Chicago (DVD, 2003, Widescreen)

There isn't enough wonderful words to say about this millenial musical, which brought back Broadway musicals to the movies! Everyone is perfectly cast, and the cast itself is surprising! But first the story.

Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta Jones) is already a famous Chicago dancer and singer, who murders her husband and her twin sister who are sleeping together. The movie opens with her singing the famous "All That Jazz," which sets the tempo for the entire movie. Then, the plot shifts to Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger), who murders her lover who had promised to help her get on the stage. They both end up on Murderess Row in Chicago, which is supervised by Mama Morton (Queen Latifah). Then comes the second highlight of the movie: Mama's main song "When You're Good to Mama". In my opinion, she brings down the house with this performance.

Both of the criminals are to be defended by Billy Flinn (Richard Gere), who literally tap dances and sings "Razzle Dazzle Them" to my great pleasure. The media helps out too with little Mary Sunshine (Christine Baranski)providing radio coverage and singing "Understandable." Another highlight in my opinion is Velma's prison dance number with 5 other prisoners: "He Had It Coming." And Renee is great singing "Isn't It Grand." And finally the movies' credits roll with Catherine and Renee singing a wonderful song called "I Just Move On."

Being Chicago, there is so much corruption and court fixing and bribery that there is no doubt that the two will be found not guilty. But the point of the movie (hidden in all the wonderful songs) is that you could get away with anything in Chicago during the 1920s if you knew the right people and could grease enough hands with money.

Who would have ever thought that Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Richard Gere could have turned in such wonderful performances in this movie! They were all nominated for numerous awards! But the real credit goes to Rob Marshall, the movie's director, who we see in a special feature to the DVD literally getting up with the actors to show them how to dance their way through the movie.

This movie was the Best Picture of 2002. Catherine Zeta Jones was Best Supporting Actress. The movie also won Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing. Renee Zellweger was nominated for Best Actress, Rob Marshall was nominated for Best Director, John C. Reilly (Roxie's husband) was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and Queen Latifah was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Additionally, Richard Gere won the Golden Globe for Best Musical Actor.

This is one DVD that you will never sell. Pull it out on a rainy day and get ready to get up and dance and sing. It is just a fabulous rendition of what we non-New Yorkers missed for so many years on Broadway. This movie is a real treat!!!!

Broadway Meets Academy Awards and the Golden Screen with Chicago. Many mainstream reviews started – or at least included – the word DAZZLING. That word makes sense… the combination of fine acting, excellent and experienced plot, fantastic singing and dancing makes for a ‘dazzling performance.’ Chicago was the IT movie and DVD of 2002 and certainly will have staying-power and should be a staple of any standard DVD collection.

From the Chicago DVD box: Winner of six Academy Awards including Best Picture and starring Academy Award nominee (Best Actress, Chicago) and Golden Globe winner (Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy) and Golden Globe winner (Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, Chicago), Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones’s Diary), Academy Award winner (Best Supporting Actress, Chicago) Catherine Zeta-Jones (Traffic), Academy Award nominee (Best Supporting Actress, Chicagao) Queen Latifah (Bringing Down the House), Golden Globe winner (Best Actor in a musical or comedy, Chicago) Richard Gere (Unfaithful) and Academy Award nominee (Best Supporting Actor, Chicago) John C. Reilly (Gangs of New York) – Chicago is a dazzling specatacle cheered by audiences and critics alike. At a time when crimes of passion result in celebrity headlines, nightclub sensation Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones) and spotlight-seeking Roxie Hart (Zellweger) both find themselves sharing space on Chicago’s famed Murderess Row. They also share Billy Flynn (Gere), the town’s slickest lawyer with a talent for turning notorious defendants into local legends. But in Chicago, there’s only room for one legend.

With an all woman "jail house tango" number & a sexy group of murderous gals, this hit Broadway musical deserves to be immortalized on DVD.

Chicago is a film adaptation of Bob Fosse's (1975) choreographer-director's Broadway musical. The story is mainly about murderesses (played by Renee Zellweger & Catherine Zeta-Jones). It is set in Chicago during the Roaring 1920s after Roxy (Renee Zellweger) flips out after being treated like a whore by a man she loves & shoots him to death. She is arrested after her husband, who feels betrayed, squeals & rats on her. (Ginger Rogers played the lead in an older B&W non-musical drama film "Roxie Hart").

The jail Roxie (Zellweger) enters is run by none other than Queen Latifah, the women's warden, who bargains with her prisoners for money to get them attorneys who can have them acquitted. Richard Gere plays Billy, the all sought for attorney, as well as a convincing song & dance man. Gere delivers magnificent musical performance.

The underlying theme of the story is about temporary fame due to a fickle public. Zellweger & Zeta-Jones (Velma) play incarcerated jail jazz age competing drama queens. Richard Gere plays Billy, an expensive lawyer who is sought after by Velma, but it's Roxie who lands him. Gere's convincing 1920's showstopping song dance performance is definitely matched by both Zellweger's & Zeta-Jones'. This is a top-notch musical.

Zellweger's singing & Zeta-Jones' dancing are spectacular & bring Broadway musicals back to the prominent place where they belong. Queen Latifah's supporting role truly turns up the heat! Chicago is nearly embarrassingly rich with oodles of talent~

Chicago is an academy award winning movie. Not only did it win 5 Academy Awards it also took home the Best Picture award!

Chicago is a movie adaptation of the broadway play. You follow the story of young Roxie Hart as she kills for her dream, and then get's off! Along the way she meets slick lawyers, crooked jail house guards, and famous prisoners!

The acting of Zellweger, Zeta-Jones, Gere, and Latifa is incredible. The music is awesome, the sets are incredible, and the movie keeps the broadway feel with the true production values of a blockbuster movie.

5/5

Latsyrhc
Tamarack Collectibles

Funny thing about watching a movie like "Chicago", which won the award for Best Picture last year. I eagerly awaited the DVD, and when I first sat down to watch it, I didn't finish it. I guess I just wasn't in the mood. I began to wonder what all the hoopla was about. Now, a couple of weeks later, I watched it from the beginning and now I "get" it. I must have been in a different mood, because this time everything "clicked" for me, it was great fun, simply a very entertaining movie. Now I'm glad I own the DVD, aside from my desire to have as many Oscar winners as I can. The whole story is a parody of fame, crime, and use of a slick lawyer to fool a jury. I will enjoy watching it again and again.

My favorite scene was where Gere's lawyer was puppetteer to Zellweger's Roxie, the acting, the singing, the timing were all just perfect. It has been well-publicized that Zellweger neither sang nor danced professionally before "Chicago", and I found her more than adequate for the role of Roxie. In fact, I quite enjoy her singing voice. Yet, Catherine Z-J has the more powerful, trained voice, having started out on stage, and it is apparent when they are together that Z-J is the more seasoned performer. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well Gere handled his singing duties. Some have complained about his somewhat "nasal" singing voice, but to me it fit his character well. A rich, operatic baritone would have been out of character.