Chicago (2002) - Razzle Dazzle [HD]

A review of the 2002 film Chicago is detailed below. For all other clips from this movie please see my playlist: Roxie’s trial begins, and Billy turns it into a media spectacle with the help of the sensationalist newspaper reporters and radio personality Mary Sunshine. Billy discredits witnesses, manipulates evidence and even stages a public reconciliation between Amos and Roxie when she claims the child is his. And All That Jazz Cinema’s ability to produce top class top class musicals has been in decline for many decades now. I’ve seen numerous commentaries that public tastes have changed and they no longer desire to see musicals. However, I would disagree, as given the numerous stage musicals that are being continually being released and the public’s insatiable appetite for them and their popularity, albeit, IMO, the songs and music seem to pale into insignificance compared to yesteryear. I believe it’s simply a case that the filmmaker’s craft for producing such entertainments has dissipated over time. However, the dearth of a really good musical was broken in 2002 with the release of Chicago, based on the mid-70s stage black comedy musical which tells the tale of two murderesses who find themselves in jail together awaiting trial in 1920s Chicago. The film starts with a bang with Catherine Zeta-Jones (in her terrific Academy Award winning role) as Velma Kelly belting out the opening number. The film’s numbers are cleverly presented as mostly cutaway scenes in the mind of the characters whilst scenes in real life are filmed with a gritty hard-edged style. The film marked the directorial debit of Rob Marshall who seemed to get his cues from the late, great Bob Fosse who had directed the original 1975 Broadway production. However, Rob Marshall would go on to direct the absolutely dreadful Cats ! The films also boats one of the great all-time show stopping numbers ever filmed for a musical. It’s an absolute corker of a number, brilliantly choreographed, in which six women, at the Cook Country Jail, explain their presence in the prison, all of whom stand accused of killing their male partners. The film also stars the excellent Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, a bored housewife who dreams of becoming a musical star and Richard Gere as Billy Flynn the smooth-talking, slimy lawyer who turns his female clients into celebrities to gain public support for their acquittal. Unusually for a musical, the characters are mostly unsympathetic and quite dislikable as the whole film eschews any sentiment. It’s the excellence of the execution in terms of direction, acting, choreography and the music that makes the film such a standout. Singin’ In The Rain is my favourite musical of all-time, but I would include Chicago as one of the best 5 musicals ever made to come out of Hollywood. WW Movie Clips