Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
Directed by Robert Townsend
Genres - Musical, Music |
Sub-Genres - Musical Drama |
Release Date - May 8, 2001 (USA - Unknown) |
Run Time - 88 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - PG13
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
Previously, and brilliantly, adapted as an opera by Georges Bizet, the Prosper Merimee novel Carmen served as the inspiration for this updated made-for-cable movie. Set in contemporary Los Angeles, the film stars Beynoce Knowles of Destiny's Child as the seductive Carmen, no longer an employee in a cigarette factory but instead an aspiring actress. The "Don Jose" character has become a cop named Sgt. Derek Hill (Mekhi Phifer), who after being ordered by his corrupt superior officer Frank Miller (played by rapper Mos Def) to arrest Carmen for her involvement in a bar fight, falls hopelessly--and tragically--in love with her. After leading Hill down the path to perdition, Carmen deserts him, not out of love for bullfighter Escamillo but for a top-40 rap star named Blaze (Casey Lee). Although the familiar Bizet melodies are heard as linking music, the main musical score is a complete original, composed by Kip Collins. MTV's Hip Hopera: Carmen first aired over the titular cable network on May 9, 2001.
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Themes
Keywords
tragic-love, actor, hip-hop-music, police-corruption, police-officer, rap-music