The new Razzle-Dazzle Edition does up the movie proud, improving upon the older DVD edition in almost every way.
Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Roxie's rival, the sexy, haughty, big-time singing star Velma Kelly. She fares better, especially musically, than the other two actors, perhaps because her role is bigger than life and she's allowed to exaggerate things more. Ms. Zeta-Jones winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the part is open to debate. She's colorful, to be sure.
Perhaps the two most outstanding performances in the movie, however, are contributed by members of the supporting cast, Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. Latifah plays "Mama" Morton, the corrupt but bighearted prison matron who eventually becomes Roxie's ally. It's a part that could easily have turned into mere stereotype, but Latifah imbues it with a vitality and warmth that are hard to resist. Reilly plays Amos Hart, Roxie's cuckold husband, as a lovable sap. Flynn keeps calling him "Andy," a reference to the comedy show of "Amos and Andy." Reilly has probably the weakest singing voice of the lot, yet he's able to carry off his one big musical number, "Mr. Cellophane," on the strength of his personality alone. Both actors are worth watching, as is the film.
"Chicago" may not clearly match the best representatives of the movie musical genre's glory years, but it's a worthy step in the right direction.
Video:
The bit rate for the movie's first DVD transfer was not particularly high, indicating a fair amount of compression. The result was a picture that was a little soft and warm, with almost unnoticeable, smoothly minute grain. Now, the Buena Vista engineers have remastered the video at a higher bit rate for a much better defined image quality. The screen presentation remains the same, measuring an anamorphic ratio approximately 1.74:1 across my television, but colors are deeper and facial tones are more natural and realistic appearing, with greater detail showing through the dark, the glitz, the smoke, and the glitter of the production. There are very few traces of moiré effects, fluttering lines, or added grain, and considering that most of the story takes place indoors under severely distorted lighting, the results look quite good, I'm sure, just as they were meant to appear.
Audio:
The audio remains mostly as before, with the exception of a new Spanish-language track. Audio options in English are Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 Surround; in French, DD 5.1; and in Spanish, DD 2.0. In the Dolby Digital mode there is an appropriate musical ambiance conveyed to the rear speakers, plus a few other limited surround effects like audience applause, cell doors clanging, and such. Front-channel stereo spread is excellent, the tonal balance slightly favoring the upper frequencies but not bad; the dynamics are strong; and the overall response is a tiny bit harsh in the manner of typical movie sonics. Still and all, the sound is appropriate to the story and much as I remember it from the theater.
Extras:
Given the importance of this title as an Academy Award winner, the new "Razzle-Dazzle Edition" has an appropriate number of bonus items to accompany it. Several things on disc one, however, are repeated from the previous DVD: An audio commentary with director Rob Marshall and screenwriter Bill Condon; and a deleted musical number, "Class," performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah that can be played with or without director commentary. A twenty-seven minute, behind-the-scenes featurette, "From Stage to Screen: The History of Chicago," is not quite so much the promotional that the featurette on the initial DVD release was. In addition, there are trailers for "The Brothers Grimm" and other Miramax releases at start-up; twenty scene selections; an informational keep-case insert with a chapter index; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; and Spanish subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Disc two is where you'll find more of the newly added, "Razzle-Dazzle" material. First, there are thirteen musical performances, each about five or six minutes; six of them are extended performances, some in multiple angles with rehearsals, followed by seven rehearsal performances. Interesting backstage stuff. Next, there is a five-minute interview with Chita Rivera, followed by a nineteen minutes of talk about the film and its director, "An Intimate Look at Director Rob Marshall." After those is a thirteen-minute segment called "When Liza Minnelli Became Roxie Hart," explaining how Ms. Minnelli stepped in for a month or so for star Gwen Verdon during the 1975 stage production when Verdon was indisposed. It includes a video clip of Minnelli and Chita Rivera doing a number together on the old Dinah Shore show. The extras conclude with a six-minute featurette on Academy Award-winning production designer John Myhre; a five-minute featurette on Academy Award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood; and a thirty-five-minute promo with clips and interviews, "VH1 Behind the Movie: Chicago."
The two discs come housed in a slim-line keep case, further enclosed in an attractively embossed, metallic-faced, cardboard slipcover.
Parting Thoughts:
I couldn't help thinking as I watched "Chicago" how much like its forerunner, "Cabaret," it was, and never quite to the advantage of the newer production. I've already mentioned that the themes of the older work strike one as of more consequence than the comparatively lightweight murder trial, rags, and riches plot of the later work. Then, there's Renee Zellweger, who delivers a good, ditzy sort of performance, but no match for the star turn of Liza Minnelli; and there's no one in "Chicago" comparable to the thespian talents of Joel Grey or Michael York. The songs and dances in "Chicago" are quite good, too, and reminiscent of the earlier ones, yet they're not so memorable or so telling. Nor does "Chicago" open up cinematically as "Cabaret" does, seeming, rather, content to remain confined to its stage-bound origins. None of which is to suggest that "Chicago" is a not a good movie musical, simply not a great one.
Insofar as musicals go, "Chicago" is not your bouncy, breezy "Sound of Music" or even "Moulin Rouge." In fact, its satiric tone, like its settings, is so dark and unrelenting it may turn a few orthodox musical-comedy fans away. Still, it is probably the film's unusual twist on murder and sex-scandals that won it so many new converts. Certainly, one cannot fault the cast for giving it their all, their enthusiasm far outstripping their musical aptitudes.
"Chicago" may or may not be a movie for the ages, only time will tell, but its theme of instant celebrity is topical and its music and acting are entertaining for the nonce. The movie may even usher in a whole new generation of screen musicals. If it does, it will have served its purpose well. The new "Razzle-Dazzle Edition" does up the movie proud, improving upon the older DVD edition in almost every way.
Perhaps the two most outstanding performances in the movie, however, are contributed by members of the supporting cast, Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. Latifah plays "Mama" Morton, the corrupt but bighearted prison matron who eventually becomes Roxie's ally. It's a part that could easily have turned into mere stereotype, but Latifah imbues it with a vitality and warmth that are hard to resist. Reilly plays Amos Hart, Roxie's cuckold husband, as a lovable sap. Flynn keeps calling him "Andy," a reference to the comedy show of "Amos and Andy." Reilly has probably the weakest singing voice of the lot, yet he's able to carry off his one big musical number, "Mr. Cellophane," on the strength of his personality alone. Both actors are worth watching, as is the film.
"Chicago" may not clearly match the best representatives of the movie musical genre's glory years, but it's a worthy step in the right direction.
Video:
The bit rate for the movie's first DVD transfer was not particularly high, indicating a fair amount of compression. The result was a picture that was a little soft and warm, with almost unnoticeable, smoothly minute grain. Now, the Buena Vista engineers have remastered the video at a higher bit rate for a much better defined image quality. The screen presentation remains the same, measuring an anamorphic ratio approximately 1.74:1 across my television, but colors are deeper and facial tones are more natural and realistic appearing, with greater detail showing through the dark, the glitz, the smoke, and the glitter of the production. There are very few traces of moiré effects, fluttering lines, or added grain, and considering that most of the story takes place indoors under severely distorted lighting, the results look quite good, I'm sure, just as they were meant to appear.
Audio:
The audio remains mostly as before, with the exception of a new Spanish-language track. Audio options in English are Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 Surround; in French, DD 5.1; and in Spanish, DD 2.0. In the Dolby Digital mode there is an appropriate musical ambiance conveyed to the rear speakers, plus a few other limited surround effects like audience applause, cell doors clanging, and such. Front-channel stereo spread is excellent, the tonal balance slightly favoring the upper frequencies but not bad; the dynamics are strong; and the overall response is a tiny bit harsh in the manner of typical movie sonics. Still and all, the sound is appropriate to the story and much as I remember it from the theater.
Extras:
Given the importance of this title as an Academy Award winner, the new "Razzle-Dazzle Edition" has an appropriate number of bonus items to accompany it. Several things on disc one, however, are repeated from the previous DVD: An audio commentary with director Rob Marshall and screenwriter Bill Condon; and a deleted musical number, "Class," performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah that can be played with or without director commentary. A twenty-seven minute, behind-the-scenes featurette, "From Stage to Screen: The History of Chicago," is not quite so much the promotional that the featurette on the initial DVD release was. In addition, there are trailers for "The Brothers Grimm" and other Miramax releases at start-up; twenty scene selections; an informational keep-case insert with a chapter index; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; and Spanish subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Disc two is where you'll find more of the newly added, "Razzle-Dazzle" material. First, there are thirteen musical performances, each about five or six minutes; six of them are extended performances, some in multiple angles with rehearsals, followed by seven rehearsal performances. Interesting backstage stuff. Next, there is a five-minute interview with Chita Rivera, followed by a nineteen minutes of talk about the film and its director, "An Intimate Look at Director Rob Marshall." After those is a thirteen-minute segment called "When Liza Minnelli Became Roxie Hart," explaining how Ms. Minnelli stepped in for a month or so for star Gwen Verdon during the 1975 stage production when Verdon was indisposed. It includes a video clip of Minnelli and Chita Rivera doing a number together on the old Dinah Shore show. The extras conclude with a six-minute featurette on Academy Award-winning production designer John Myhre; a five-minute featurette on Academy Award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood; and a thirty-five-minute promo with clips and interviews, "VH1 Behind the Movie: Chicago."
The two discs come housed in a slim-line keep case, further enclosed in an attractively embossed, metallic-faced, cardboard slipcover.
Parting Thoughts:
I couldn't help thinking as I watched "Chicago" how much like its forerunner, "Cabaret," it was, and never quite to the advantage of the newer production. I've already mentioned that the themes of the older work strike one as of more consequence than the comparatively lightweight murder trial, rags, and riches plot of the later work. Then, there's Renee Zellweger, who delivers a good, ditzy sort of performance, but no match for the star turn of Liza Minnelli; and there's no one in "Chicago" comparable to the thespian talents of Joel Grey or Michael York. The songs and dances in "Chicago" are quite good, too, and reminiscent of the earlier ones, yet they're not so memorable or so telling. Nor does "Chicago" open up cinematically as "Cabaret" does, seeming, rather, content to remain confined to its stage-bound origins. None of which is to suggest that "Chicago" is a not a good movie musical, simply not a great one.
Insofar as musicals go, "Chicago" is not your bouncy, breezy "Sound of Music" or even "Moulin Rouge." In fact, its satiric tone, like its settings, is so dark and unrelenting it may turn a few orthodox musical-comedy fans away. Still, it is probably the film's unusual twist on murder and sex-scandals that won it so many new converts. Certainly, one cannot fault the cast for giving it their all, their enthusiasm far outstripping their musical aptitudes.
"Chicago" may or may not be a movie for the ages, only time will tell, but its theme of instant celebrity is topical and its music and acting are entertaining for the nonce. The movie may even usher in a whole new generation of screen musicals. If it does, it will have served its purpose well. The new "Razzle-Dazzle Edition" does up the movie proud, improving upon the older DVD edition in almost every way.
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[release]17219[/release]