A Chorus Line (film)


A Chorus Line

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Attenborough
Produced by Cy Feuer
Written by Arnold Schulman
Starring Michael Douglas
Alyson Reed
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Edward Kleban
Cinematography Ronnie Taylor
Editing by John Bloom
Studio Embassy Film Associates
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) December 13, 1985
Running time 113 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $27 million
Gross revenue $14,202,899

A Chorus Line is a 1985 American musical film directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Michael Douglas. The screenplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the Tony Award-winning book of the 1975 stage production of the same name by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. The songs were composed by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban.

Contents

Plot

A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach (Michael Douglas). After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie (Alyson Reed), who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.

As the film unfolds, the backstory of each of the dancers is revealed. Some are funny, some ironic, some heartbreaking. No matter what their background, however, they all have one thing in common - a passion for dance.

Cast

Dancers

Musical numbers

  1. "I Hope I Get It" (contains new sections of music not in the original stage version)
  2. "Who Am I Anyway?" (Paul's solo, originally part of "I Hope I Get It")
  3. "I Can Do That"
  4. "At the Ballet" (the soundtrack contains an extended version not heard in the film)
  5. "Surprise, Surprise" (replaces "Hello 12, Hello 13, Hello Love" and "Gimme The Ball", although one verse of the song is heard in the film. The monologues of Mark, Connie, Judy, and Greg which are part of this number are performed in other parts of the film sans music)
  6. "Nothing"
  7. "Let Me Dance for You" (replaces Cassie's "The Music and the Mirror", although part of the instrumental section remains the same)
  8. "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three"
  9. "What I Did for Love" (sung counterpoint to the Tap Combination. In the stage version, the company performs the number)
  10. "One" (Finale)

The songs "And...", "Sing!", and "The Tap Combination" from the stage version are eliminated in the film, as well as most of "The Montage" (Hello 12, Hello 13, Hello Love)

Production

Following the smash success of the Broadway production, Hollywood producers expressed interest in a motion picture version of the musical. Many directors turned down the project, insisting that not only was A Chorus Line too beloved, but it would not translate well to the screen. Even Michael Bennett, the stage musical's director, declined to participate when his proposal to present the film as an audition to cast the movie version of the stage play, instead of a literal translation of the play, was rejected. When Attenborough accepted the project, there was some apprehension as to the treatment the British director would give the musical's quintessentially American story.

The decision to tamper with the score disappointed fans of the show. "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love," "Sing!," and "The Music and the Mirror" were deleted and new songs "Surprise, Surprise" and "Let Me Dance For You" were added. The show's breakout tune, "What I Did for Love," originally was performed as a paean to dancers and their dedication to their craft. In the film it becomes a love song delivered by Cassie to Zach.

The stage musical was one of the first to address the subject of homosexuality, but most overt references to it were eliminated from the film.

The dance numbers were choreographed by Jeffrey Hornaday.

Critical reception

In his review in the New York Times, Vincent Canby observed, "Though it was generally agreed that Hair would not work as a film, Milos Forman transformed it into one of the most original pieces of musical cinema of the last 20 years. Then they said that A Chorus Line couldn't be done - and this time they were right . . . Mr. Attenborough has elected to make a more or less straightforward film version that is fatally halfhearted."[1]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated, "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 - and the most grown up, since it isn't limited, as so many contemporary musicals are, to the celebration of the survival qualities of geriatric actresses."[2]

Variety said, "Chorus often seems static and confined, rarely venturing beyond the immediate. Attenborough merely films the stage show as best he could. Nonetheless, the director and lenser Ronnie Taylor have done an excellent job working within the limitations, using every trick they could think of to keep the picture moving. More importantly, they have a fine cast, good music and a great, popular show to work with. So if all they did was get it on film, that's not so bad."[3]

Time Out London says, "The grit and drive of the original have been dissipated into studiously unkempt glitz as empty as plasticised pop . . . It's too corny and unbelievable for words."[4]

Awards

Nominations

References

  1. ^ New York Times review
  2. ^ Chicago Sun-Times review
  3. ^ Variety review
  4. ^ Time Out London review

External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Richard Attenborough
1960s
1970s
Young Winston (1972) · A Bridge Too Far (1977) · Magic (1978)
1980s
Gandhi (1982) · A Chorus Line (1985) · Cry Freedom (1987)
1990s
Chaplin (1992) · Shadowlands (1993) · In Love and War (1996) · Grey Owl (1999)
2000s
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