A Chorus Line certainly has its fans and detractors with the latter angered at how it was adapted and although I’ve never seen the stage play, I can’t say I’d blame them as it’s not a very well made musical, though the opening musical number was catchy and some of the performances from the stage players weren’t bad.
A Chorus Line (1985)
Genre(s): Musical, Drama
Fox | PG13 – 118 min. – $19.99 | January 14, 2014
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Richard Attenborough
Writer(s): Michael Bennett (Based on the Stage Play), James Kirkwood (Book); Arnold Schulman (screenplay)
Cast: Michael Blevins, Yamil Borges, Jan Gan Boyd, Sharon Brown, Gregg Burge, Michael Douglas, Cameron English, Tony Fields, Nicole Fosse, Vicki Frederick, Michelle Johnston, Janet Jones, Pam Klinger, Audrey Landers, Terrence Mann, Charles McGowan, Alyson Reed, Justin Ross, Blane Savage, Matt West
Theatrical Release Date: December 13, 1985
DISC INFO:
Features: Theatrical Trailer
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Disc Size: 31.7 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE
Plot Outline: After narrowing down hundreds of Broadway hopefuls, choreographer Zach (MICHAEL DOUGLAS) leads a select group of dancers on the tryout of their lives. In an audition twist, Zach asks each performer personal and intimate questions – with results that powerfully affect not only the young performers but the hardened stage veteran as well.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5
The only feature included is the Original Theatrical Trailer (2:35; HD).
It also should be noted that this one of those cheap MGM releases with no menu (unless using the pop-menu button on your remote), you load the disc and after a minute, the movie begins to play, so don’t just plot it in and leave to get your refreshments.
VIDEO – 4.5/5
Fox releases The Chorus Line onto Blu-ray presented in 1080p high-definition transfer and in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio. Considering the film is going on nearly 30 years, I was impressed with the video with good detail levels and a nice balance of colors ranging from the darker elements such as when we first meet Zach to the colorful stage bash throughout and collimating with the finale.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The disc includes a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track which shows off the musical numbers, plus regular dialogue levels, so well with nice depth. Although it is on the surface only a stereo track versus the preferred 5.1 mix, it is still a good mixture that encompasses the room really well. For the fans of the movie, and perhaps of musicals in general as some of the songs (the opening especially), are quite catchy, this lossless track is a treat.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, A Chorus Line certainly has its fans and detractors with the latter angered at how it was adapted and although I’ve never seen the stage play, I can’t say I’d blame them as it’s not a very well made musical, though the opening musical number was catchy and some of the performances from the stage players weren’t bad. The cheap Blu-ray distributed by Fox offers almost no bonus features but the audio and video transfers are both excellent.
Published: 02/10/2014