Audience Member
The visual aspect of the film alone is 4 stars! Nas and DMX are great actors as well.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
04/22/24
Full Review
Audience Member
Started off very strong but falls apart towards the end, could have been much better.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
09/05/23
Full Review
santana !
so visually stunning
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
08/18/23
Full Review
J.E. M
Greatest flick of all time!!! Give Hype Williams his flowers for this one! Story line relatable but not predictable…very rare in this industry!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
07/21/23
Full Review
Matthew D
A true certified hood classic with brutal violence and a heartfelt message.
Visionary director Hype Williams' crime drama Belly (1998) is the stuff of dreams and nightmares. Everyone glows, the lights shine, and the very streets look menacing. Belly boasts glowing visual majesty for ungodly human violence, lust, and greed. Belly's violent shootings can be hard to watch for how real it all looks, but it ends with a fiercely hopeful speech calling for an end to violence in the streets. Hype Williams' story about two club robbers turned big time drug dealers on their path to fortune, only to meet with tragedy is fascinating. Belly has a very realistic crime drama narrative that I think resonated for a lot of viewers. Belly is phenomenal. I honestly loved it!
I appreciate writers Nas, Hype Williams, and Anthony Bodden closing Belly on a call to action and a change of heart for every drug lord, drug dealer, robber, and crook to find a better way to live, so as not to end up dead or in jail. The endless swear words, crass dialogue, complex crime narrative, vicious shootings, honest conversations, and worried words wanting to get out of the ghetto. Belly paints a hardened painting in blood and misery. From the ultraviolent opening sequence that is unforgettable to the earnest last words from a minister begging to change, Belly is in a world all its own.
Hype Williams goes from legendary music video director with groundbreaking aesthetics to a nuanced and stylish feature film director. The sleek camera shots are so striking with unbelievably smooth camera panning shots from cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed. He was an ambitious auteur with just one film. It's a shame he never directed another picture as his unique black perspective, stylish flourishes, technical prowess, ambitious scope, heartfelt characters, and gripping sequences would have been a welcome paradigm shift to the myriad of forgettable films constantly getting released now.
Williams' direction is so cool with stunning lights flaring up the screen that show actual black skin under blue lighting. Hype Williams uses dark shadows to cast a grim atmosphere upon the hood. His moody lighting choices are amazing as every scene looks like a magazine photo shoot in a good way. Editor David Leonard has this really slick cutting style that keeps a really fast pace for Belly's already tight 96 minutes. The fade to black edits look really good and help build up suspense as each tense meeting can turn violent at any moment.
I loved Nicholas Lundy, Jennifer Chang Binns' art direction for Belly with breathtaking lighting and framing that makes homes look like nightclubs and strip clubs look like a neon hellscape. Production designer Regan Jackson gives DMX an inspired all white luxury home and a real mansion for Ox' Jamaican manor estate. I liked how cozy Nas' household looks, all in orange and brown. Set decorators Carol Silverman, Raquel Anita Parke, and Scott Canfield put all kinds of unique furniture and fun props scattered everywhere to set the scene. Bands of cash, drugs, guns, clothes, and jewelry adorn the scenes like they're part of the furniture.
Casting directors Mel City, Winsome Sinclair, and Theron Smith got very talented rappers like Nas, DMX, and Method Man to star in Belly for a surge of star power. You can feel T-Boz' magnetic charisma and gravitas with her every line.
DMX is fantastic as the furious Tommy Bundy. His raging robberies and tough guy machismo make for a fearsome protagonist. DMX plays both the instigator and the reformed black man very well with a scary violence and earnest apologetic attitude. You can tell he really meant his last lines to Sincere in the diner about wanting better for the black community. Rest in peace to DMX.
Nas is honestly outstanding and sympathetic as the robber and drug dealer Sincere, who just wants out to be a family man. Nas feels smart, mature, cautious, and reflective in his more subtle performance in Belly. Nas is the man who got out of the hood on intelligence and really comes across as sincere, so he was aptly named. I really wish DMX and Nas had acted even more than they got to just like Hype Williams should have gotten to direct more movies. I guess he made a perfect film, so Hype can rest easy on his laurels after a career of iconic music videos additionally.
Taral Hicks is insanely hot as DMX's Tommy's voluptuous girlfriend Keisha. Taral Hick is quite sympathetic as Tommy keeps cheating on her and not appreciating her beauty, love, and loyalty to him. Keisha is a strong character besides being beautiful. Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins from TLC is gorgeous and wise as Nas' girlfriend Tionne. T-Boz delivers a wonderful dramatic performance as Tionne, who just wants a better life for her son and a safe future with Sincere.
Method Man is funny and scary as the assassin Father Sha. His goofy manner is as hilarious as Tyrin Turner's drug lord Big Head Rico. Hassan Johnson is quite fun as Mark, like Jay Black's seething robber Black, seeking vengeance for all the insults and humiliation he faces at Tommy and Sincere's hands. Meanwhile Power's character Knowledge feels intimidating. Knowledge sending Method Man's Father Sha out on hits is chilling, knowing that he is getting revenge on Tommy for not paying his bail.
Louie Rankin is a riot as the Jamaican drug lord Lennox. Rankin's Ox is super funny with his thick Jamaican accent, tough guy gravitas, lethal machine gun shootout, and gripping line delivery. He feels smart and deadly. Stanley Drayton's Wise and James Parris' LaKid feel young, hungry, and dismissive with their endless insults and reckless manner. Benjamin Chavis delivers one of cinema's greatest monologues with Reverend Saviour's final speech to DMX's Tommy with a plea for peace.
Composer Stephen Cullo's film score is pretty and understated to mark how dangerous each scene can turn as well as how sad all of these events are really. Sound designers Jay Meagher, Tod A. Maitland, Steve Borne, Bruce Kitzmeyer, and Reggie McGuire provide loud gunshots, clear voice capture, and a pounding mix for Belly's hip hop and r&b soundtrack. Belly has D'Angelo, DMX, Ja Rule, Method Man, Nas, Mýa, Raekwon, Noreaga, Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Maze, Gang Starr, Rakim, WC, The Lox, RZA, Ghostface Killah, WC, and Ol' Dirty himself on there. It's really the who's who of 1990's hip hop culture.
Costume designer June Ambrose gives each guy a cool outfit with drip. I loved the sexy and colorful outfits for the actresses. The glasses on Nas and DMX are really neat. Makeup artists Sharyn Cordice and Mary Aaron ensure each black actor and actress look perfect and glow to match Hype's aesthetic. Marie Brown's wild hairstyling throughout Belly is very striking and memorable.
In all, Belly is timeless and will hopefully be re-evaluated as a true crime drama classic and a groundbreaking piece of cinema. I certainly appreciate what Hype Williams delivered.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Citizen Kane WISHES it could measure up to the cinematic achievement that is... Belly!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
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