Chicago (DVD)

...some good press to make Chicago fall in love with Roxie to get her off the murder charge. Just how will Velma take the lack of cooperation from her lawyer now he has anew client and will Roxie ever fulfil her dream of being big on stage? I really did not know what to expect from this film as it stars three big actors but all of whom I have never head sing or watched dance so for me it was a nice surprise. I found Renee Zellweger who played the role ...
...set in the 1920’s in Chicago and this is very apparent from the costumes and sets which have been used. I found it all looked very real and authentic for this year and I loved seeing how different everything was back then. I did however find that at times it was quite dark and just wished we could have seen more of the film shot in the daytime. The DVD which I have does have some bonus features which include:- Feature Commentary with Director and ...

sewbizzie 29.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

...our hearts… ---Plot--- Chicago in the early 1930s. A city where killing is a form of entertainment and where, if you’re lucky, you can get away with murder. Chicago tells the story of Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger), a woman who killed her lover and is sent to prison facing the death penalty. But Roxie’s biggest ambition is to be famous and have her own vaudeville act, and she soon discovers that, with a little bending of the truth ...
...was alive today, living in Chicago and had $5000 things might have turned out a little differently”. In prison Roxie meets Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a vaudeville star who shot her husband and sister after catching them in bed together. Cue intense rivalry between Roxie and Velma as they each battle for their place in the spotlight. ---Background information--- Chicago was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb (the same people who ...

bubblegum_princess 23.01.2003 (24.01.2003) · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

Chicago, renound for its slightly murky past. Murder, gangsters, jazz, and liquor are the main contributors to the tasty plot in this film. Topping the bill is Reneé Zellweger, playing the main character Roxie. Most famously known for the film Bridget Jones’ diary, I was a little skeptical as to whether or not she could dance or sing, but I was willing to give her a chance. Next up is Catherine Zeta Jones, the Welsh lassie famous for her marriage ...
...of her abilities in anything other than acting. Then comes the king of charm; Richard Gere, an extremely experienced actor, well known throughout the business. The film, set in the 1920’s, begins in a jazz bar, where Velma Kelly (Zeta Jones) and her sister Veronica are topping them bill. The problem is, only Velma turns up, and questions are asked of the whereabouts of Veronica. Watching from the audience, Roxie (Zellweger) looks up at her and longs ...

peekaboo123 09.02.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

Chicago is one of my newest favourite films; right up there with Billy Elliot and Forrest Gump. I wouldn't have thought it was my type of film, but I decided to buy it on Amazon after winning a gift voucher from another opinionating site. I was wary, but I'm glad I did! It did very well, winning numerous Oscars, and cementing Catherine Zeta Jones' and Renee Zellweger's places at the top of the A-list; and deservedly so, too! It's hugely entertaining ...
...of singing on stage in Chicago and divorcing her boring husband, Amos. She meets a man, Fred, who promises to make her a star, but after he unceremoniously dumps her and reveals he has no more connections to the business than desperate Roxie, she shoots him in a fit of rage. In prison, awaiting trial, she meets the famous Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta Jones), a successful stage star who shot her husband and sister after finding them in a compromising ...

JessL 24.09.2003 (30.11.2003) · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

...progressed and reinvented itself with Chicago the multiple Oscar winning Bob Fossey musical that stars Renée Zellweger. Catherine Zeta Jones and Richard Gere. The sexy, seductive feel to Chicago makes it one of my favourite musicals having seen the film, stage production, bought the soundtrack album and the DVD. Yes I like it that much. So why do I like it?? Chicago is set surprisingly enough in Chicago Illinois in the late 1920s. The era is one ...
...actually had never heard of Chicago until recently when one of my favourites Marti Pellow took the role of Billy Flynn in London’s West End (It was for this reason I bought the tickets to see it when it came to Manchester) so I was surprised to hear that it was based on a 1927 movie of the same name and that was based on a true story. Roxie Hart’s story has had a number of revivals since that first black and white film. Did you know Ginger Rogers ...

duskmaiden 01.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

...see what it is. Because Chicago isn’t a film with some elements that are good, and others that are weak. Chicago is a film anyone, of any age, can enjoy. There’s something there for everyone, and whether you like musicals or not, you’ll really enjoy it. In fact, you probably won’t just enjoy it; you’ll love it! Chicago was a stage musical for many years. In the last couple of years, female’s stars have battled ...
...legs up in the air. Chicago is the musical to star in to prove that you have the talent, and many actresses/singers have gone on from doing the musical to very big things. So, when it was made into a film, there was talk about who would get the main parts. Would it be Madonna? Britney? No, thankfully, the casting directors went with people who could sing a note or two, and it worked really well. The three main were, to be, Catherine Zeta- Jones (C-Z-J), ...

Mattroberts 20.11.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

...I saw the DVD of Chicago was available, I rented it from our local Blockbuster. So on Friday evening, I sat down to watch it with two of my daughters (aged 10 and 12). My husband was playing on the football game, but was half-watching, as was my son (11). I soon became engrossed, right from the first number. All That Jazz is the most famous song from the musical and the film begins with this song, juxtaposing Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones)’s ...
...in Roxie’s imagination. Chicago has all the elements you could find in a thriller – jealousy, greed, debauchery, murder and corruption. You not only love the characters despite their flaws, but because of them. The heroines are both murderers, while the hero is a corrupt and manipulative lawyer, but the actors perform so well that you become captivated and charmed by them. The theme of infidelity and lack of morals is also explored, ...

KarenUK 20.08.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart whom is sent to prison after shooting and killing a man. Roxie - a wannabe starlet - then meets Velma Kelly a once Jazz star who was sent to prison after murdering her sister and husband and Hart learns how to manipulate the media and turn her 'style' into a brand. But with the threat of a hanging looming over her head and the desperate need to be famous will she be able to survive the media machine? Chicago prances ...
...amazing dancers doing their thing Chicago works - because the routines are powerful, poised and passionate -much like the goddess's performing them- with the right balance of high-brow and low-brow shimmies and shakes. For all the films blaring visual eye-candy and inventive set pieces - Chicago is all about the music, the enticing, catchy, brash, engaging music. From the high speed thrills of all That Jazz to the heart-wrenching lyricism of Mr. ...

JayHall1991 28.10.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

...Zeta-Jones), a singer on the Chicago stage. Instead she is trapped in a boring marriage to the reliable, but extremely dull Amos (John C Reilly). She embarks on an affair with a furniture salesman called Fred, but she shoots him after finding out he has lied to her about having connections in the world of showbiz. Roxie then finds herself in jail, alongside Velma Kelly, who is awaiting trial for murdering her husband and sister after catching them ...
...Velma on stage in a Chicago jazz club, and sets the scene well. Catherine Zeta-Jones sings it very well, and the choreography is also good, (although some of it looks very painful!) ‘Funny Honey’ starts off as a love song about Amos sung by Roxie. It ends with her shouting abuse at him as he lets her take the rap for murdering her lover. Queen Latifah’s opening number is ‘When You’re Good to Mama’, she has a powerful voice and is suitably brash ...

e_rees3 23.02.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

Wanting to watch a couple of films at the pictures when we arrive, the final choice was down to my wife – and she picked Chicago. A musical staring: Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, and Katherine Zeta Jones. The film surrounds the trial of Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger,), after she kills her lover – a furniture salesman who she is convinced is going to give her-her big break in show biz. Unfortunately for him-she shoots him several times after he tells ...
...no guy would have turned her down. She is put in prison where the ‘matron’ of the ward likes to be called ‘Mama’. Mama (Queen Latifah) is a rather well endowed lady and an extremely dubious prison warden. Each scene is suitably accompanied with a jazzy song, which one of the stars belts out at the top of their voice. Zeta-Jones and Zellweger are superb in their portrayal of their murderous characters. Gere though doesn’t particularly shine through, ...

dabmim 30.01.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

Roxi Hart is a wannabe vaudeville star who achieves fame when she kills her lying lover in a fit of pique. Velma Kelly is an established star who achieves infamy after killing her adulterous husband and sister. The two women both end up on Murderers’ Row, where they have to vie for the attention of the showman lawyer Billy Fynn, if they want any chance of escaping the hangman’s noose. And this being "Cicago" it’s all a literal song ...
...we’ve seen on our screens for quite some time. Okay, there was "Moulin Rouge", but that used songs to illustrate a point rather than to progress the narrative as "Chicago" does. And it’s about as big and brash a spectacle as you could hope to see, with more songs than spoken dialogue. I’ve never been a big fan of Renée Zellweger. I don’t know if it’s the alternately squeaky then husky voice or the disproportionately ...

afy9mab 06.04.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

It’s the 1920’s in downtown Chicago where murder has almost become an art and so called crimes of passion result in celebrity status for many of the females currently occupying the city’s famed Murderess Row. Blonde bombshell Roxie Hart(Renee Zelleweger) is married to loyal and dependable mechanic Amos(John C. Reilly) who’d do anything to make her happy but her overwhelming desire to be famous causes her to stray. Temptation ...
..."Jesus Christ was alive in Chicago today and had $5,000 things might have been different". And Roxie’s not his only client in Cook County Jail. Fresh from her money making days as a Vaudeville vixen Velma Kelly has also managed to produce Billy’s fee and isn’t happy that now Roxie is on the scene Flynn seems more concerned with making Roxie a local legend than working on tactics to secure her own freedom. While Roxie’s column ...

LouLou_83 12.08.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

...people know by now that Chicago is based on the hit Broadway musical, but if that is the extent of your knowledge, here's a quick rundown of it (cheers to the official musical web site for the info). It started back in 1996 (May 2, to be precise) as a concert. Once its success was more assured, preview performances of the musical began on October 29, with the opening coming on November 14. The rest, up until this film, is history. The musical has ...
...fan of theatre and musicals, I wouldn't mind seeing it. Plot Outline ------------ The plot is basic and straightforward, with no clever twists or tricks. Please forward on a few paragraphs if you don’t want to find out the plot and you want to go and see the film uninitiated. The first character introduced is Velma Kelly, who has just shot the other half of her sister act when she caught her husband with her sister. Cue a song (All That ...

psrose78 31.01.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

...This film begins in Chicago in the 30's I think when we see Velma Kelly (CZJ) arrive for her performance, her act is the Kelly sisters but unfortunately as explained later her sister has died so she is a solo act. Before she gets ready to perform we see her trying to wash blood off her hands. She sings the famous 'All That Jazz' and makes a great performance, what a powerful voice. She steals the show and Roxie Hart (RZ) watches her but is too busy ...
...just to beat her story, Chicago is like that you can be famous for a minute until something else happens and then your fame is history. Mama (Queen Latifah) works in the prison looking after the women and also doing them favours but she wants money in return. Roxie knows that she could have her name in history for being the first woman hung in that prison if she doesn't get her story done well so she needs a good lawyer. After listening in on Velma ...

ms19 22.01.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)

...Rather than an original concept, Chicago is the film adaptation of the long-running stage musical. It stars Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Richard Gere. Queen Latifah, John C Reilly, Lucy Liu and the woman who plays Cybill’s friend in the TV show Cybill (Christine Baranski?) also feature. Because it’s a musical, people are inevitably going to make comparisons with Moulin Rouge. Chicago isn’t as stylish, or anywhere ...
...I lie, it’s set in Chicago in the 1920’s or 30’s, those heady, glamorous days when the truth didn’t matter as much as being someone, when gangsters were celebrities, everyone wanted to be on the stage, and someone was murdered every five minutes, or so it seems. The story centres around two women; Velma Kelly (an almost unrecognisable Catherine Zeta Jones), vaudeville star and Roxie Hart (Zellweger), a vaudeville wannabe. ...

xadoc 21.01.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chicago (DVD)