Carmen A Hip Hopera (TV) [2001] Beyonce

Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001) (TV)


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274415/

Carmen: A Hip Hopera is a 2001 musical film produced for television by MTV and directed by Robert Townsend. The film stars Beyoncé Knowles, Mos Def, Rah Digga, Wyclef Jean, Mekhi Phifer, Da Brat, Joy Bryant, Jermaine Dupri and Lil' Bow Wow. It is based upon Georges Bizet's opera, Carmen, set in Philadelphia and Los Angeles in modern times, and features a mostly original hip-hop/R&B score in place of Bizet's opera.

Mekhi Phifer ... Hill
Beyoncé Knowles ... Carmen Brown
Mos Def ... Lt. Miller
Rah Digga ... Rasheeda
Joy Bryant ... Nikki
Wyclef Jean ... Fortune Teller
Da Brat ... Narrator
Jermaine Dupri ... Pockets
Bow Wow ... Jalil (as Lil' Bow Wow)
Casey Lee ... Blaze
Reagan Gomez-Preston ... Caela
Sam Sarpong ... Nathaniel
Troy Winbush ... Sgt. Tony Porter
Fred Williamson ... Lou
Yuri Brown ... Nori

A contemporary, urban retelling of the classic story, Carmen: A Hip Hopera follows the life of a police sergeant whose world is turned upside down when an irresistible woman enters his life. Through song, the star-studded cast tells the tale of their passionate romance and tragic demise. To date, it is the second major attempt at an African-American adaptation of the opera, the first being the 1943 Broadway musical Carmen Jones and its 1954 Academy Award nominated and box office hit film adaptation. That film featured the legendary singers Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte in the lead roles, but they were not allowed to do their own singing. Further, the dialog is a laughable approximation of what the white production team thought blacks sounded like.

What makes this Carmen worth seeing is the scintillating performance of Beyoncé Knowles (of the trio Destiny's Child) in the lead role. From her first entrance in a dazzling red gown, Knowles shows off a vibrant, magnetic personality; the camera loves her, as her group's many music videos have shown, but they only hint at how impressively she holds the screen. Can she act? The jury's still out, but Carmen: A Hip Hopera--however disappointing this hybrid is in most ways--showcases a compelling movie-star presence.