THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
The very first image on the screen of Eminem: Hitz & Disses lets you know that you are about to flush 45 minutes of your life down the toilet. Moments after popping the disc in a black screen with white text fades up reading "The following film contains no music or performances by Eminem."

Having stated that, the creators of Hitz & Disses present a stream of talking heads discussing Detroit, hip-hop, their own music, and, occasionally, the rapper Eminem. This unauthorized biography of Eminem is so shallow and stupid that you might find yourself knowing even less about him after you see it than you did before.

Besides, the thing that makes Eminem a fascinating artist is not his background, which, by all accounts seems mundane and boring, but rather the way he mixes macabre humor, witty rhymes, offensive and controversial subject matter, and vicious self-dissection into his lyrics. Without actually featuring those lyrics, this program has nothing. In fact, when one interviewee recites the storyline to Eminem's amazing obsessed fan single "Stan" he gets the basic plot points down without describing what makes it so potent a song; its desperate sense of urgency. Listening to this guy talk about the song without actually hearing it is like having a four year old describe an expressionist painting without seeing it.

VIDEO:
The video is an attempt at collage with different formats used. The interviews are digital video and look fine. The rest is a mix of sources, with varying levels of quality.

AUDIO:
Without any music (well, there is some really silly original music) the audio is totally nondescript. Talking heads basically. It is in stereo.

EXTRAS:
The disc includes a complete version of the unidentified interview with Eminem that is used in the film. It also features some lame freestyle raps from fans recorded on the street. These raps are also featured in the documentary, so there was no point in rehashing them. Don't look for these marble-mouthed wannabes at a record store near you.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
This is a totally thoughtless exercise in marketing. Someone wants to make some money off the name of a famous musician and has figured out how to do it while circumventing that musician's rights. At least with Napster you get the music. Here you get nothing. Save your cash for a CD or something.