clearly aware that a song is nothing without the accompanying image. Interestingly, the superstar image is basically shed as the movie presents a few studio sessions depicting Jay as he completes the Black Album. Instead of the rap icon in front of his admiring 20,000 audience, the viewer is presented with a calculating and introspective genius working within the rather crude elements of his craft. Watching Jay as he deciphers beats and formulates his lyrics is worth the price of the DVD alone.

GOTTA CHECK THIS OUT!
THIS WAS A TOP MOVIE FOR ME IN 2004 CUZ I LOVE DA JIGGA MAN! I Had Seen This Movie Before Going To an Actual Jay-Z Concert In Anaheim 2 weeks later. And If U see This Movie,u feel the same energy u do if u were to go watch him live. YOu Just Wanna Throw Your Diamonds Up <>! This Movie Is Going To Be Collectible for any hip-hop fan cause jay-z is a legendary artist that has a legacy in music and respect all over the world! I DEFINETELY RECCOMEND THIS MOVIE!

New found respect
I have never been a big fan of Jay-Z, not enough to actually purchase an album. I've learned lyrics to the radio cuts and I respect him for being very witty and nice with the beats. Well, this movie is awesome. So many star-studded cameos, the behind the scenes footage of his actual songwriting in his head,a story of an intelligent man who came from the bottom to the top via hip-hop. This guy doesn't write anything down and he flows like leaky water faucets. I stayed glued to the TV and the concert seemed well worth my sleep time trying to finish it off in a couple of hours. I wanted to buy every CD he ever made here on Amazon afterwards. I am a new true Jay-Z fan now.

p.s. I saw a friend in the audience a few times, she was rockin hard. Wish I lived in the NY. Young old, everybody got down at once.