The former tomboys and badass hooligans eventually turned into the toughest guys in the neighborhood. They had forgotten how to trust each other. Gangland connections and stolen money had corrupted their souls and turned their hearts to stone. Now these guys live by special rules and follow only their own laws.

And when they, engulfed in flames of street warfare, have to choose between life and death, a clear conscience and betrayal – each of them will show his true face.

4k movies reviews
Once upon a time in 1997, when r’n’b stood for rhythm and blues and DMX was the most charismatic rapper on the Atlantic side. A certain Anthony Bodden suggested to his friend, the rapper Nas to develop the idea of his novel, about the hard life of two friends from Queens. Thus was born the plot for one of the most stylish and thoughtful hip-hop films of our time – BELLY.

For about 2 years Nas and Antony worked on the plot of the book, which quietly grew into a movie script. And it would have remained a screenplay if the great and powerful Hype Williams had not heard about the miracle of a novel by two writers. Telling about who Hype is not very grateful, because if you do not know that this is the most important music video maker in the world, a kind of black Spielberg, then you’re better not to read this article.

So – the gears of the movie business began to turn, and all self-respecting hip-hop performers felt it their duty to get on board the ship Hyp, heading straight to the Hollywood tops. But that’s when the question arose: Who would be starring in the movie? In a big movie, you can’t go far with street bravado and pimping alone. In a story like this, filled with drama and subtle irony, you can’t just smoke and shoot, like Hype said. The film, dubbed BELLY/LIFE, stalled.

And when all the candidates were already sent to their places, Nas suggested Hyp’s candidacy to Dmx, but his fame as a rowdy and uncontrollable sociopath, ran ahead of him. Everyone doubted X’s acting abilities, but despite all that, Earl Siemens passed the audition with flying colors, and the cast was finally approved. The core Belly crew consisted of:

So that was the end of the intro, and the filming began. Shooting a movie about two guys from Queens, Tommy and Cincyr…Cain and Abel…two faces of a fallen angel.

Spending their daily lives controlling pot and amphetamines sales, robberies, kidnapping and racketeering, the two friends began to disagree about their future. Tommy wanted to deal a new kind of synthetic heroin, and deal big, while Sinsir (husband and father) dreamed of a quiet life, of enlightening his spirit. Sinsir dreams of cleansing himself of his sins, for much of it is due to Tommy. Fate will provide the heroes with opportunities to make their dreams come true, but each will have to pay, pay and pay for everything. For what was, for what is, and for what will be. And only they can help themselves not to settle at the bottom of the grave of modernity, where lie others like them, who wanted everything at once and got a bullet for it.

It would seem to be just another crime story about the rise to power. It is. But the way this story is told, and where it takes place, and who does it, plays a major role here. Hype himself is a representative of African-Americans, so he didn’t want to sprinkle his characters’ heads with ashes, but to tell a beautiful tale for adults taking place on the streets of America. That if you have a will – the whole world at your feet, that only nerves of steel and cold reasoning can lead to victory, and if you do not hit for your hard-earned dollar – they will hit you. Simple truths, but also can be told in different ways….

Hype makes a thoughtful film that is both like a video clip and a work of cinema of the future. So subtly does he play with framing, color filters, angles, and editing. By making a conversational film, Hype makes you not only listen and ponder, but greedily absorb all the visual delights he presents you with. Hype is an artist but an entertainment artist so Belly is even more mesmerizing, creating its own surreal alternate universe.

The film ended up being released with an exorbitant R rating, which immediately cut off half of the audience. After all, this inconspicuous little symbol means: the entrance to the theater is strictly from 21, and the contingent of fans hip hop’a people from 14 to 27 (at least, so says the American Institute of Tallying and Charts).

Belly failed at the U.S. and world box office, received moderate criticism, delighted the fans and went on a crusade on cassette and DVD.

Back then, no one really appreciated Hyp’s brilliance, X’s superb acting, Nas’s delicate improvisation, the exorbitant charisma of Method Man, the film just didn’t “wow” ……

Years went by, the 2000’s came and Belly acquired a cult status, the movie got awards of the era, was re-released in many collector’s editions, got covered with legends and rumors. Over the years Belly has found its audience, found acceptance and become one of the major hip-hop films of our time. As I said earlier, it was a film not of its time, it was made at the junction of two eras, when hip-hop was just becoming one of the most powerful musical and cultural media representatives. And now it seems like a matter of course. Dream-fulfillment films will always be relevant, but they won’t always be understandable at first glance.

So at the end of my narrative I can only say one thing, if you haven’t seen this film yet, and you think you are an expert on our beloved culture, then you my friend are greatly mistaken.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (74.9 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
English: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles
English, English SDH, Spanish.