Chicago (2002 movie)
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Chicago is a movie musical released in 2002 about celebrity and money in Jazz age 1920s Chicago. It won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film was released December 27, 2002 and runs 113 minutes.
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Synopsis
Velma Kelly is a nightclub star whose celebrity is only increased by her double murder of her adulterous husband and her sister. Roxie Hart is a nobody who dreams of the fame of and wealth of a singing career. When she shoots her abusive lover, who lied about his ability to get her a job as a performer, she is sent to murderess' row. There she meets Velma Kelly. Facing death row, Roxie hires Billy Flynn, Chicago's best lawyer, who promises to turn her case into a celebrity murder trial and get her acquitted. Flynn and Roxie manipulate the press and the public and Roxie becomes famous. When Billy recognizes Roxie's potential, Roxie and Velma become locked in a rivalry to outdo each other in stardom.
The show was inspired by the musical Chicago, originally staged on Broadway in 1975. The original production was not especially well-received by audiences who were not prepared for the show's cynical tone. The minimalist 1996 revival enjoyed a great deal more success, however: it has toured the world and is still running in London's West End and on Broadway. The influences of both productions can be seen in the film version. The original production's musical numbers were staged as vaudeville acts, which presented some problems when transferring from stage to screen. The movie version allowed the vaudeville scenes to happen by transferring the musical numbers to an imaginary stage in Roxie's fantasies, while keeping the pared-down flavour of the revival production.
Cast
The movie starred Renée Zellweger (Roxie Hart), Queen Latifah (Matron 'Mama' Morton), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Velma Kelly), Richard Gere (Billy Flynn), John C. Reilly (Amos Hart), and Christine Baranski (Mary Sunshine). It was directed by Rob Marshall.
All principal actors did their own singing and dancing in the film. Zeta-Jones and Latifah previously had professional music careers and Reilly, Zeta-Jones and Baranski had had musical theater experience. Gere was the most experienced of the leading cast in that area, and needed only minimal rehearsal. He did, however, require tap dance instruction before shooting his courtroom tap dance routine. Zellweger had never sung or danced professionally.
Awards
It won six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Best Editing (Martin Walsh), Best Art Direction (John Myhre), Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood), and Best Sound (Michael Minkler, Dominick Tavella and David Lee)
It was nominated for seven others: Best Director (Rob Marshall), Best Actress (Renée Zellweger), Best Supporting Actor (John C. Reilly), Best Supporting Actress (Queen Latifah), Best Cinematography (Dion Beebe), Best Song ("I Move On" by John Kander and Fred Ebb), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Bill Condon).
Songs
- "All That Jazz"
- "Funny Honey"
- "When You're Good to Mama"
- "Cell Block Tango"
- "All I Care About"
- "We Both Reached for the Gun"
- "Roxie"
- "I Can't Do It Alone"
- "Mister Cellophane"
- "Razzle Dazzle
- "Nowadays (Roxie)"
- "Nowadays"
- "I Move On"
An additional song, "Class", performed by Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones was filmed, but it was cut from the movie. The footage was later included on the DVD release and the song was included on the soundtrack album.
Sources
The movie is based on the Kander and Ebb Broadway musical, Chicago, in its turn based on the Maurine Watkins play, Chicago, which was in turn based on the stories of two Jazz-era killers, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner.
Trivia
Chicago was to have been the next movie project for legendary stage and film choreographer and director Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the original Broadway production, at the time of his death in 1987. The influence of his distinctive jazz choreography style can be detected throughout the film.
External links
- Miramax Chicago homepage (http://www.miramax.com/chicago/)
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