THE MOVIE

Jimmy 'B. Rabbit' Smith, Jr. (Eminem) is a shy, white boy growing up in a predominantly poor, black neighbourhood in Detroit. He lives with his mother (Basinger), the epitome of white trash, in her trailer. He wears the bluest of blue collars working in a car-stamping plant, an industry shrinking as the economy becomes progressively hopeless. Basically, only people who secure the rare and elusive recording contract can escape this cycle of poverty and, in doing so, secure their uncertain future.

At local club The Shelter, a breeding ground for this kind of talent, there is a cadre of wanna-bes, climbing over each other to "get a deal". The concept of the shelter is simple: create a freestyle rap and face off against another rapper in a "battle". People come from all over the state to display their talent and to battle until only one is left. Rabbit, himself a talented freestyle rapper, lacks the courage to enter the competition. When his closest friend Future (Phifer) believes in him enough to sign him up for a battle, Rabbit can't muster the required bravery and chokes on stage. Before long he discovers that despite what everybody says, the only person he can count on is himself. So he has to build up the courage and to take his gift for rhymes to the masses.

It's no secret that this is a semi-autobiographical vehicle for rap superstar Eminem. Described by a few critics as Rocky with rap, the comparisons are somewhat unfair. Although hip-hop is integral to the story, as boxing was in the earlier film, 8 Mile makes a broad commentary about the impossibilities these neighbourhoods dish out. On several occasions Curtis Hanson has heaped enormous praise on the performance given by Eminem. And deservedly so. While playing a poor white rapper isn't too much of a stretch, Eminem adds vulnerability to what could easily have been a caricature. Add to that a story arc and script that are very different to the slippery, acid-tongued lyrics he spews forth on his albums and this slips further away from being normal Eminem product.

People who hate rap might not consider watching this to be the best experience of their lives. Sure, this is based in the world of rap, with truckloads of expletives and hip-hop posturing, but underneath all the flowing and rhyming it's a story of hardships fought and won. Those that stick with it will be rewarded. This film is probably the most accessible in the genre and conveys the message without resorting to putting guns in everyone's hands (the maligned Cheddar Bob notwithstanding). In 8 Mile, Hanson has pulled back the curtain and focused on the human story behind the rap wizard.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

This disc comes with the familiar anamorphically enhanced Widescreen video transfer. Seasoned director Hanson makes good use of the 2.35:1 frame. The transfer has both a sharp and clean look and, at the same time, provides a suitably gritty canvas. Shot almost as a documentary, most of it is told from a fly-on-the-wall perspective, the audience almost complicit in every facet of the story, from rap battles to intimate moments. There is extensive use of natural lighting, tempered by moments of vibrancy (the fire at the 40-minute-mark really stands out).

In the harsh light of day, flesh tones are perfectly imperfect. Colours are ultra natural and there is a good level of detail in both background and foreground. The print used was in excellent condition and the result is solid. It isn't overly grainy and hasn't picked up any unwanted artefacts on its way to DVD.

Audio:

There is less between the 768kbps dts 5.1 and the 448kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks than there has been in recent releases. This is definitely not one to split the Dolby and dts camps. The addition of the dts track should be well received, as the inclusion isn't at the expense of bonus materials.

Like all the posers down on Chapel Street (or the nearest pretentious facsimile in your capital city) the soundtrack is bass heavy. As the story goes through the tough streets of Detroit, you can feel the bass as Rabbit builds his song in his head. During the rap battle scenes at The Shelter, the crowd noise and the amplified music invades all speakers, adding to the animalistic texture of these scenes. In an effort to further maintain a realistic treatment, sound effects like punches land naturally, like dull thuds rather than slaps. Both tracks don't heavily involve the rear soundstage (aside from the battles), but so pervasive is the bass that the dialogue, although perfectly intelligible, almost takes a backseat at times. Thankfully, it's a new soundtrack, so there aren't any unwanted errors.

The soundtrack reads like a roll call of rap and hip-hop royalty, with everyone from Naughty by Nature to Outkast, 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. represented. Completely unlike the expected rap star vehicle, the soundtrack is surprisingly light on Eminem music, with the exception of the lead off single Lose Yourself, which we hear at various stages of production during the film. It was decided early on this wasn't going to be a disgustingly pandering soundtrack, full of gratuitous cross promotion. And the soundtrack is stronger for it.

THE EXTRAS

Semi-animated menus take you around the disc on start-up. They are clever and integrate well with the overall style. Don't dawdle with menu selections because the disc will default back to the main menu if you spend too much time on the sub menus. You can choose from a raft of subtitle tracks, enough to please us Aussies and a few groups from Europe.

The Making of 8 Mile (10:03) uses interviews with the main cast and crew to encapsulate the importance of rap to the people in this world. It looks to be a feature for MTV or some other music channel. It's a little longer than an extended promotional featurette but has the same feel. There are a few exclusives on the DVD, the first being the Exclusive rap battles (23:40). With lots of behind-the-scenes material from The Shelter, it shows the inventive way Hanson lifted the morale of the extras. As he sets up a competition for a position against Eminem in a battle, he strengthens the idea that rap has enormous meaning to this group. There are plenty of freestyle battles, available exclusively here.

Another big selling points of the DVD release is the full, uncut video of Eminem's song, Superman. It's here and it's true. Other than the DVD, it's highly unlikely that you will ever see this on TV, even late on Rage or even adults only Video Hits. Looking at it objectively, he's done better songs and the video is fairly simple. It runs for a smidge over 5 minutes and is presented in narrower than usual 1.33:1 full screen video with 2-channel sound (This must take up a tiny amount of Widescreen TVs. This is the Widescreen TV equivalent of the 2.35:1 movies on 4:3 screens, black bars either side). The Music of 8-Mile is a track listing for the two musical soundtracks available and also contains a few musical scene selections.

Steadily becoming standard is Total Axess web content to augment the extra materials on the DVD. Viewers with DVD enabled PC can, using software provided, access the web links. There are a few trailers to further fill out the disc. First is a 8 Mile theatrical trailer (2:18), which gives an accurate enough portrayal of the film. Lastly, there are trailers for both soon-to-be-released films 2 Fast 2 Furious and Ang Lee's The Hulk.

Aside from there being both a Widescreen and full screen version (available separately) in Region 1, this release looks identical, which is a very positive sign.

SUMMARY

As a movie, this is a bottle rocket. Some great acting and thoughtful directing provide a solid, tight film. Whether it has the longevity to last throughout generations remains to be seen, but it stands as a story for the current generation of youth to embrace.

This is a good example of a film that might find a stronger audience on home entertainment media. The DVD certainly has excellent visuals, the two major audio formats side by side and a satisfying amount of extras. It doesn't need an awesome home cinema set-up to bring out the attraction of the film. Watch it happily once knowing what to expect.