Chicago is a 2002 film based on a musical originally choreographed and directed by the legendary bob fosse in 1975. It explores the themes of celebrity, scandals, and the corruption in jazz age chicago. I am using a textual analysis method by breaking down certain musical scenes of the. Because the movie is a dramatic musical and each song has a main character or two, the lighting plays an important role. Chicago continues the reinvention of the musical that started with moulin rouge. Chicago was the sin city of the 1920swhat happened in chicago stayed in chicagooften because you were given an offer you couldnt refuse if you even thought about squawking the city was huge, the second largest city in the u. Dec 29, 2014 mama is the matron of cook county jail. Who would have thought the minimalist presentation of a musical would experience as many revivals as it is now. Modern films set in the past, like chicago, have a huge influence on our pop culture.
Its rare to find a picture as exuberant, as shallow and as exuberant about its shallowness as rob marshalls film adaptation of the broadway musical chicago. A reporter in chicago in the 1920s, watkins covered the popular trials of two female murderers belva gaertner and beulah annan who both blamed their. Introduction chicago is a 2002 american musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name. It was the hollywood film version that suggested that. For this weeks blog i will be continuing the assessment of the movie chicago 2002, a jazztype musical full of sex, romance, murder and lies. Rob marshalls film of chicago miramax isnt just the most explosively entertaining movie musical in a couple of decades. Fosse, laboring to get it done since he brought it to the stage in 1975, finally gave up on it. The movie, directed and choreographed by rob marshall, was a popular and critical success, winning six academy awards, including best picture. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to factbased news and analysis. Dec 27, 2002 its rare to find a picture as exuberant, as shallow and as exuberant about its shallowness as rob marshalls film adaptation of the broadway musical chicago.
In the mid20s, roxie hart renee zellweger is a smalltime chorus dancer married to a wellmeaning dunderhead named amos john c. Chicago reduces our critic to a fingersnappin, toetappin. Rob marshalls film version of the jazz age musical takes us right. Chicago is a 2002 american musical crime drama film based on the 1975 stage musical of the same name. The film goes back and forth between the real world and the stage world where the beauty of the film really shines. Like oliver stones 1994 film natural born killers, chicago takes the form of that which it criticizes. It was a surprise hit, in part because movie musicals had not been able to find an audience like that in a long, long time. Reilly, queen latifah, christine baranski, taye diggs, dominic west, lucy liu. We can only hope for such a fate to meet the eternally delayed phantom of the opera film adaptation.
What makes this more than a film of a great stage show is the way that the action spills seamlessly from the stage sets into real life. Chicago 2002 12 catherine zetajones, renee zellweger, richard gere, john c. Shows how screwed up our society is if that is feminist. A scathing satire of the how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals and thereby make crime attractive the story is told through a succession of vaudeville acts.
The movie is a dazzling song and dance extravaganza, with just enough words to support the music and allow everyone to catch their breath between songs. A starryeyed wouldbe star discovers just how far the notion that theres no such thing as bad publicity can go in this screen adaptation of the hit. Chicago background and analysis by scott miller bob fosse assembled his cast for chicago in 1975, and during the very first week of rehearsals he was rushed to the hospital for pains in his chest. The film, starring renee zellweger and catherine zetajones, claimed six oscars at the 75th. Every city has a soul, unique to its people and buildings. The film, starring renee zellweger and catherine zetajones, claimed six oscars at.
Dec 19, 2016 film 308 darwin battaglia final video essay. Although modern audiences dont like to see stories. We should be careful not to let all this analysis detract from a fantastic film. They found he had almost had a heart attack and needed open heart surgery, which was not as common then as it now. The first five lines of this poem are epithets for the. A movie musical mockery of the medias razzle dazzle. In the encyclopedia of musical theatre, there is a very interesting analysis of the music of chicago and how it relates to the plot. No movie musical has seriously contended for the best picture oscar since chicago 2002 won it a decade ago, though several have tried, including the phantom of the opera 2004, the producers. She is corrupt in a way that is not so obvious because inmates see first her nurturing side and her manipulative side only later the moment that they needed favors in order to get out of jail or at least be treated nicely in jail itself. Released by epic soundtrax in 2003 containing music from chicago 2002. Analyzing the entire film chicago 2002 understanding movies comes from describing and analyzing the cinematic, theatrical, and literary elements that combine to create meaning. But it was not until a year and a half ago when i read ginger rogers autobiography that i realized the film is an adaptation of a 1920s play.
The poet feels that chicago will face the future ready to fight and win. This paper will describe the six steps that a person should think about when watching a movie. I just realized how several versions of all that jazz, funny honey and razzle dazzle sung outside the hollywood really got me thinking about this hit musical. Chicago by carl sandburg is an early 1900s look at brutal but lovable chicago, illinois. Chicago is a 2002 american musical crime comedydrama film based on the stagemusical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in chicago during the jazz age. If you do go see chicago, remind yourself, god will not be mocked and, someday, the consequences for ladies like these will come home to roost. And it has the audacity to introduce characters we. Catherine zetajones shines in chicago and gives the performance of her lifetime.
It is the story of roxie hart renee zellweger, a wannabe cabaret star in 1920s chicago. Chicago soundtrack from 2002, composed by various artists, danny elfman. Watching chicago for the first time and you realize the immense influence the major characters have on you. Chicago, american musical film, released in 2002, that was based on bob fosses 1975 broadway play, with songs by john kander and fred ebb. How was the lighting technique suited to the genre of the film. Few films from this era of horror have held up as well as candyman, a film that feels as current as ever in its analysis of urban legends and racial tension in chicago. The purpose of this paper is analyzing the academy award winning film chicago. A rousing and energetic adaptation of the broadway musical. Dec 27, 2002 chicago continues the reinvention of the musical that started with moulin rouge.
But the heyday of movie musicals ended about forty years before chicago hit theaters. A visual rhetorical analysis of the scene we both reached for the gun from the film chicago 2002. Depth analysis of a movie chicago essay 3378 words. Renee zellweger was nominated for an oscar for playing roxie hart in the 2002 movie, but she only landed the role after charlize.
It is wickedly playful in its construction, it gets the story told, and it doubles back and kids itself. Dec 27, 2002 rob marshalls film of chicago miramax isnt just the most explosively entertaining movie musical in a couple of decades. By filming it in its own spirit, by making it frankly a stagy songanddance revue, by kidding the stories instead of lingering over them, the movie is big, brassy fun. Nightclub sensation velma catherine zetajones murders her philandering husband, and chicagos slickest lawyer, billy flynn richard gere, is set to defend her. Chicago was the sin city of the 1920swhat happened in chicago stayed in chicago often because you were given an offer you couldnt refuse if you even thought about squawking the city was huge, the second largest city in the u. The film stars renee zellweger, catherine zetajones, and richard gere. For the past decade, i have admired the 2002 film of. Maybe chicago knows that it is the perfect musical. The city was huge, the second largest city in the u. In fact the whole style of this movie, its staging, its photography and. Pic also refers to numerous movie musicals, including a cabaretstyle. Chicago centers on roxie hart and velma kelly, two murderesses who find themselves in jail together awaiting trial in 1920s chicago. The movie mostly benefits from it extremely talented cast. Things you never knew about the hit 2002 movie hugh jackman and britney spears are just two of the stars who almost appeared in chicago which was released 15 years ago.
Chicago the movie improving writing skills since 2002. A starryeyed wouldbe star discovers just how far the notion that theres no such thing as bad publicity can go in this screen adaptation of the hit broadway musical chicago. Nov 26, 2014 introduction chicago is a 2002 american musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name. It is set in the 1920s when chicago was a city with big mobster problems and big newspaper headlines that shocked and entertained the. Nobody learns any lasting lessons in this film, save, perhaps, for zellwegers longsuffering husband who learns that being a decent, loyal spouse makes him a chump. Chicago official trailer hd roxie hart is a smalltime chorus dancer who will kill for fame. Written by poetry heavyweights like gwendolyn brooks and carl sandburg, these poems only just begin to capture the essence of chicago. In chicago, the guilty live happily ever after, the innocent are neither rewarded nor even admired, and no one sits in judgment of the whole rotten system, while the audience is expected to leave not shaken and challenged but humming all that jazz. But when roxie renee zellweger also winds up in prison, billy takes on her case as well turning her into a media circus of headlines. Things you never knew about the hit 2002 movie hugh jackman and britney spears are just two of the stars who almost appeared in chicago which was released 15. Chicago, is based on the musical play written, directed, and choreographed for the stage by bob fosse. Sep 18, 2008 charlie kaufmans screenplay for adaptation.
But what if the whole movie were in her imagination. In the excerpt it describes that, in contrast to the 1926 play,there is a greater mention of the media, and more showbusiness tunes. Chicago 412 movie clip cell block tango 2002 hd youtube. Reilly, but has a fallingout with one of her lovers, shoots him and is arrested for murder. No, were not going to talk about the illuminati and chemtrails, but we do have a fun chicago conspiracy theory to share. Essay about depth analysis of a movie chicago 3394 words 14 pages analyzing the entire film chicago 2002 understanding movies comes from describing and analyzing the cinematic, theatrical, and literary elements that combine to create meaning.
She sleeps around unbeknownst to her husband, amos john c. Neither woman will be outdone in their fight against each other and the public for fame and. Chicago is a 2002 american musical crime drama film based on the stagemusical of the same name. The film goes back and forth between the real world and. There is also the sense that to some degree its true. It explores the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in chicago during the jazz age. Sep 29, 20 chicago does some amazing things as a film and i can only imagine the creative planning that the director, cinematographer, and production designer had to do for everything to work so nicely. Chicago is a musical that might have seemed unfilmable, but that was because it was assumed it had to be transformed into more conventional terms. The first film with spoken dialogue, the jazz singer, was also the first movie musical. Chicago is a 2002 american musical crime drama film based on the stage musical of the same.
Plot summary for chicago 2002, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. Chicago was the sin city of the 1920swhat happened in chicago stayed in chicagooften because you were given an offer you couldnt refuse if you even thought about squawking. Chicago does some amazing things as a film and i can only imagine the creative planning that the director, cinematographer, and production designer had to do for everything to work so nicely. Housewife roxie hart renee zellweger dreams of fame, her dreams lead her to deathrow, where she and another murdess, a vaudevillan named velma kelly catherine zetajones, develop a rivalry while competing for for fame in the hope it will keep them from their fate. The film stars renee zellweger, catherine zetajones and richard gere. Financial analysis of chicago 2002 including budget, domestic and international box office gross. A starryeyed wouldbe star discovers just how far the notion that theres no such thing as bad publicity can go in this screen adaptation of the hit broadway musical chicago, originally directed and choreographed by bob fosse. It is a very serious poem, simple in its message and intent, but nonetheless powerful. Everyone knows that the musical sequences in chicago are in roxies imagination.
Les miserables wows in first screening hollywood reporter. Essay about depth analysis of a movie chicago bartleby. Chicago reduces our critic to a fingersnappin, toe. These steps create a basic understanding of the artistic and technical elements found in moviemaking. Chicago is no different, and it has inspired many poems. Catherine zetajones in chicago r ob marshalls film version of the jazz age musical takes us right back to an era of highliving, nightclubs.
The movie was choreographed and directed by rob marshall. Murderesses velma kelly catherine zetajones a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together and roxie hart renee zellweger who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasnt going to make her a star find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s chicago. Although modern audiences dont like to see stories interrupted by songs, apparently they like songs interrupted by stories. Mar 07, 2003 nightclub sensation velma catherine zetajones murders her philandering husband, and chicagos slickest lawyer, billy flynn richard gere, is set to defend her. May 29, 2006 the purpose of this paper is analyzing the academy award winning film chicago. The very first thing we see in chicago is a closeup of roxies eye why they eye. Feb, 2015 how was the lighting technique suited to the genre of the film. After doing just that, she lands behind bars alongside vaudeville star velma kelly, who, with the help of hotshot lawyer billy flynn, has spun her crime into a media frenzy. Not that youd pick up the next loose firearm and shoot your lover after discovering his or her infidelity to you ladies, dont, no matter how angry you are. John kander and fred ebbs hit musical chicago was based on the play of the same name by maurine dallas watkins. The main stars of this production include catherine zetajones, rene zellweger, and richard gere.
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