For some reason I didn't think to post this last night, right after I saw the film.
Anyway, I thought it was really well done. Strong acting, good cinematography and choreography, great music. Did anyone else see it yet? What do you think it will do as far as bringing more musicals to the big screen?
Posted by Kreisler (Member # 4392) on :
Let's hope this is a trend towards having more musicals on the big screen. Films like "The Sound of Music" and "West Side Story" were an important part of American culture, and it's been nice to see a couple of recent productions (Moulin Rouge, Topsy-Turvy) do well.
Long live the musical!
Posted by :Locke (Member # 2255) on :
Don't forget Amadeus.
Posted by Maethoriell (Member # 3805) on :
Amadeus rocked, as did Moulin Rouge!
Posted by :Locke (Member # 2255) on :
I've perfected the Amadeus laugh.
"That wasn't Mozart. That was God laughing at me."
HAhahahahaha!
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I loved it, and I think it'll do well, but, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Maybe I was just expecting Moulan Rouge, but it didn't seem right to me. Like it was really good, but everything was off by a little bit. Don't know if that makes sense.
I'm going to see it several more times, though, and do my part in making it a blockbuster, because I really want to see the return of the movie musical. Not that it'll be torture or anything......
Posted by Ace of Spades (Member # 2256) on :
quote:(I)t's been nice to see a couple of recent productions (Moulin Rouge, Topsy-Turvy) do well.
Grossing about $55 million isn't really doing all that well, especially if the movie cost about $40 million to make.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
ANY profit isn't bad.
Seriously, though, musicals deserve to do better at the box office. Both Moulin Rouge and Chicago are fantastic films, in their own ways (but are very different in feel, so don't go to see one and expect it to resemble the other).
Posted by Kreisler (Member # 4392) on :
Yep, MR and Chicago are completely different animals. Moulin Rouge was created for the big screen, while Chicago was a Kander and Ebb Broadway production from the mid-70s.
Posted by Jill (Member # 3376) on :
I loved Chicago. I thought the singing and dancing were great (I was especially surprised to hear Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere sing), and the acting was amazing. I don't think there was any actor in it who wasn't perfectly suited for his/her role. I do hope this means that we see more musicals. The old classics ("Sound of Music", "Singing in the Rain", etc.) are some of my all-time favorite movies. On the other hand, I hated Moulon Rouge, so go figure.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I'm with Jill...Catherine Zeta Jones, Rene Zellwiger and Richard Gere did all their own singing and dancing in this movie and they were all superb.
Who knew?
I also think the costuming was fantastic. I would love to own a couple of those suits that Richard Gere wore. Especially the one in the puppet number -- multicolor vertical stripes are very slimming, you know!
Anyway, we loved it and think it should get an Oscar or two just because we had such a good time watching it.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Hmmm, nobody seems to be listing 8 Mile as their favorite musical.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Lose yourself.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Heck, it still gets me that Law and Order's Jerry Orbach voiced and sang the part of Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast.
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
Jerry Orbach was doing musical theater on Broadway long before Law and Order.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I know that, I watched the extras on my wife's Beauty and the Beast DVD. It just seems so wrong after seeing him in Law and Order for so long.
Posted by ravenclaw (Member # 4377) on :
I saw Chicago yesterday, I really liked it! It wasn't quite what I was expecting, though I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but it was still great! I didn't like Moulin Rouge at all, though...
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
I hated (hated, HATED) "Moulin Rouge"... among other things, I didn't like the music (too much pretentious messing around with melodies and structures)... does "Chicago" have more straightforward songs?
Posted by Ophelia (Member # 653) on :
Well I loved (loved, LOVED) Moulin Rouge, so I'm probably not the best person to ask about that. But Chicago's songs were jazz songs, pretty straightforward. I really liked them. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Yeah, the songs are old classics. Literally.
The musical itself is a pretty straightforward remake of the Broadway show.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
There's a credit for "new music by Danny Elfman" at the end of the movie. I didn't hear anything that wasn't in the B'way play, as far as I know. I guess Elfman must've written some background music or something.
Posted by Jill (Member # 3376) on :
Jerry Orbach isn't the only "Law and Order" actor to do Broadway. Jesse L. Martin (he was also on Ally McBeal) played Collins in the original cast of "Rent". He's on the CD-his voice is amazing.
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
And of course Orbach's predecessor, Paul Sorvino, is a classically trained opera singer.
Posted by Promethius (Member # 2468) on :
Hey dont everyobody forget "Newsies" as one of the greatest Musical Films of all time. Those singing newspaper boys could sing and dance the pants off of chicagos cast any day.
...Not that I have actually seen chicago.
[This message has been edited by Promethius (edited January 07, 2003).]
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
"Those singing newspaper boys could sing and dance the pants off of chicagos cast any day."
They wouldn't have to. Most of "Chicago" is remarkably free of pants.
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
You know, its extremely hard to find the soundtrack to "Newsies" now? Its always been one of my favorites. I grew up on musicals, though. *smile*
Posted by Koga (Member # 5646) on :
I liked Chicago, I liked Moulin Rouge more. So what does everyone think about the movie after haveing a year to consider? And did I miss some major films or do the main stream musicals seemed to have stopped for now? Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
I thought the movie was frikkin' amazing.
I saw it six times in theaters, and I now own the movie, and I have a poster in my room, as well as the soundtrack. (Granted, my friend got me the poster and the movie as presents, so don't think I'm overly obsessed. Also, I didn't have to pay for three out of the six times I saw it, because my dad and I had a regular date, and we went three times ).
I LOVED IT.
I liked it better than Moulin Rouge, though I did like that too.
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