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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 7769
Released: April 5, 2005 |
| Our Price: $6.33 |
| Used Price: $4.24 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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| Features:
Color Dolby DVD Widescreen NTSC | |
Editorial Review:
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.
Description of Jay Z - Fade to Black:
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
Jay Z - Fade to Black Reviews:
Great DVD! 
2009-09-12 - This is easily the best documentary on the rap genre covering one of the kings. Seeing Jay-Z's passion can turn someone into a fan alone. I highly recommend it.
Terrible 
2009-09-10 - I strongly disliked this dvd. Even with all the other talent on the disc it was terrible. Don't waste your money.
Most Incredible!
2008-01-02 - I love this DVD. I love Jay-Z as an artist. His style and skills are so impressive. The Black Album was a great album within itself. Just seeing his creativity and the creativity of the other artsts involved was incredible. The concert was amazing and getting a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the concert and album was truly awesome!
He knows what he's doing 
2007-10-08 - Jay-Z can easily be classified as haughty; he has been identifying himself as the best rapper alive for years. But, while I don't think he's the absolute best who has ever touched a microphone, he is one of the most skilled rappers ever. His vivid descriptions of life in the `hood and his all-around creative ways to tell stories via rap separate him from average rappers and place him in the ethereal positions that we have put rappers like 2 Pac and Biggie Smalls. "Fade to Black" is a nice documentary/concert starring Shawn "Jay-Z", "Jigga Man", "J-Hova", "Hovi" Carter.
Jay-Z has a slew of celebrities he features in his flick including Twista, R. Kelly, Ghostface Killah, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce', Memphis Bleek (who got more air time than he deserved) and Beanie Siegal. Jay is very crafty, especially the way in which he writes his rhymes. He listens to a beat for awhile and writes his rhymes mentally. It was very intriguing to watch him mentally compose such great music. One thing I appreciated about this film was the candidness of it. Everything from the audience to the informal conversations he had with his celebrities comrades to him chilling at the studio all helped to make his documentary more intimate and personal. Further, I had no idea Jay was such an outstanding performer! He recites his lyrics effortlessly and has great stage presence, yet he is such a calm individual. He never seems to overreact, even when things don't transpire in his favor. He speaks his mind but he's always so unruffled, much like a quiet storm.
He delivers some of his biggest hits like "Encore", "Can't Knock the Hustle", "Song Cry", "Best of Both Worlds" and "What More Can I Say?" He also pays homage to rappers who have passed on and played snippets of their music. Also, the first outfit he wore was a Biggie shirt, jeans and tennis shoes. He also wore a very nice suit and a New Jersey Nets jersey (how ironic, he's part owner of the Nets).
I enjoyed watching Jay express himself musically and personally. He appears to be a mellow and down to earth individual with a good head on his shoulders. Hip hop and rap fans, take a few hours and view this movie.
Grand Opening, Grand Closing
2007-09-27 - Absolutely outstanding. I especially like the parts of him creating the Black Album. The concert was tight too but I'm more for the behind the scenes stuff. It was amazing seein him work
