One Night in Vegas

Documentary Feature, Spotlight Premieres
D: Reggie Rock Bythewood; with Mike Tyson

This unorthodox documentary, part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series, charts the parallel lives of Tupac Shakur and Mike Tyson, culminating in the fateful and fatal night in Las Vegas in September 1996, in which Mike Tyson claimed the World Boxing Association heavyweight title from Bruce Seldon and Tupac Shakur was shot in the streets after the fight. Bythewood brings together an eclectic collection of people to discuss Tyson and Tupac: Feminist hip-hop journalist Joan Morgan, Dr. Maya Angelou, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson comment and reminisce alongside Nas, Mickey Rourke, Suge Knight, and a man who witnessed the shooting that night. Shakur’s and Tyson’s narratives are both tragic tales of unfulfilled potential, of two lives compromised by violence and crime. However, the wildly distracting stylistic elements, from the comic-book graphics to the two spoken-word artists serving as a sort of Greek chorus throughout the film, undermine the power of the story.

Friday, March 19, 4:30pm, Lamar 3

This article appears in March 19 • 2010.

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