CHICAGO: Blu-ray 'Steelbook' reissue (Miramax, 2002) Paramount Home Video
Director, Rob Marshall’s Chicago
(2002) is an acquired taste. That said, I have yet to acquire it. While Marshall’s
musical was the recipient of some Oscar-winning big screen noise and hoopla, the
hype is better than the show – a fairly pedestrian musical adaptation of
Broadway’s long-running stunner of a smash hit, co-written by legendary song
and dance man, Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb. The inspiration for Chicago came from the
barely remembered non-musical Roxie Hart (1942), starring Ginger Rogers, which
I prefer. An altogether more satisfying excursion. Like just about every movie
musical attempted in the last 20-years, Chicago forgets that what is
desperately required to make any musical click is more than just a
shapely pose in silhouetted tight pants doing a few bell kicks or taps for the
camera. To be sure, there are several finely executed musical numbers in
Marshall’s reincarnation – chiefly, Richard Gears’ mesmerizing tap routine,
executed as a court room summation in defense of accused murderess, Roxie Hart
(Rene Zellweger). Alas, Marshall has adhered much too strictly to the trappings
of this stagecraft, the audience kept at arm’s length from the sad, saucy and
slick characters who populate this proscenium, never to cross over into a truly
cinematic experience.
Interestingly, Chicago
became the first musical since 1968’s Oliver! to win Best Picture, one
of its six Academy Awards. An inhumanly luminescent, but very pregnant
Catherine Zeta-Jones took home Oscar’s little gold guy as Best Actress. The
movie is, of course, rooted in that legendary 1975 Broadway show by Fosse, to
have run 936 performances. In spite of its modest run – commercially – the
Broadway incarnation was not well-received by audiences, primarily due to its
dour tone. Fosse had hoped to rectify some of the show’s shortcomings by
directing a movie version himself. Certainly, his Oscar-win for Cabaret (1972)
ought to have cemented him as the obvious choice to pursue this project on his
terms. But, by the end of the 70’s, no studio was willing to gamble on a movie
musical. And thus, Fosse’s distinctive choreography would remain an enigma
exclusive to the show’s stagecraft, although some of it has survived this
transmutation to celluloid. If not for
1996’s minimalist revival on Broadway, playing for a whopping 9,562
performances (and currently, still holding the record for the longest-running
musical revival on Broadway – as well as the second longest-running show in
Broadway history) Marshall might never have been given this opportunity to
bring Chicago to the big screen.
The original production's numbers
were all staged as Vaudeville acts. And while Marshall’s re-imagining of the
original material respects this contrivance, most of the numbers in the movie
exist purely as cutaway fantasies gleaned from Roxie’s memory – tainted in rose-colored
grit and infinitely more fanciful than the ‘present-day’ sequences, staged in a
sort of dark and foreboding alter-universe, uncompromising and to contrast with
these escapist songs and dances – making the disconnect even more jarring.
Marshall insists this is why the electrifying duet, ‘Class’ performed by
Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones) and Mama Morton (Queen Latifah) was excised from the
final cut. Virtually all incarnations of
the story are owed a little-known 1926 Broadway play by Maurine Watkins about
two real-life Jazz-era murderers, Beulah Annan (a.k.a. Roxie Hart) and Belva
Gaertner (a.k.a. Velma Kelly). Then, the legendary George Abbott-directed, with
Francine Larrimore and Juliette Crosby - running 172 performances at the Music
Box Theatre. With a year, Hollywood had produced its own version with Gaertner
appearing as herself in a cameo. For this latest incarnation of Chicago,
Miramax Films and The Producers Circle joined alliances with German-based
Kallis Productions. And although the title seems to suggest an obvious choice
of location, Chicago was actually filmed in Toronto, Canada, taking
advantage, not only of Canada’s tax credits to film-makers, but also such
locations as Queen's Park, the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery, Casa
Loma, the Elgin Theatre, Union Station, the Canada Life Building, Danforth
Music Hall, and at the Old City Hall.
Set during the rum-running
twenties, Chicago is bawdy, gaudy and relentlessly showy. Under
Marshall’s guidance, Chicago plays more like a pop opera than a
traditional Hollywood musical. That is part, if not all of its problem. We get
style-plus but without so much as a hint of substance. The score tumbles forth,
one song laden upon the next with only the most superficial dialogue to loosely
connect the story from one musical vignette to the next. All of this would, of
course, be quite forgivable if the characters had something meaningful to say,
or if Marshall’s direction had made even the feeblest endeavor to transform
stagecraft into a celluloid experience, and finally, if Chicago had been
‘book and lyric-ed’ as a pop opera a la Andrew Lloyd Webber. Alas - no, the
movie remains slavishly anchored to its Broadway origins, Dion Beebe's
cinematography, never entirely steps beyond the footlights. As such, Chicago
emerges as a faithful recreation of 'the show'. Bill Condon’s screenplay
musters up the flashier musical sequences with relative ease. But the numbers
are just that – showstoppers, shot with a heavy-handed music video approach
that leaves everything stage-bound and stodgy.
Our story begins in 1924, Roxie
Hart enamored with Velma Kelly’s performance at the Chicago Theater.
Desperately craving stardom, Roxie begins an affair with Fred Casely (Dominic
West), who claims to have ‘an in’ with the show’s manager. Afterward, Velma is
arrested for killing her husband, Charlie and sister, Veronica who were having
an affair. A month later, Casely confesses to Roxie he has virtually no showbiz
connections. He just wanted to get her in the sack. Enraged, Roxie murders
Casely. Convincing her husband, Amos (John C. Reilley), to take the rap by
lying to him about having just killed a burglar in self-defense, Amos confesses
to a detective. However, when detectives reveal to Amos that Roxie and Casely
were having an affair, he recants his testimony. Roxie begrudgingly confesses
and is immediately arrested. Ambitious District Attorney, Martin Harrison (Colm
Feore) seeks the death penalty. At Cook County Jail, Roxie is placed in the
‘care’ of corrupt Matron ‘Mama’ Morton. Here, she also comes face to face with
her idol, Velma Kelly, but is quickly disillusioned when Velma fluffs her off.
On Morton's counsel, Roxie hires Velma's lawyer, the devious, Billy Flynn
(Richard Gere) who effectively launches an all-out campaign to obfuscate the
truth. The press eats up the fiction
peddles as fact and Roxie is raised to the rafters as a martyr. Bitterly
displeased, Velma, cajoles Roxie into joining her act to replace the sister she
has murdered. However, as her own popularity supersedes Velma’s now, Roxie
declines the offer.
Meanwhile, wealthy socialite, Kitty
‘Go-To-Hell Kitty’ Baxter (Lucy Liu) is arrested for murdering her husband and
his two lovers. What a sensational story! The press immediately drops Roxie and
Flynn to pay more attention to Baxter’s case. Rather ruthlessly, Roxie steals
the spotlight back by claiming to be pregnant. Virtually ignored during all
this chaos, Amos is convinced by Flynn to play the part of the grieving
husband, knowing the child is Casely’s, goading Amos to launch into a lurid
divorce. Overly confident, Roxie fires her attorney. But when Katalin Helinszki
(Ekaterina Chtchelkanova), a true innocent in prison, wrongfully accused of
murder, is publicly hanged, Roxie quickly re-hires Flynn to get her off. Flynn
transforms the trial into a three-ring-circus, exploiting the press,
discrediting witnesses and manipulating the evidence. His smoke screen works,
until Velma produces Roxie’s diary as evidence, reading lurid excerpts in
exchange for amnesty in her case. Nevertheless, the wily Flynn discredits the
diary and Roxie is acquitted. But her instant celebrity evaporates only moments
after being exonerated when another woman, who had also shot her husband,
suddenly murders her lawyer on the courthouse steps. Flynn tells Roxie it is
all part of the game of celebrity, that he tampered with her diary, in order to
incriminate the district attorney and also free two clients at once. Amos
misguidedly attempts a reconciliation with his wife. Instead, Roxie rebuffs
him, explaining she was never pregnant. Separately, Roxie and Velma try to
resurrect their careers, but to no avail. Now, despite their mutual resentment,
the girls team up for a rousing razz-a-matazz finale that wows audiences.
To be certain, Chicago is
brash, brassy and bold. But the movie plays more like the over-the-hill pony
put out to pasture, modestly repainted for one last appearance in the big-top before
being carted off to the factory for glue. Chicago has its’ moments and
offers a showcase of star talent, performing some fairly impressive routines.
Catherine Zeta-Jones wallops her numbers with enough voracity and venom to make
each note crackles with scintillating sex appeal as they should, and Queen
Latifah undeniable has ‘great fun’ imploring her inmates to ‘just be good to
mama!’ Rene Zellweger’s performance is the weakest of the bunch – her
voice, thin, and her dance routines, somewhat aping, though never rivaling
Zeta-Jones’ electricity. Richard Gere’s superbly rendered court room ‘tap
dance’ is astounding – by far, the most eloquently staged moment in the entire
picture. Yet, the songs and dances are unable to sustain the story. The
vignettes, though sultry and saucy to the point of distraction, are just that –
vignettes, begging the question – was this really the Best Picture of 2002?!?
Paramount, the current custodians
of this Miramax release are opting for a straight dump Blu-ray reissue, albeit,
this time tricked out as a steelbook. Certainly, the inclusion of nearly
3-hours of ‘legacy’ extras, with nothing new to add, and no advertisement about
‘remastering’ means we’re getting the proverbial lipstick on a pig. Is this a
good thing? Well, Chicago on Blu-ray already sports an impressive 1080p
transfer via Buena Vista Home Video, who initially held dominion over Miramax
catalog releases, with excellently reproduced grain, exquisite color saturation,
and flesh tones that are just a tad too pinkish and flat for me. Fine detail is
beautifully realized. The transfer teeters just shy of reference quality. The
audio is 5.1 DTS and is aggressive. The extras are the same – a comprehensive
commentary from Marshall and screenwriter, Bill Condon, followed by a slew of
goodies to detail virtually every aspect of this movie, while tracing its stage
origins. The list of extras is more impressive than the movie – the standouts
being Bringing Chicago to Life: Adapting the Broadway Musical to Film, The
Extended Cast (paying homage to the otherwise unsung dancers of the show)
and The Director's Cut: Musical History is Made. Add to this a ton of
featurettes with participation from cast and crew, snippets from both the 75th
and 85th Academy Awards, and extended cuts of virtually all of the
musical performances foreshortened in the actual movie – as well as rehearsal
footage – and you get it; this is a motherload not to be missed. Upon repeat
viewing however, the extras are infinitely more fun and engaging than the
movie. As the previous Blu-ray was a class act, Paramount’s steelbook likely
will be welcome for those fans who somehow missed Chicago on its
previous Blu-ray release, currently out of print.
FILM RATING (out
of 5 - 5 being the best)
3
VIDEO/AUDIO
4.5
EXTRAS
5+++
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