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If you've never seen this popular production performed on stage in its original form as one of the longest-running musicals in Broadway history, the movie version is probably your next best option--heck, it's your only option! But beware the major difference between the experience of stage and screen, because A Chorus Line is a perfect example of a show that doesn't translate well from one medium to another. Director Richard Attenborough gives it his best shot, cutting some of the production numbers and adding new ones while "opening up" the show to explore the off-stage lives of struggling performers as they prepare for another grueling audition. Michael Douglas plays the harsh, workaholic director who puts the auditioning "gypsies" through the paces, winnowing a large group of hopefuls down to eight lucky cast members for his next big show. There's a subplot about the director's former girlfriend, who returns for the big audition, and along the way the other hopefuls sing and dance while revealing their various hopes and fears. On screen, the musical works best when focused on its dramatic passages; otherwise it's impossible to escape the fact that this material is best suited to live performance. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (74)

good grief
A Chorus Line is a truly great show, when performed onstage keeping true to the original *ahem* SONGS, but the movie kind of failed in the attempt to re-create the magic. I mean, "Music and The Mirror" is a perfect example. Did they think it was too subtle for the movie-watching American public? Did it really have to be replaced with something as blunt as "Let Me Dance For You"? Puh-leaze. And they cut out the entire montage, which really helps in exploring the character's personalities, etc. Why did Cassie seem like such an...annoyance? She did interrupt "I Can Do That". She did harass him into giving her a role. She didn't seem graceful, like in the stage version. (ie, falling while getting into the taxi) I really liked the Sheila, and I loved Terrance Mann. I also found the drag show monologue very well done. It's good, but not even close to the singular sensation it was onstage.

"One Singular Sensation!"
The screen version of Michael Bennett's landmark Broadway musical lets the audience experience the struggle, anxiety and triumph of a group of dancers auditiong for the chorus of a Broadway show.

This is a classic and not to be missed. One of the best "backstage musicals films" ever made. Michael Douglas soft-shoes 16 dancers through a grueling audition to Marvin Hamlisch's Oscar nominated music and Jeffrey [Flashdance] Hornaday's sizzling, synergistic choreography.

The cast is excellent most notably, Michael [Chaplin] Blevins, who brings charming honesty to the role of 17 year old Mark, the youngest dancer on the line. Other fine performances are given by Gregg Burge, Audrey Landers, Nicole Fosse, and Terrence Mann. For such excellent dancers they all bring great credibility to their respective acting roles.

Oscar winning director Richard Attenborough heads-up this dazzling three-time Academy Award nominated adaptation of Broadway's long running musical that received nine Tony awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Attneborough gracefully blends big production numbers with intimate moments.

This movie is so enjoyable to watch because the transition from stage to screen is smooth and entertaining. Afterall, the New York Times called the film :

"A single burst of breathtaking inspiration!" -New York Times

The Dance and Theatre critics raved about it:

"It is the best dance film, and for that matter, the best movie musical for years!" -Clive Barnes, New York Post

"...exhilarating...one of the year's best pictures..." -Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Previews, INN

This is a Great White Way phenomenon. Join the chorus of this high-stepping piece of celluloid - it is truly "One Singular Sensation"!

Fun movie, very true to life of a dancer
Considering I have never seen the Broadway show, I found this movie to be quite enjoyable. The songs were fun, the dancing fantastic, the acting was relatively good, and I thought the plot would have been very good without the Cassie/Zach relationship being thrust into the limelight. Many people did not like "Surprise, Surprise," due to its replacing of an original song. However, I thought Gregg Burge did an absolutely amazing job with it. His dancing was so high-energy and almost technically impeccable. No complaints there. I loved: "Dance Ten, Looks Three", "Nothing", "Hello Twelve", and "At the Ballet." My one major complaint with this movie is Cassie. I felt she was annoying, she detracted from several of the musical numbers with absolutely pointless shots of her sitting in a chair, and I didn't enjoy her songs very much. Other than that, good movie, and hopefully I will get to see the Broadway show sometime.

Don't delete old songs
While I can understand the need for space and time in a movie, the two new songs, Richie's "Surprise" & Cassie's "Let me dance for you," are both fascinating and reveal to us something more about their characters. It was good that part of the excessively long montage went away, though they should not have left out Richie's previous part, in which he reveals that his athletic skills give him a scholarship to college in which he intends to become a kindergarten teacher, until he realizes that "Nobody's going to be standing there with no scholarship to life" and selects dancing instead.

But Cassie's distracting subplot gets in the way a bit. It would have been better to have Cassie appear twice, singing both her original "Music & the mirror" (and emotionally stronger song) earlier, getting tossed out, then returning later to sing "Let me dance for you."

In addition, Kristine's song, "Sing," reveals more about this pathetic bride whom we know or care nothing about in the movie. Her husband (and assistant in the song) is more powerful, but he too suffers from losing all importance to the plot.

Beyond this, the character of Connie is completely ignored. She didn't even get a song, nor much to say. She could at least have helped out a bit with Diana's "Nothing."

That's it. My tirade is over. I like the film, but I could bear to watch a further half-hour to include more for these characters.

Unjustly Underrated!
I can't believe all the negative reviews I am reading for this film, but then again, I haven't seen the stage version, so I can't compare. The film adaptation of "A Chorus Line" is the quintessential backstage musical, a celebration of the lives and tribulations of the dancers who turn up by the hundreds to audition for a handful of jobs on Broadway.

The simple story goes like this: A choreographer is casting eight dancers for a new musical, and during one long and truthful day he auditions hundreds of dancers before he makes his final selection. The remaining dozen pour out their hearts and souls through song and dance, all desperate for a part, and all deserving of one. We learn about their lives, loves, fears, and sacrifices through the brilliant lyrics.

From what I understand, Richard Attenborough's film treatment of the story sticks to the outlines of the stage version, although he takes the liberty to fill in the details of the choreographer's old romance, and he leaves out some of the original songs to make room for new ones. I think it's a wonderful idea, and hey, for me, it works.

The result may not please purists who want a film record of what they saw on stage, but this is one of the most intelligent and compelling movie musicals in a long time. Everybody, at one time or another, has been on a line similar to this one--anxious to be accepted and terrified of being rejected by someone judging his or her worth.

Attenborough (Gandhi) makes the most of this dramatic tension, along with the hopefulness of all those in the audition. Best of all, he captures the vibrancy of modern dance from the free-form confusion of the opening scenes to the high-stepping kicks of the finale.

This is truly one of the most underrated films EVER, an emotional, powerful, and anxious musical definitely worth seeing. Give it a chance, it won't hurt! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

captivating
I found the movie very interesting. Movies never follow the book to a tee. The actors and actresses were superb. I enjoyed each and every one of the characters(no problem with nicollette). Jackie comes through once again. I recommend it. It leaves you yearning for more.

worth the time!
A very nice movie,with a splendid cast (although there were some exeptions!).
The story itself is offcourse classic and appealing.
It provides some 4 hrs of intertainment witch may seem long,but the movie is surtanly worth the time.
An exiting tale with an impressing cast...
So all by all i would recomend it.. (too bad its not yet available on dvd!)
But why trust my opinion,watch the movie and decide for yourself..

Lucky Chance that the movie aired!!
The movie could have been better if they left out Nicolette's horrific so called acting. all the other actors did their characters justice! The make-up in first 12yrs for the female actress for the story line was gruesom, but it did get better!! All in all the movie was fine I would recommend buying this movie @ a discount only!!

Great Movie
I thought this was a great movie. I loved the actor playing Gino. I actually felt like he was ment for the part. Although the books were much better, I really enjoyed this movie and the sequal to it. Sandra Bullock was a good Maria, but her part was too short.The actress playing Lucky was brilliant! She gave off the real essence of Lucky.

Irizarry Saves the Day
I agree with the first viewer, this movie was good, but the books were of the "can't put 'em down" variety, so would have been VERY hard to beat IMO. Vincent Irizarry, playing Gino "the Ram" Santangelo saves this movie for sure. He ages 40 years and does so with style and grace. An amazing performance from an amazing man. Michael Nader as Enzio Bonnati is excellent as well. I didn't find Braeden's portrayal of Dimitri all that compelling however. I don't think he "fit" the role real well, maybe it's just me. The roles of Lucky and her mother should have been reversed. Sandra Bullock would have made a much better Lucky and Nicolette Sheridan ... well let's just say she would have been on screen a whole lot less. Grant Show was great as Marco, although the part was too small for my liking. And the character of Lenny Golden may well have not even been introduced for all the time they spent on him, he was a BIG part of the books, and hardly even noticable in the movie. (Not the actor's fault, he was good.)

Overall, it was very entertaining. It was originally a mini-series and is long, almost four hours and would probably be best viewed in several installments. ... Read more

Reviews (74)

good grief
A Chorus Line is a truly great show, when performed onstage keeping true to the original *ahem* SONGS, but the movie kind of failed in the attempt to re-create the magic. I mean, "Music and The Mirror" is a perfect example. Did they think it was too subtle for the movie-watching American public? Did it really have to be replaced with something as blunt as "Let Me Dance For You"? Puh-leaze. And they cut out the entire montage, which really helps in exploring the character's personalities, etc. Why did Cassie seem like such an...annoyance? She did interrupt "I Can Do That". She did harass him into giving her a role. She didn't seem graceful, like in the stage version. (ie, falling while getting into the taxi) I really liked the Sheila, and I loved Terrance Mann. I also found the drag show monologue very well done. It's good, but not even close to the singular sensation it was onstage.

"One Singular Sensation!"
The screen version of Michael Bennett's landmark Broadway musical lets the audience experience the struggle, anxiety and triumph of a group of dancers auditiong for the chorus of a Broadway show.

This is a classic and not to be missed. One of the best "backstage musicals films" ever made. Michael Douglas soft-shoes 16 dancers through a grueling audition to Marvin Hamlisch's Oscar nominated music and Jeffrey [Flashdance] Hornaday's sizzling, synergistic choreography.

The cast is excellent most notably, Michael [Chaplin] Blevins, who brings charming honesty to the role of 17 year old Mark, the youngest dancer on the line. Other fine performances are given by Gregg Burge, Audrey Landers, Nicole Fosse, and Terrence Mann. For such excellent dancers they all bring great credibility to their respective acting roles.

Oscar winning director Richard Attenborough heads-up this dazzling three-time Academy Award nominated adaptation of Broadway's long running musical that received nine Tony awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Attneborough gracefully blends big production numbers with intimate moments.

This movie is so enjoyable to watch because the transition from stage to screen is smooth and entertaining. Afterall, the New York Times called the film :

"A single burst of breathtaking inspiration!" -New York Times

The Dance and Theatre critics raved about it:

"It is the best dance film, and for that matter, the best movie musical for years!" -Clive Barnes, New York Post

"...exhilarating...one of the year's best pictures..." -Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Previews, INN

This is a Great White Way phenomenon. Join the chorus of this high-stepping piece of celluloid - it is truly "One Singular Sensation"!

Fun movie, very true to life of a dancer
Considering I have never seen the Broadway show, I found this movie to be quite enjoyable. The songs were fun, the dancing fantastic, the acting was relatively good, and I thought the plot would have been very good without the Cassie/Zach relationship being thrust into the limelight. Many people did not like "Surprise, Surprise," due to its replacing of an original song. However, I thought Gregg Burge did an absolutely amazing job with it. His dancing was so high-energy and almost technically impeccable. No complaints there. I loved: "Dance Ten, Looks Three", "Nothing", "Hello Twelve", and "At the Ballet." My one major complaint with this movie is Cassie. I felt she was annoying, she detracted from several of the musical numbers with absolutely pointless shots of her sitting in a chair, and I didn't enjoy her songs very much. Other than that, good movie, and hopefully I will get to see the Broadway show sometime.

Don't delete old songs
While I can understand the need for space and time in a movie, the two new songs, Richie's "Surprise" & Cassie's "Let me dance for you," are both fascinating and reveal to us something more about their characters. It was good that part of the excessively long montage went away, though they should not have left out Richie's previous part, in which he reveals that his athletic skills give him a scholarship to college in which he intends to become a kindergarten teacher, until he realizes that "Nobody's going to be standing there with no scholarship to life" and selects dancing instead.

But Cassie's distracting subplot gets in the way a bit. It would have been better to have Cassie appear twice, singing both her original "Music & the mirror" (and emotionally stronger song) earlier, getting tossed out, then returning later to sing "Let me dance for you."

In addition, Kristine's song, "Sing," reveals more about this pathetic bride whom we know or care nothing about in the movie. Her husband (and assistant in the song) is more powerful, but he too suffers from losing all importance to the plot.

Beyond this, the character of Connie is completely ignored. She didn't even get a song, nor much to say. She could at least have helped out a bit with Diana's "Nothing."

That's it. My tirade is over. I like the film, but I could bear to watch a further half-hour to include more for these characters.

Unjustly Underrated!
I can't believe all the negative reviews I am reading for this film, but then again, I haven't seen the stage version, so I can't compare. The film adaptation of "A Chorus Line" is the quintessential backstage musical, a celebration of the lives and tribulations of the dancers who turn up by the hundreds to audition for a handful of jobs on Broadway.

The simple story goes like this: A choreographer is casting eight dancers for a new musical, and during one long and truthful day he auditions hundreds of dancers before he makes his final selection. The remaining dozen pour out their hearts and souls through song and dance, all desperate for a part, and all deserving of one. We learn about their lives, loves, fears, and sacrifices through the brilliant lyrics.

From what I understand, Richard Attenborough's film treatment of the story sticks to the outlines of the stage version, although he takes the liberty to fill in the details of the choreographer's old romance, and he leaves out some of the original songs to make room for new ones. I think it's a wonderful idea, and hey, for me, it works.

The result may not please purists who want a film record of what they saw on stage, but this is one of the most intelligent and compelling movie musicals in a long time. Everybody, at one time or another, has been on a line similar to this one--anxious to be accepted and terrified of being rejected by someone judging his or her worth.

Attenborough (Gandhi) makes the most of this dramatic tension, along with the hopefulness of all those in the audition. Best of all, he captures the vibrancy of modern dance from the free-form confusion of the opening scenes to the high-stepping kicks of the finale.

This is truly one of the most underrated films EVER, an emotional, powerful, and anxious musical definitely worth seeing. Give it a chance, it won't hurt! ... Read more