DVD Reviews

Chicago

The musical stage show "Chicago" comes to the big screen. Wonderfully choreographed song and dance sequences strung together by an uninteresting and rather cynical story line. Sadly, you can never really get involved or even care about any of the characters. But, let's face it, the main focus here is the musical numbers. And they are, I cannot deny, fantastic to watch.
The 1.85:1 widescreen picture has excellent black level and wonderful colour definition. There is one number with Richard Gere where red lighting is used which still comes through clean. Some graininess is apparent but I believe the stage smoke present in some sequences may have caused this effect. Very well done, overall.

Both the DTS and 5.1 soundtracks are excellently recorded with effective action in the rear speakers for both regular ambient effects and during the musical numbers. The effect recordings for either type of sequence never came across as forced or fake, only adding wonderful stage presence during the musical numbers. Vocals were very nicely done. During one sequence with some louder background goings on, the main character's whispering still came through clearly. Low frequency provided a nice "kick" with the thump of the bass drum or the stomp of a foot on the stage.

A slightly animated, musically accompanied main menu has slightly animated transitions to still frame secondary menus. The musical accompaniment gets obnoxious fast. The commentary by Director and Writer is the only real attraction here, offering some interesting incites into the difficulties of such a project. The behind the scenes piece is more of a promotional item where the old "he was great, she was great" gig gets boring fast. I definitely see a re-release next year ("ultimate" edition?) with a better navigational menu and more deserving offer of extras.

Not "Moulin Rouge" by any means. But a definite equivalent to "Grease".

Review By Joey Chill