Richard Attenborough did not get the point of the show at ALL. On a talk show, he said it was about "young kids trying to break into show business." No, Richard. It's about veteran dancers looking for a final job before they're too old to do it again. Gah!
So well done. You hit everything this adaptation got so, SO wrong. The other bad thing about the all Cassie all the time mentality of this movie is that it makes the audience HATE Cassie. In the show, Cassie and Paul should be the characters the audience are most rooting to get the part. In the play, Cassie is there from the beginning. In the movie, she arrives late when most of the audition is over and keeps shoving her way in until Zach finally is just like, whatever anything to shut you up. And we are supposed to root for this bitch who got to bypass all the standing in line and all the hard work in the early rounds that the others went through just because she used to sleep with the director?
This is so well done. I laughed so much during your analysis because this movie is such a travesty. But suddenly found myself crying when you said: "It's a musical that celebrates the lives of ordinary people... You, yourself, are a wonderful, complex tapestry of comedy and tragedy and unique experiences. And that's not only true of you but of every single person in the background of your daily life" You articulated that so well and you are absolutely right. That's why the show is so special and this movie is so not.
hey i could be wrong but i think this guy is playing paul at the nycc production of a chorus line. if so, the show looks fantastic and i hope to god the transfer rumors are true
Also, the costumes in the stage version were unique and helped to identify each character and their personality. The films are just variations on the same dance ensemble
If you read Michael Riedel's book Razzle Dazzle: The Battle For Broadway, there's an entire chapter on the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line and how it pretty much saved Broadway from the brink of extinction in the 1970s.
And how Chicago, it's main competition, made a triumphant comeback in the 2000s and ran longer than A Chorus Line on Broadway (and still is). In my opinion, they are both ICONIC, but the time wasn't right for the both of them to co exist.
I always love to describe this musical as a “queer dystopian melodrama” because of how unsettling, hilarious, diverse and intense it can be. There are songs like “dance ten looks three” and “I can do that,” and then there’s Paul’s monologue and his fall, there’s intense character development and hilarious sidenotes, small jokes, big punches that are pulled all the way back, intense energy, haunting ballads and haunting choreography. You get invested in these characters, care about every single one in some way for some reason and watch them listen to a disembodied voice, and then, at least on stage, they completely disappear within the crowd of each other with no fanfare. They disappear completely, enveloped in the chorus. It’s creepy, hilarious, brilliant. My favorite musical of all time.
One of my main problems with this movie is how they changed altered the dynamics and plausability of Cassie's story line. In the original stage version, Cassie auditions with all of the other dancers and makes it to the final callback on her own. She shows up early and applies for the audition along with everyone else. That's perfectly believable. In the movie, they have her crash the audition. She literally shows up unannounced and expects (almost demands) to be added to the final line-up. That's NOT how it's done. Nobody crashes a cattle-call audition like that. I'm surprised she wasn't thrown out of the theatre by the security guards...
That was actually how it went in an earlier draft in the stage show, with Cassie showing up in a fur coat claiming that she thought it was a different audition, but what the hell, she's here so she might as well do it. Only later does she reveal that she's washed up as an actress and needs to get back into the chorus. Wisely, the creators junked this angle because they realized it put too much focus on one character....so what does Richard Attenborough do but re-instate it?
9:38 You know, when I was in high school, I was part of the tech crew for this musical that turned the walls to match the set. Back then, I didn’t think much about it and found it dull. This description helped change my perspective on how deep this musical truly is and how foolish it was of me to give it the cold shoulder despite nearly every song living rent free in my head. Thank you, Diva, for opening my eyes.
This movie was unfortunately my first exposure to A Chorus Line. I just saw a stage version of this yesterday, and I have to say, your review of this movie is spot-on. I couldn't stand how much attention Cassie was getting in the film over some of the other cast. A Chorus Line highlights and celebrates individuality, and it's really hard to appreciate that when you're seeing a bunch of one character and their backstory.
Hey, hey, I have rehearsed a small piece for this: One, movie abomination, Every second that it goes, One, awful adaptation, For who the original knows...
As someone who doesn't live in a country that stages a lot of musicals, let alone in english, this movie is the only version I have ever seen. I really enjoyed hearing about the difrences to the stage version. I don't comment alot, but I really love your series, and all the side stuff you do as well as the main musical hell reviews. :)
i'll always ave a soft spot for this once since I grew up watching it but when i saw the actual show, i was shocked with how much this pales in comparison. dammit! poor kids and people who live far away from broadway deserve decent adaptations!
+Cheyenne Wise That's what always kills me about poor film adaptations of musical works--they do a poor job of representing the source material that people may not always be able to access on stage. I look out for discount theater tickets so I can see shows. Not everybody has the means or money to go to the theater, and film musicals are a way of experiencing a show at an affordable level.
that last part with Cassie becoming the high school musical teacher is so funny to me because when I was in high school musical on stage the girl playing the teacher made it part of her backstory that she had played Cassie on broadway
The punishment for Cassie... I thought you wouldn't knew that piece of trivia But you saved it as the last joke :,) This is why I love Musical Hell Looking forward for the next one!
+César Marines Wait Mrs Darbus and Carrie are played by the same actress? I didn't know that. Gotta it was brilliant to keep it last for Cassie's punishment.
+Musical Hell Another thing I have just learned while random futzing around: Reed is also the voice of Adria in Diablo III. So she's done at least one project I like.
I haven't seen Chorus Line, but what you've said about it reminds me of another musical: 25 Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This musical involves a diverse group of people, this time children, competing to win a spelling bee. Each child is unique and brings their own story. These stories are understandable and relevant to many people, even grown ups at times. I highly recommend 25 Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee if you haven't seen it already, especially if you like Chorus Line
Musical Hell if a movie were to be made of Putnam, hypothetically speaking, it would most likely end up in your court. One of the major theatrical devices used in the show is audience participation, where 5 audience members are chosen to be in the Bee. This device provides humor, helps support some of the show's themes, and helps with pacing of the first act. I think that only an idiot would try to make a movie out of Putnam, even though it's so popular and of such great quality.
pookywooky42 I don't think any of William Finn's shows could be movies. They are all rooted in theatricality and soliloquy, so deeply that it wouldn't work on film
Yes !! im glad somebody said it ! i just did a show of 25th annual and before we even started rehearsels i was comparing so much about how they both tell kids/adults stories of how life is . Its amazing , i was Coneybear (one of my favorite roles i have ever done) and just knowing that i have come this close to being in a show like a chorus line is a dream come true !! A chorus line is my favorite musical and i really hope to be in it one day !!!
Omfg, I love this chick!!!! She really KNOWS and GETS her Chorus Line! Something that is unbelievably refreshing as a fan of this musical, as it is normal for us to be confronted by the typical cluelessness exhibited by 99.9% of the viewing population in regards to elements of this musical, especially its message. I have never agreed so strongly with anything before as I do with this video. I was not even into musicals when this film came out but I rented it on video many years later and was outraged, mortified, and traumatized! I had been introduced to the show in 1997 when national tour played a local theatre. I only knew like 2 songs from the show and had no idea what to expect. Needless to say I was completely blown away. That intense emotional impact was due to the sheer brilliance of the stage version. I was (and still am) a major Les Miserables fanatic and was used to the lavishness of the mega musical but A Chorus Line taught me that immense spectacle is indeed possible with the imagination and when focus is on humanity. I kid you not, when I see this show onstage, it feels just as elaborate and spectacular as any Wicked, Phantom, or any other mega musical out there. And that spectacle comes from the most ordinary things that we take for granted. It's a truly magical piece of theatre. When I finished watching the film version, I sat in my armchair for about 20 minutes completely silent with my mouth gaping open and staring straight ahead. It was THAT bad. Grrrr.
The first time I saw A Chorus Line was at a local theater, and my favorite number in that production was "I Can Do That". The actor who played Mike absolutely sold it. He performed it with so much joy and enthusiasm that you could really believe he had found his life's calling and was whole-heartedly celebrating the art of dance. I've seen other productions since then where it wasn't performed as well, and I know it doesn't get as much love as some of the other songs, but that particular performance has always stuck with me.
Terrance Mann and Tim Curry are literally the same person. I always get them confused! I love them both, Mann’s voice is amazing and i’ve always been a fan of Curry, but seeing Mann in this movie, I was like, “Oh I love Tim Curry!” until the narrator corrected me haha
They made one woman the star and they cut out Hello Twelve and they made What I Did for Love a song about romance? They took everything that made A Chorus Line what it is and dumped it in the trash.
You were so much kinder than I could ever have been regarding this film. As a former dancer, I had to leave around 20 minutes into the screening and wait for it's home release so I could pause it every time it became uncomfortable or just plain unwatchable (which was most of the time). It's what happens when the director or anyone else behind the scenes has never been a dancer.
Hello: I was part of the dance world in NYC back in the 70's to mid 1980's. 'A Chorus Line' was false. Dancers had to be the same height and weight and this was a HUGE thing. Not only that, Balanchine was very big on making all the dancers identical. The Joffrey Ballet had variety. Broadway was more like Balanchine: the chorus lines had to be UNIFORM.
Just found this channel. I saw this movie when it came out. I liked the music so much I went out and bought the soundtrack on cassette - except I got the original Broadway cast recording instead. I got the original cast recording a few weeks later on vinyl. I can sing along with the entire Broadway cast. I didn't even remember what the replacement for 'Hello 12, Hello 13..' was about. . About 7 years later I saw a summer production of _A Chorus Line_ at Kingston Ontario's Grand Theatre. The talent pool was so small that the character who says "And I'm black' had to say 'And I'm French'. 8) And it was SO MUCH BETTER than the movie. When I heard 'What I did for love' in the proper context I was incensed what the movie did I still rant to anyone who'd listen. I didn't remember the movie that well, but I could see changing the song into a just another love ballad obscured the point of the movie. These people were here for love. I appreciate all the other comments about how much of the character study - again what the show was about - was sacrificed for a love story that I really didn't care too much about. Always happy to listen to the opinion of others who have more knowledge than I and have thought deeply about their comments. That's how I learn.
IMO, another thing that the movie gets absolutely right is the finale scene. I like how more and more dancers that look like clones of the cast come out until you can’t really keep track of the characters you got to know and love anymore. That was the point of the original show’s finale, after all, where each individual person just disappeared into the chorus, but I think the movie did it even better. It’s weird, huh? The only two parts that the movie really got right were the “One” scenes. It’s a shame because A Chorus Line, when you really think about it, isn’t really _that_ hard to translate into a movie. I’ve seen the show before, and I can still see it working as a film. Like, if Cassie didn’t take over most of the plot and was present from the start, “Montage” and “The Music and the Mirror” weren’t replaced and the director actually got the point of “What I did for Love,” this movie could actually be a decent adaptation, even if not being as good as the show itself.
Agreed. The big sin that stuck in my craw with the trivializing of What I Did for Love. But also, the changes to the music and the remaking of the choreography from simple/effective into complicated/distracting made me vow never to see this film more than once.
Am I misinterpreting Paul’s monologue? When he says the men used to “play with him”, it sounds... disturbing. The wiki claims he was molested but then I find the way he goes onto “I mean I always knew I was gay” a bit odd. I get that he was probably trying to get off of an uncomfortable subject but still... in the film’s version in particular it sounds a bit too “who cares”.
You're not misinterpreting. That's exactly what the monologue is about, and it is disturbing. It is almost word for word the story told by Nicholas Dante at the first workshop that led to this play. He became one of the credited authors of the original book of the musical. It is a heart-rending monologue. Lots of info out there about the whole play and its creation. I recommend watching Every Little Step as an easy introduction -- it's a documentary about casting the Broadeway revival that opened in 2006, and it includes a certain amount of the history of how A Chorus Line came to be.
Just finished watching _Every Little Step_ on your recommendation. That is a power film. I find it fascinating that _A Chorus Line_ was holding a mirror up to reality, what it was like trying to get a job on Broadway, and the documentary basically holds up a second mirror to see how hard it is to get a part on _A Chorus Line_. The reflections end up being nearly identical, just less dancing and singing in real life. 8) I found it profoundly moving - the sadness of those who didn't get the job, the joy of those who did.
+The Shady Reviewer And just in time for my birthday! I'm a February baby. God, I can't wait for Musical Hell to give 2014 Annie the whooping it deserves. It is such a desecration of a classic musical.
Madonna was really good in Evita. The way she clearly worked to learn the material and strengthen her voice to tackle it (even though some of the songs had their registers lowered to suit her regardless), and there was a genuine chemistry between her and Antonio Banderas. The Lament performance at the end was so amazing, as she nailed the feeling of dying in those last moments.
+luv4hutch Yeah, I was surprised by how much I liked Madonna in the role. During "Eva's Final Broadcast," when her voice breaks on "I'm Argentina...and always will be..." all I could think was, "Damn, Madonna...if you could act all this time, why didn't you just SAY so?!"
I haven't seen it admittedly but from the snippets I have seen she does the performance differently from other incarnations. Obviously she's no Patti Lupone vocally but the way she does Lament?! DAAAMN. I like that they recorded that one live because they were crying so hard they couldn't lip-sync.
What I hate about Madonna in this movie is she stole "Another Suitcase", which doesn't belong to her character, and never should have been sung by Madonna in the movie. I don't know whose bonehead decision that was, but whether it was Milos or Madonna, they should suffer the worst that the devilish Diva can dish out.
@@atimnie To be fair, "Another Suitcase" as it stands in the musical is kind of a complete non-sequitur. If you really think about it, it's one of the two best known out-of-context songs from the musical and it's sung by someone who's never given a name, someone we've met about 10 seconds before it starts and someone whom we never see again afterwards; story-wise, there's not really much need for a 2 minute song about how hard life is for this one random girl. Onstage, it really only fulfils the purpose of allowing the major players to get ready for "Peron's Latest Flame" - I think both Peron and Eva have costume changes during "Another Suitcase"... Given all that, I honestly can't blame them for the decision to give the song to Eva in the movie.
Notice how during “What I Did For Love”, the other dancers are doing the choreography for the tap combination from the stage show. Why oh why couldn’t that be done for the whole movie?
I don’t often comment on videos I watch but I LOVE this channel!! Major props for your summation of “What I Did For Love”, I actually got a bit choked up with how well you described what this song is SUPPOSED to be about. Also, hilarious that you spotted the actress playing Cassie as the drama teacher in HSM, I always thought it was her but wasn’t sure. Now after seeing this I looked it up and I was right!! Keep up the great work, Diva!
It sounds to me like chorus line is not supposed to have a main character. Which Hollywood didn't know how to deal with yet(and still has problems with)
About Zach selecting the chorus in the final act. I always liked Zach did have a softer and sympathetic tone. He put the so much emotion behind the line "Frontline, thank you so much. Thank you... I'm sorry." It shows that he was thankful to have met and have gotten to know these people and is now torn up by the fact that he will have to deny half of them what they want. In the movie, Zach doesn't give a damn. It's like no connection was established at all.
The actress who plays Cassie was the drama teacher in the "High School Musical" movies! She was annoying in that too! On the DVD in an interview with Marvin Hamlisch, he says in the original show Cassie does not get the job. It wasn't until a talk with Marsha Mason she told him that sure Cassie is overqualified but he'd still give her the job!
Cassie absolutely gets the job in the original stage production. The four boys are: Mark, Bobby, Richie, and Mike. The four girls are Cassie, Diana, Bebe, and Val.
Thank you for your analysis! I LOOOOVE A Chorus Line. It's an amazing story with wonderful songs. It was also a powerful play, because we didn't necessarily have a main character, even if some characters were slightly more prominent, but only by a bit, so we're both happy and sad because some got the job but it also meant the rest didn't. It's such a powerful insight into this industry, and it has one of the most bittersweet endings I've ever seen, not just musicals. A shame the film didn't do much service. I did like how they treated "One", and I also like how the reprise did it justice as well, pulling back and seeing them as a unit, which looks nice, but we realise is so tragic because their individualities are lost and blended into the crowd, which was like the show, except in the film, the dancers keep multiplying until we can't tell where the people we followed are anymore. That was clever, and it had really nice visuals. In the original show we did see them come out one by one, but the more they danced around, it was very hard to make out who was who, like how they danced in a circle and their faces almost became blurred, and we realise the tragedy of the scenario, which is so ironic because they're singing about "the one".
From what I've read in a couple of books about the show, they had originally toyed with the idea of picking some rando from the audience to be the "star" of Zack's fictional show--a different woman every night. She'd basically be framed by the chorus, be moved around by them, as they did all the work of making her appear special--the irony being that it was the chorus line who was imbuing this ordinary audience member with all this star quality, making her look more special than she was, emphasizing the fact that the chorus was far more important than we might think.
FUN FACT: Kristine (the untalented wife character) is played here by NICOLE FOSSE. Yes... the daughter of Bob and Gwen. Sadly, she's both miscast AND badly directed, which probably killed her budding film career. Ironically, it was A Chorus Line that defeated Fosse's Chicago for the Tony when they were first staged back in the mid-70s... so casting Fosse's daughter in this film always struck me as a bitter, shallow swipe at her dad.
I feel like Ryan Murphy should do a remake of this film. There’s news of Ryan doing a Fosse/Verdon style show about Michael Bennett and Donna Mckechnie
My teacher actually played this movie for Theater 101 and, funnily enough, Cassie annoyed the hell out of me. I just assumed the movie was showing us how favoritism works in the theater.
+Janet Gray Cassie's story--when told well--is kind of tragic, really. She had a shot at the big time, it never played out, and now there's nothing left for her to do but take the jobs she can find until her legs give out (which, since she's one of the older characters in the show, won't be very long). She has a good attitude about it, though, so it's easy to empathize with her when she's not being played as pushy and desperate like she is in the movie.
+Musical Hell The funny thing was--according to some books I've read on ACL, early drafts of the stage show were to have taken a similar tack. Cassie was to arrive onstage in a fancy stole after the opening number, claiming that she thought this was where they were auditioning for a leading role but what the hell, as long as she was here, she might as well audition for the chorus. Of course, it was to be revealed that all this bravado was just that--she had given up her hopes of the big time and was starting again in the chorus, but was too prideful to admit it at first. The writers junked this approach because it put too much focus on Cassie and made her too much of a stand-out. So why Sir Richard decided to go with it when the show's own CREATORS decided it wouldn't work, I'll never know.
1) The staging/filming of the opening number was basically stolen from Fosse's film All That Jazz. And of course, the Fosse version is imminently superior. 2) Aside from Sheila (who I genuinely loved in this), the casting was 100% wrong. I'd have replaced all of them. 3) The music and choreography is more MTV than Broadway. 4) I liked the finale, because I think it captured the joy of a dancer finally landing a chorus gig on Broadway... but it wasn't enough to save the film!
Thanks from someone who was knocked out by the Public Theater production and subsequently saw the Broadway production at least twice, plus productions in London and other major cities. I obviously love CHOUS LINE and found the film such a total mess; the changes were not only unnecessary but detrimental to the entire structure. The casting was so disappointing. So many wonderful moments were ruined by faulty direction. How could this have happened? I just watched the film for the second time and I'm so completely depressed.
From the moment I first saw A Chorus Line on stage, as an anxious, uncertain 16-yr-old, it captured my imagination completely and, 43 years later, remains my favourite show of all time. People often compare it side by side with Chicago and I don't understand the comparison. Chicago is all about rewarding vice, whereas A Chorus Line celebrates goodness (and that's a rare thing nowadays). I remember looking forward to the film so much - and hated it so much, that I've never seen it again. For me, the greatest travesty is the misinterpretation of What I Did for Love. Attenborough virtually destroyed the original, and I'll never forgive him for it. Thanks for this review, it's everything I've been grumbling about since 1986!
I grew up listening to my mother's Chorus Line soundtrack and remember being so happy to find a VHS of this movie for rent, since we lived far away from anywhere I could see the play onstage. My excitement was quickly replaced by disappointment throughout. Thankfully, I got to go to New York in my last year of high school with my mother and we saw the play on the Broadway stage. :')
A terrible waste of amazing material- if any musical should be remade it's this one- perhaps a bit too adult for regular tv but done for HBO in the right hands would be sensational
Ooh...can't wait for you to tackle that misbegotten Annie! I know that the 1982 version had its faults--especially with John Huston never having directed a musical--but they're NOTHING compared to the 2014 version. Come to think of it, I don't know how someone as talented as Sir Richard Attenborough could have botched it so thoroughly. I think one of the original creators/cast said that they knew the movie version was in trouble when they heard Sir Richard describing it as "kids trying to break into Broadway," when the majority of the characters were seasoned gypsies who'd been around the block and knew most of the realities of the profession (and, as their big song put it, loved it anyway). I did enjoy it when I saw it (thirty years ago this MLK weekend), but that was because I hadn't seen the stage show and didn't know its nuances. Still itching for you to tackle Magical Mystery Tour and/or Give My Regards to Broad Street. And since you mentioned Doctor Dolittle in this review...
I’ve never been able to watch the movie. The stage show is flawless. But the bits of the movie I’ve seen - fucking appalling. I am CACKLING at your synopsis. Just wonderful.
Another great deconstruction! Your critiques make me appreciate the source material much more. Your essays are more than brilliantly observed, they are artful and deep. Your passion really shows. Very fine work, I love these and congratulate you.
This video is the whole reason I fell in love with A Chorus Line and stands as my favorite musical to date. I’m even using Paul’s monologue as my Dramatic Interpretation piece in Speech and Debate. This musical means so much to me, and I still stick by the notion that I think everyone needs to see this musical at least once.
Just wanted to say that I just found your channel tonight, and it has made me SO HAPPY! You are now counted next to Musical Theatre Mash as 'Things I randomly found on TH-cam that I will now show all my artsy friends and we will squeal over together.' So, uh... Gratz? Tl;dr - you're awesome and the stuff you do is awesome. Thanks! *Subscribed*
I saw the original touring company of ACL in New Orleans a century or two ago, then caught the revival with Donna McKechnie. The film version was pretty abysmal, and I only hope that Mann (one of my favorite Bway performers) got a large enough paycheck in the end to allow him to find copies of the film and destroy them.
Ryan Murphy is adapting A Chorus Line into a 10 part miniseries for Netflix. I wonder how that adaptation will compare to this. I don’t have a lot of a faith in it but hopefully I’m wrong! 🤞
I couldn't agree more with your critiques of the changes they made to the story and how it took away from it. I did find it funny that the one sequence Attenborough got right was the dehumanization aspect of "One," though I thought the finale version had just as good punch as the rehearsal scene. (The shot of them walking up to the mirror and having their reflections step out to join them always seemed like way too good a shot for a movie like this.)
Okay it's high school musicals 10th anniversary. I know it's not even low hanging fruit, its fruit that fell on the ground and no one wants to touch it, but PLEASE review it sometimes soon. It would be absolutely amazing.
+The Filthy Casuals ...Maybe. It is one of the most notorious musical flops of all time, but the lack of any official recording of it is kind of a drawback.
I've never been able to see the stage version, but I've had the original 1975 cast recording memorized since before I understood any of the lyrics. All I remember of finally renting this movie on video was thinking that the man-bulges had enough presence to be listed in the credits, so thank you Diva for reminding me that it's "better than nothing" in the same way one would eat baker's chocolate to satiate a chocolate craving.
Search for "A Chorus Line Original Broadway Cast", and you will find something glorious. The video is hard to watch quality-wise, but you quickly get used to it. It's life-changing, especially for folks like us, who only knew the movie for so long.
I saw Alyson Reed star in Marilyn: An American Fable and a revival of Cabaret; she seem to be on her way to big stardom, but this movie torpedoed that. It was not her fault the filmmakers didn't know how to utilize Cassie. I got to work with her years later in a TV pilot; almost didn't recognize her and was surprised she was relegated to playing supporting roles; such a talented, lovely woman, I told her so as I gushed and she modestly downplayed her "star" turns... that's showbiz and the fickle finger of faith.
So this is super late and kinda irrelevant but I cannot express to you how much I relate to this video. I’ve been telling people for forever how bad the movie is for these reasons and they never agree with, but you just explained it so eloquently. Thank you so much, and this will definitely be my proof from now on that the movie is horrible.
This is a super interesting video, it's inspired to give the stage version of a chorus line a watch. Some of the word choices are super disconcerting though like what's with the slurs?
THANK YOU!!! that scene with Don used to frustrate me Soo Much!! and I had never seen the stage version so I didn't know what was missing but I knew nonsensical when I heard it.
You know what, I grew up with this, and for all its faults experiencing Paul’s monologue in 1985, in a major movie release, was a big deal. I understand the movie pales in comparison to the stage version, but a lot of people work their ass of here. This movie has been the butt of jokes for so long, I really feel we lose sight of a lot of hard work. I’m grateful that for me, a kid in South America, who had no chance to see this on stage, I got to see a version of this. It contributed to my love for the theater, and it made me aware of the stage version. FYI, I’ve never seen the show on stage, haven’t had the opportunity because there hasn’t been a production running right where I’ve been, and I move around a lot and currently live in New York City, so I don’t think it’s fair to blame the viewer for not seeing the stage show. Ultimately, even though not great, this movie was still able to bring attention to this musical globally, reaching more people the musical ever could, and at least recruit some new fans. Credit where credit is due. (FYI, I know I’m harsh here, love your vids, this one just hit me personally)
I admire Chorus Line for what it is. The stage play does obviously draw more attention to some characters than others though, which is my only complaint because some of the characters it passes up exploring more in depth seem a lot more interesting than some of the ones it focuses on.
I’ll be honest, I used to love this movie, but after learning about the stage show and seeing clips of it on TH-cam, I realized how bad this movie is. Sad thing is some of the actors here did A Chorus Line on stage: Gregg Burge(Richie), Matt West(Bobby), Justin Ross(Greg), Pam Klinger(Maggie, which makes sense, she has a fantastic voice for the character) and Vicki Frederick(Sheila) was Cassie! A couple actors here are well known in Broadway circles, Yamil Borges(Diana) was in the 1980 revival of West Side Story and Nicole Fosse(Kristine) is BOB FOSSE’s daughter! I feel these actors got cheated out of being as authentic as possible here. I wish the actors I mentioned with a few more people were filmed as a stage production for A Chorus Line, it would’ve been so much better.
Madame Diva, any chance you'll do Cabaret?!! I LOATHE Liza in that role. It's taken me years of watching stage versions to get over Lisa chewing that role to bits. It needs to be scolded, though it will probably like it...I totally agree with Madame Diva on the casting of Michael Douglas. I was very young when this film turned up on HBO, and I watched it -- trying to discern why my parents and others liked the musical so much. And every single time Douglas appeared I was like "hey that is Big Film Actor Michael Douglas...and now back to the other people..."
I love the movie version of Cabaret, but the problem with Liza in the role is she's too GOOD. Sally Bowles, in the original Isherwood story, the stage play and movie I Am A Camera, and the stage version of Cabaret, is supposed to be a mediocre talent who's deluding herself otherwise, who throws away every chance at a stable life to pursue a career that's never going beyond a third-rate dive and a lifestyle that will probably land her in an early grave. But that leaves you with a dilemma--how do you cast a mediocre singer as your female lead in a musical? They tried that with Jill Hayworth in the stage version and the critics gave her (if not the show itself) a drubbing for it. But the movie went too far in the other direction--Liza is phenomenal as always, but you can't help but wonder how a talent like this could be stuck in a seedy little dive in Berlin when she could be headlining in Paris or New York!
Its crazy that Attenborough, who got everything right with Gandhi, in the bio genre which, like musical movies, is a notoriously difficult genre, got everything so wrong with ACL.
I found a copy of this movie at Goodwill for like $1.50 in pretty much pristine condition. My dad has always talked about being blown away by seeing the tour of it when he was a teenager. We decided it was worth buying it because he said he wasn't sure he'd ever actually seen the movie. I think the best way to describe my feelings towards it was underwhelmed. I really like the OBCR (I have it on vinyl, which I think I ironically also found at Goodwill), but the movie is just kinda meh. Like it's definitely not the worst film adaptation I've ever seen *cough cough Phantom* but I was just a bit disappointed. Definitely agree with your analysis
One thing that bothers me about the movie that you didn’t mention is that Bebe makes it and Judy is cut. It’s such a weird thing to change while also a really bad change just because it has no reason.
Plus, they make Judy into a kind of vapid bitch, so you don't care she gets cut. She's written delightfully in the play. Plus, in the play, you hurt for every single person who leaves the stage after being cut.
I played Zach in one of the incarnations of this show - one night, my auto-Zach skipped a groove and I completely forgot to say Maggie's name when naming the dancers who would be cut. By this time, I was in the finale costume and backstage. Someone said, "You forgot Maggie!" And for a moment I considered saying her name WAY after it would have been appropriate to do so. Suffice it to say, Maggie made the cut that night. However, it completely screwed up the subsequent costume changes. I couldn't worry about it then though. By the time Maggie arrived backstage I was already onstage singing "One!"
Would you believe that "Surprise" was actually nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song? I think it deserved a Razzie nomination more. With all said and done, I definitely think A Chorus Line deserves a remake of the highest order, though should it be done as another film or as a "live" video in the vein of NBC's Live Musicals.
+harrietamidala1691 I've heard it suggested as a live TV show, and I think that would be a fabulous medium for it--minimal set and costume requirements, more-or-less real-time story progression, etc. Unfortunately I think the networks are leaning more towards "family friendly" stuff (though depending on how Grease and Rocky Horror do, that could change).
+Musical Hell Yeah, that's also my concern. The Live musical broadcasts are probably going to be geared more toward families to get more viewers, but the number of musicals that are family-friendly that have not been done before (or adapted well in the past) is dwindling. I don't want another Annie or Music Man, as much as I like them, because they've already had more than one adaptation. I feel like the Live shows should be devoted to musicals that have had crummy adaptations in the past, like the Wiz, so they can be seen in their great glory on stage. I'd like to see a Once Upon a Mattress Live production because I'm not entirely familiar with it and I felt the Disney TV version was a little lacking. I don't see NBC putting on A Chorus Line any day soon, but maybe Fox could do it if Grease and Rocky Horror go well.
I love “A Chorus Line!” My father took me to see this play as a child in 1990, when I was 10 years old. It was the second live musical I saw, the first was “Cats” Loved your video.
I was very lucky. I saw this in the theater when I was 20. However, I'd been able to see a national tour of it a few years before, and I was intimately familiar with the soundtrack before that. I wanted to love the movie, but I just couldn't do it.
Richard Attenborough did not get the point of the show at ALL. On a talk show, he said it was about "young kids trying to break into show business." No, Richard. It's about veteran dancers looking for a final job before they're too old to do it again. Gah!
+Hayden Silbermann It's about a little bit of both, really. And much, much more.
+Musical Hell True. But the fact that he missed that mark at all is very frustrating.
+Hayden Silbermann Yes, I think he saw it as this typical showbusiness drama, and it is so, so much more than that.
+Musical Hell hey Ed kleban I know that guy hes another old college buddy of Alan Menken
+Musical Hell Guess what Diva? They made a high school edition of A Chorus Line! Next year…I hope it get it!
So well done. You hit everything this adaptation got so, SO wrong.
The other bad thing about the all Cassie all the time mentality of this movie is that it makes the audience HATE Cassie. In the show, Cassie and Paul should be the characters the audience are most rooting to get the part. In the play, Cassie is there from the beginning. In the movie, she arrives late when most of the audition is over and keeps shoving her way in until Zach finally is just like, whatever anything to shut you up. And we are supposed to root for this bitch who got to bypass all the standing in line and all the hard work in the early rounds that the others went through just because she used to sleep with the director?
Well that's show business!
Movies need a second story
This is so well done. I laughed so much during your analysis because this movie is such a travesty. But suddenly found myself crying when you said:
"It's a musical that celebrates the lives of ordinary people... You, yourself, are a wonderful, complex tapestry of comedy and tragedy and unique experiences. And that's not only true of you but of every single person in the background of your daily life"
You articulated that so well and you are absolutely right. That's why the show is so special and this movie is so not.
+Eddie Gutierrez Basically, it's the fulfillment of the Doctor's philosophy that he "never meant someone who wasn't important."
That quote warmed my little black heart, not gonna lie.
hey i could be wrong but i think this guy is playing paul at the nycc production of a chorus line. if so, the show looks fantastic and i hope to god the transfer rumors are true
Also, the costumes in the stage version were unique and helped to identify each character and their personality. The films are just variations on the same dance ensemble
I find it shocking that Glee used 'What I Did For Love' better than this movie.
Oh, it's true... Rachel was singing about what lenghts she would go for the Glee club....
@@julioagua Not for the Glee club. For herself.
@@Mshottie6 Also that...
If you read Michael Riedel's book Razzle Dazzle: The Battle For Broadway, there's an entire chapter on the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line and how it pretty much saved Broadway from the brink of extinction in the 1970s.
Thank you chorus line for helping us have Hamilton and hadestown
And how Chicago, it's main competition, made a triumphant comeback in the 2000s and ran longer than A Chorus Line on Broadway (and still is).
In my opinion, they are both ICONIC, but the time wasn't right for the both of them to co exist.
I always love to describe this musical as a “queer dystopian melodrama” because of how unsettling, hilarious, diverse and intense it can be. There are songs like “dance ten looks three” and “I can do that,” and then there’s Paul’s monologue and his fall, there’s intense character development and hilarious sidenotes, small jokes, big punches that are pulled all the way back, intense energy, haunting ballads and haunting choreography. You get invested in these characters, care about every single one in some way for some reason and watch them listen to a disembodied voice, and then, at least on stage, they completely disappear within the crowd of each other with no fanfare. They disappear completely, enveloped in the chorus. It’s creepy, hilarious, brilliant. My favorite musical of all time.
One of my main problems with this movie is how they changed altered the dynamics and plausability of Cassie's story line. In the original stage version, Cassie auditions with all of the other dancers and makes it to the final callback on her own. She shows up early and applies for the audition along with everyone else. That's perfectly believable. In the movie, they have her crash the audition. She literally shows up unannounced and expects (almost demands) to be added to the final line-up. That's NOT how it's done. Nobody crashes a cattle-call audition like that. I'm surprised she wasn't thrown out of the theatre by the security guards...
That was actually how it went in an earlier draft in the stage show, with Cassie showing up in a fur coat claiming that she thought it was a different audition, but what the hell, she's here so she might as well do it. Only later does she reveal that she's washed up as an actress and needs to get back into the chorus. Wisely, the creators junked this angle because they realized it put too much focus on one character....so what does Richard Attenborough do but re-instate it?
@@jenniferschillig3768why wasn't he nominated for a razzue?
9:38 You know, when I was in high school, I was part of the tech crew for this musical that turned the walls to match the set. Back then, I didn’t think much about it and found it dull. This description helped change my perspective on how deep this musical truly is and how foolish it was of me to give it the cold shoulder despite nearly every song living rent free in my head. Thank you, Diva, for opening my eyes.
This movie was unfortunately my first exposure to A Chorus Line. I just saw a stage version of this yesterday, and I have to say, your review of this movie is spot-on.
I couldn't stand how much attention Cassie was getting in the film over some of the other cast. A Chorus Line highlights and celebrates individuality, and it's really hard to appreciate that when you're seeing a bunch of one character and their backstory.
Hey, hey, I have rehearsed a small piece for this:
One, movie abomination,
Every second that it goes,
One, awful adaptation,
For who the original knows...
Gregory House That’s really good for new lyrics and rhymes. The metre is a little off, though, which is a shame :(
Inlelendri Change "movie" to "film" and it improves the flow.
One, film abomination,
Every second that it goes,
One, awful adaptation,
For those who know the show…
@@jacktanner9363 Maybe change it too:
" For ALL those who know the show", then the lyrics would fit better into the score
As someone who doesn't live in a country that stages a lot of musicals, let alone in english, this movie is the only version I have ever seen. I really enjoyed hearing about the difrences to the stage version. I don't comment alot, but I really love your series, and all the side stuff you do as well as the main musical hell reviews. :)
+FarrowLW You can find some video of college productions on TH-cam if you're interested.
+Musical Hell Now THERE'S another musical that deserves the live TV treatment...
+Musical Hell Cool, I will definitely go looking for that. :)
i'll always ave a soft spot for this once since I grew up watching it but when i saw the actual show, i was shocked with how much this pales in comparison.
dammit! poor kids and people who live far away from broadway deserve decent adaptations!
+Cheyenne Wise That's what always kills me about poor film adaptations of musical works--they do a poor job of representing the source material that people may not always be able to access on stage. I look out for discount theater tickets so I can see shows. Not everybody has the means or money to go to the theater, and film musicals are a way of experiencing a show at an affordable level.
that last part with Cassie becoming the high school musical teacher is so funny to me because when I was in high school musical on stage the girl playing the teacher made it part of her backstory that she had played Cassie on broadway
I came here to comment on that. The joke is also that the teacher in High School Musical is the same actress who played Cassie in the movie! 🤣
The punishment for Cassie...
I thought you wouldn't knew that piece of trivia
But you saved it as the last joke :,)
This is why I love Musical Hell
Looking forward for the next one!
+César Marines Wait Mrs Darbus and Carrie are played by the same actress? I didn't know that. Gotta it was brilliant to keep it last for Cassie's punishment.
+harrietamidala1691 Yep, that's Alyson Reed in both roles. I admit it threw me for a loop when I first found out too.
+Musical Hell Another thing I have just learned while random futzing around: Reed is also the voice of Adria in Diablo III. So she's done at least one project I like.
+Musical Hell What is Diablo III? Is that a video game or a cartoon?
+harrietamidala1691 Video game.
I haven't seen Chorus Line, but what you've said about it reminds me of another musical: 25 Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This musical involves a diverse group of people, this time children, competing to win a spelling bee. Each child is unique and brings their own story. These stories are understandable and relevant to many people, even grown ups at times. I highly recommend 25 Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee if you haven't seen it already, especially if you like Chorus Line
I haven't had the opportunity to see it yet, but I have and love the OCR.
Musical Hell if a movie were to be made of Putnam, hypothetically speaking, it would most likely end up in your court. One of the major theatrical devices used in the show is audience participation, where 5 audience members are chosen to be in the Bee. This device provides humor, helps support some of the show's themes, and helps with pacing of the first act. I think that only an idiot would try to make a movie out of Putnam, even though it's so popular and of such great quality.
pookywooky42 I don't think any of William Finn's shows could be movies. They are all rooted in theatricality and soliloquy, so deeply that it wouldn't work on film
I do want to see a revival with Louis Ck as Panch. That'd be awesome.
Yes !! im glad somebody said it ! i just did a show of 25th annual and before we even started rehearsels i was comparing so much about how they both tell kids/adults stories of how life is . Its amazing , i was Coneybear (one of my favorite roles i have ever done) and just knowing that i have come this close to being in a show like a chorus line is a dream come true !! A chorus line is my favorite musical and i really hope to be in it one day !!!
Omfg, I love this chick!!!! She really KNOWS and GETS her Chorus Line! Something that is unbelievably refreshing as a fan of this musical, as it is normal for us to be confronted by the typical cluelessness exhibited by 99.9% of the viewing population in regards to elements of this musical, especially its message. I have never agreed so strongly with anything before as I do with this video. I was not even into musicals when this film came out but I rented it on video many years later and was outraged, mortified, and traumatized! I had been introduced to the show in 1997 when national tour played a local theatre. I only knew like 2 songs from the show and had no idea what to expect. Needless to say I was completely blown away. That intense emotional impact was due to the sheer brilliance of the stage version. I was (and still am) a major Les Miserables fanatic and was used to the lavishness of the mega musical but A Chorus Line taught me that immense spectacle is indeed possible with the imagination and when focus is on humanity. I kid you not, when I see this show onstage, it feels just as elaborate and spectacular as any Wicked, Phantom, or any other mega musical out there. And that spectacle comes from the most ordinary things that we take for granted. It's a truly magical piece of theatre. When I finished watching the film version, I sat in my armchair for about 20 minutes completely silent with my mouth gaping open and staring straight ahead. It was THAT bad. Grrrr.
The first time I saw A Chorus Line was at a local theater, and my favorite number in that production was "I Can Do That". The actor who played Mike absolutely sold it. He performed it with so much joy and enthusiasm that you could really believe he had found his life's calling and was whole-heartedly celebrating the art of dance.
I've seen other productions since then where it wasn't performed as well, and I know it doesn't get as much love as some of the other songs, but that particular performance has always stuck with me.
Also, this wasn't the first musical Attenborough had directed having helmed 'Oh! What a Lovely War' back in 1969.
Terrance Mann and Tim Curry are literally the same person. I always get them confused! I love them both, Mann’s voice is amazing and i’ve always been a fan of Curry, but seeing Mann in this movie, I was like, “Oh I love Tim Curry!” until the narrator corrected me haha
They made one woman the star and they cut out Hello Twelve and they made What I Did for Love a song about romance? They took everything that made A Chorus Line what it is and dumped it in the trash.
All I know about this musical is that Bob Fosse took the piss out of it with the first ten minutes of All That Jazz.
I remember one review of All That Jazz said it was very similar to Bob Fosse's A Chorus Line. Yes, Bob Fosse's. LOL.
Took the piss? I didn't see any piss-taking. The situations are similar, the visuals thus are similar.
Fun fact: for those of you that didn't know, the actress for Miss Darbus in High School Musical is the same actress for the Cassie in the movie.
I actually loved this film's rendition of "I Can Do That", but that may just be my eternal affection for vauldvillianian slapstick speaking.
You were so much kinder than I could ever have been regarding this film. As a former dancer, I had to leave around 20 minutes into the screening and wait for it's home release so I could pause it every time it became uncomfortable or just plain unwatchable (which was most of the time). It's what happens when the director or anyone else behind the scenes has never been a dancer.
Hello: I was part of the dance world in NYC back in the 70's to mid 1980's. 'A Chorus Line' was false. Dancers had to be the same height and weight and this was a HUGE thing. Not only that, Balanchine was very big on making all the dancers identical. The Joffrey Ballet had variety. Broadway was more like Balanchine: the chorus lines had to be UNIFORM.
Just found this channel.
I saw this movie when it came out. I liked the music so much I went out and bought the soundtrack on cassette - except I got the original Broadway cast recording instead.
I got the original cast recording a few weeks later on vinyl.
I can sing along with the entire Broadway cast. I didn't even remember what the replacement for 'Hello 12, Hello 13..' was about.
.
About 7 years later I saw a summer production of _A Chorus Line_ at Kingston Ontario's Grand Theatre. The talent pool was so small that the character who says "And I'm black' had to say 'And I'm French'. 8)
And it was SO MUCH BETTER than the movie.
When I heard 'What I did for love' in the proper context I was incensed what the movie did I still rant to anyone who'd listen. I didn't remember the movie that well, but I could see changing the song into a just another love ballad obscured the point of the movie. These people were here for love.
I appreciate all the other comments about how much of the character study - again what the show was about - was sacrificed for a love story that I really didn't care too much about.
Always happy to listen to the opinion of others who have more knowledge than I and have thought deeply about their comments. That's how I learn.
IMO, another thing that the movie gets absolutely right is the finale scene. I like how more and more dancers that look like clones of the cast come out until you can’t really keep track of the characters you got to know and love anymore. That was the point of the original show’s finale, after all, where each individual person just disappeared into the chorus, but I think the movie did it even better.
It’s weird, huh? The only two parts that the movie really got right were the “One” scenes. It’s a shame because A Chorus Line, when you really think about it, isn’t really _that_ hard to translate into a movie. I’ve seen the show before, and I can still see it working as a film. Like, if Cassie didn’t take over most of the plot and was present from the start, “Montage” and “The Music and the Mirror” weren’t replaced and the director actually got the point of “What I did for Love,” this movie could actually be a decent adaptation, even if not being as good as the show itself.
Agreed. The big sin that stuck in my craw with the trivializing of What I Did for Love. But also, the changes to the music and the remaking of the choreography from simple/effective into complicated/distracting made me vow never to see this film more than once.
Of COURSE you'd save a High School Musical joke for the very end/punishment. Well played, good madam!
Am I misinterpreting Paul’s monologue? When he says the men used to “play with him”, it sounds... disturbing. The wiki claims he was molested but then I find the way he goes onto “I mean I always knew I was gay” a bit odd. I get that he was probably trying to get off of an uncomfortable subject but still... in the film’s version in particular it sounds a bit too “who cares”.
You're not misinterpreting. That's exactly what the monologue is about, and it is disturbing. It is almost word for word the story told by Nicholas Dante at the first workshop that led to this play. He became one of the credited authors of the original book of the musical. It is a heart-rending monologue. Lots of info out there about the whole play and its creation. I recommend watching Every Little Step as an easy introduction -- it's a documentary about casting the Broadeway revival that opened in 2006, and it includes a certain amount of the history of how A Chorus Line came to be.
Just finished watching _Every Little Step_ on your recommendation.
That is a power film. I find it fascinating that _A Chorus Line_ was holding a mirror up to reality, what it was like trying to get a job on Broadway, and the documentary basically holds up a second mirror to see how hard it is to get a part on _A Chorus Line_.
The reflections end up being nearly identical, just less dancing and singing in real life. 8)
I found it profoundly moving - the sadness of those who didn't get the job, the joy of those who did.
Awww hell yeah! Annie (2014) is getting what it deserves next month!
+The Shady Reviewer And just in time for my birthday! I'm a February baby. God, I can't wait for Musical Hell to give 2014 Annie the whooping it deserves. It is such a desecration of a classic musical.
Madonna was really good in Evita. The way she clearly worked to learn the material and strengthen her voice to tackle it (even though some of the songs had their registers lowered to suit her regardless), and there was a genuine chemistry between her and Antonio Banderas. The Lament performance at the end was so amazing, as she nailed the feeling of dying in those last moments.
+luv4hutch Yeah, I was surprised by how much I liked Madonna in the role. During "Eva's Final Broadcast," when her voice breaks on "I'm Argentina...and always will be..." all I could think was, "Damn, Madonna...if you could act all this time, why didn't you just SAY so?!"
I haven't seen it admittedly but from the snippets I have seen she does the performance differently from other incarnations. Obviously she's no Patti Lupone vocally but the way she does Lament?! DAAAMN. I like that they recorded that one live because they were crying so hard they couldn't lip-sync.
Antonio Banderas can sing too. He is so sultry in that movie.
What I hate about Madonna in this movie is she stole "Another Suitcase", which doesn't belong to her character, and never should have been sung by Madonna in the movie. I don't know whose bonehead decision that was, but whether it was Milos or Madonna, they should suffer the worst that the devilish Diva can dish out.
@@atimnie To be fair, "Another Suitcase" as it stands in the musical is kind of a complete non-sequitur. If you really think about it, it's one of the two best known out-of-context songs from the musical and it's sung by someone who's never given a name, someone we've met about 10 seconds before it starts and someone whom we never see again afterwards; story-wise, there's not really much need for a 2 minute song about how hard life is for this one random girl. Onstage, it really only fulfils the purpose of allowing the major players to get ready for "Peron's Latest Flame" - I think both Peron and Eva have costume changes during "Another Suitcase"... Given all that, I honestly can't blame them for the decision to give the song to Eva in the movie.
Notice how during “What I Did For Love”, the other dancers are doing the choreography for the tap combination from the stage show.
Why oh why couldn’t that be done for the whole movie?
Love this series to death, please keep it up!
I don’t often comment on videos I watch but I LOVE this channel!!
Major props for your summation of “What I Did For Love”, I actually got a bit choked up with how well you described what this song is SUPPOSED to be about.
Also, hilarious that you spotted the actress playing Cassie as the drama teacher in HSM, I always thought it was her but wasn’t sure. Now after seeing this I looked it up and I was right!!
Keep up the great work, Diva!
It sounds to me like chorus line is not supposed to have a main character. Which Hollywood didn't know how to deal with yet(and still has problems with)
About Zach selecting the chorus in the final act. I always liked Zach did have a softer and sympathetic tone. He put the so much emotion behind the line "Frontline, thank you so much. Thank you... I'm sorry." It shows that he was thankful to have met and have gotten to know these people and is now torn up by the fact that he will have to deny half of them what they want. In the movie, Zach doesn't give a damn. It's like no connection was established at all.
The actress who plays Cassie was the drama teacher in the "High School Musical" movies! She was annoying in that too! On the DVD in an interview with Marvin Hamlisch, he says in the original show Cassie does not get the job. It wasn't until a talk with Marsha Mason she told him that sure Cassie is overqualified but he'd still give her the job!
Cassie absolutely gets the job in the original stage production. The four boys are: Mark, Bobby, Richie, and Mike. The four girls are Cassie, Diana, Bebe, and Val.
This was my first sight of A Chorus Line…saw it before I heard or saw the original so it has a special place in my heart but i get it…
But you cannot get better that the original Sheila…later to be Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls…the amazing Kelly Bishop…
Thank you for your analysis!
I LOOOOVE A Chorus Line. It's an amazing story with wonderful songs.
It was also a powerful play, because we didn't necessarily have a main character, even if some characters were slightly more prominent, but only by a bit, so we're both happy and sad because some got the job but it also meant the rest didn't. It's such a powerful insight into this industry, and it has one of the most bittersweet endings I've ever seen, not just musicals.
A shame the film didn't do much service. I did like how they treated "One", and I also like how the reprise did it justice as well, pulling back and seeing them as a unit, which looks nice, but we realise is so tragic because their individualities are lost and blended into the crowd, which was like the show, except in the film, the dancers keep multiplying until we can't tell where the people we followed are anymore. That was clever, and it had really nice visuals.
In the original show we did see them come out one by one, but the more they danced around, it was very hard to make out who was who, like how they danced in a circle and their faces almost became blurred, and we realise the tragedy of the scenario, which is so ironic because they're singing about "the one".
From what I've read in a couple of books about the show, they had originally toyed with the idea of picking some rando from the audience to be the "star" of Zack's fictional show--a different woman every night. She'd basically be framed by the chorus, be moved around by them, as they did all the work of making her appear special--the irony being that it was the chorus line who was imbuing this ordinary audience member with all this star quality, making her look more special than she was, emphasizing the fact that the chorus was far more important than we might think.
FUN FACT: Kristine (the untalented wife character) is played here by NICOLE FOSSE. Yes... the daughter of Bob and Gwen. Sadly, she's both miscast AND badly directed, which probably killed her budding film career. Ironically, it was A Chorus Line that defeated Fosse's Chicago for the Tony when they were first staged back in the mid-70s... so casting Fosse's daughter in this film always struck me as a bitter, shallow swipe at her dad.
I feel like Ryan Murphy should do a remake of this film. There’s news of Ryan doing a Fosse/Verdon style show about Michael Bennett and Donna Mckechnie
He is! It’s going to be a 10 part miniseries on Netflix. (Though I don’t think a release date has been announced yet)
My teacher actually played this movie for Theater 101 and, funnily enough, Cassie annoyed the hell out of me. I just assumed the movie was showing us how favoritism works in the theater.
+Janet Gray Cassie's story--when told well--is kind of tragic, really. She had a shot at the big time, it never played out, and now there's nothing left for her to do but take the jobs she can find until her legs give out (which, since she's one of the older characters in the show, won't be very long). She has a good attitude about it, though, so it's easy to empathize with her when she's not being played as pushy and desperate like she is in the movie.
+Musical Hell I dont even understand why they picked her to be a focus. If anything Paul or Diana made more sense to be a focal point.
+sweeney60 Probably because her storyline was the one connected with Zach.
+Musical Hell Ever considered doing LOTR The Musical?
+Musical Hell The funny thing was--according to some books I've read on ACL, early drafts of the stage show were to have taken a similar tack. Cassie was to arrive onstage in a fancy stole after the opening number, claiming that she thought this was where they were auditioning for a leading role but what the hell, as long as she was here, she might as well audition for the chorus. Of course, it was to be revealed that all this bravado was just that--she had given up her hopes of the big time and was starting again in the chorus, but was too prideful to admit it at first. The writers junked this approach because it put too much focus on Cassie and made her too much of a stand-out. So why Sir Richard decided to go with it when the show's own CREATORS decided it wouldn't work, I'll never know.
1) The staging/filming of the opening number was basically stolen from Fosse's film All That Jazz. And of course, the Fosse version is imminently superior. 2) Aside from Sheila (who I genuinely loved in this), the casting was 100% wrong. I'd have replaced all of them. 3) The music and choreography is more MTV than Broadway. 4) I liked the finale, because I think it captured the joy of a dancer finally landing a chorus gig on Broadway... but it wasn't enough to save the film!
When bad things happen to good source material. That's an accurate description of the movie. Chorus Line is iconic but this movie definitely is not.
Thanks from someone who was knocked out by the Public Theater production and subsequently saw the Broadway production at least twice, plus productions in London and other major cities. I obviously love CHOUS LINE and found the film such a total mess; the changes were not only unnecessary but detrimental to the entire structure. The casting was so disappointing. So many wonderful moments were ruined by faulty direction. How could this have happened? I just watched the film for the second time and I'm so completely depressed.
Wow. I’m getting some serious Cats The Musical flashbacks.
From the moment I first saw A Chorus Line on stage, as an anxious, uncertain 16-yr-old, it captured my imagination completely and, 43 years later, remains my favourite show of all time. People often compare it side by side with Chicago and I don't understand the comparison. Chicago is all about rewarding vice, whereas A Chorus Line celebrates goodness (and that's a rare thing nowadays). I remember looking forward to the film so much - and hated it so much, that I've never seen it again. For me, the greatest travesty is the misinterpretation of What I Did for Love. Attenborough virtually destroyed the original, and I'll never forgive him for it. Thanks for this review, it's everything I've been grumbling about since 1986!
yay! Terrence! can you do a Know the score for The Scarlet Pimpernel so I can fangeek out? lol
I grew up listening to my mother's Chorus Line soundtrack and remember being so happy to find a VHS of this movie for rent, since we lived far away from anywhere I could see the play onstage.
My excitement was quickly replaced by disappointment throughout.
Thankfully, I got to go to New York in my last year of high school with my mother and we saw the play on the Broadway stage. :')
The girl that plays Cassie is Ms. Darbus from High School Musical
A terrible waste of amazing material- if any musical should be remade it's this one- perhaps a bit too adult for regular tv but done for HBO in the right hands would be sensational
Ooh...can't wait for you to tackle that misbegotten Annie! I know that the 1982 version had its faults--especially with John Huston never having directed a musical--but they're NOTHING compared to the 2014 version.
Come to think of it, I don't know how someone as talented as Sir Richard Attenborough could have botched it so thoroughly. I think one of the original creators/cast said that they knew the movie version was in trouble when they heard Sir Richard describing it as "kids trying to break into Broadway," when the majority of the characters were seasoned gypsies who'd been around the block and knew most of the realities of the profession (and, as their big song put it, loved it anyway).
I did enjoy it when I saw it (thirty years ago this MLK weekend), but that was because I hadn't seen the stage show and didn't know its nuances.
Still itching for you to tackle Magical Mystery Tour and/or Give My Regards to Broad Street. And since you mentioned Doctor Dolittle in this review...
I’ve never been able to watch the movie. The stage show is flawless. But the bits of the movie I’ve seen - fucking appalling. I am CACKLING at your synopsis. Just wonderful.
Another great deconstruction! Your critiques make me appreciate the source material much more. Your essays are more than brilliantly observed, they are artful and deep. Your passion really shows. Very fine work, I love these and congratulate you.
Instead of remaking Little Shop of Horrors, remake this movie. This deserved better.
Would you consider reviewing any of the High School Musical films and what's your opinion on Madonna the performer?
She already ripped the first HSM a new one on DJ Soundbite's channel
This video is the whole reason I fell in love with A Chorus Line and stands as my favorite musical to date. I’m even using Paul’s monologue as my Dramatic Interpretation piece in Speech and Debate. This musical means so much to me, and I still stick by the notion that I think everyone needs to see this musical at least once.
Just wanted to say that I just found your channel tonight, and it has made me SO HAPPY! You are now counted next to Musical Theatre Mash as 'Things I randomly found on TH-cam that I will now show all my artsy friends and we will squeal over together.' So, uh... Gratz?
Tl;dr - you're awesome and the stuff you do is awesome. Thanks! *Subscribed*
I saw the original touring company of ACL in New Orleans a century or two ago, then caught the revival with Donna McKechnie. The film version was pretty abysmal, and I only hope that Mann (one of my favorite Bway performers) got a large enough paycheck in the end to allow him to find copies of the film and destroy them.
Ryan Murphy is adapting A Chorus Line into a 10 part miniseries for Netflix. I wonder how that adaptation will compare to this. I don’t have a lot of a faith in it but hopefully I’m wrong! 🤞
Actually Richard Attenborough also directed OH it’s a lovely war. Which was excellent.
I couldn't agree more with your critiques of the changes they made to the story and how it took away from it. I did find it funny that the one sequence Attenborough got right was the dehumanization aspect of "One," though I thought the finale version had just as good punch as the rehearsal scene. (The shot of them walking up to the mirror and having their reflections step out to join them always seemed like way too good a shot for a movie like this.)
This was the first Broadway show I saw on a stage, though not on Broadway. I still love it!
Okay it's high school musicals 10th anniversary. I know it's not even low hanging fruit, its fruit that fell on the ground and no one wants to touch it, but PLEASE review it sometimes soon. It would be absolutely amazing.
+Amalia Kelso Check out the fun crossover action here: th-cam.com/video/dD_9DMC2cAQ/w-d-xo.html
Just found out that Cassie in the film is the same actress who played Mrs. Darbus in the High School Musical films.
Terrance Mann looks like Tim Curry
Will you ever talk about Carrie the Musical?
+The Filthy Casuals ...Maybe. It is one of the most notorious musical flops of all time, but the lack of any official recording of it is kind of a drawback.
+Musical Hell that's a a pretty big issue.
I will admit, while this movie may not have the biggest following, it's rendition of the finale song is AWESOME!!!
I've never been able to see the stage version, but I've had the original 1975 cast recording memorized since before I understood any of the lyrics. All I remember of finally renting this movie on video was thinking that the man-bulges had enough presence to be listed in the credits, so thank you Diva for reminding me that it's "better than nothing" in the same way one would eat baker's chocolate to satiate a chocolate craving.
Search for "A Chorus Line Original Broadway Cast", and you will find something glorious. The video is hard to watch quality-wise, but you quickly get used to it.
It's life-changing, especially for folks like us, who only knew the movie for so long.
This movie should have been a bob fosse or Blake Edwards film
1:50-1:57 Maybe review Doctor Dolittle?
I saw Alyson Reed star in Marilyn: An American Fable and a revival of Cabaret; she seem to be on her way to big stardom, but this movie torpedoed that. It was not her fault the filmmakers didn't know how to utilize Cassie. I got to work with her years later in a TV pilot; almost didn't recognize her and was surprised she was relegated to playing supporting roles; such a talented, lovely woman, I told her so as I gushed and she modestly downplayed her "star" turns... that's showbiz and the fickle finger of faith.
Perfectly delivered and observations are spot on!! I loathe this film!
4:55 Whispers from Sense8 in his younger days, everybody! XD
“the generic sexy soulful black guy number” why was that phrase just so true for so many shows😭
So this is super late and kinda irrelevant but I cannot express to you how much I relate to this video. I’ve been telling people for forever how bad the movie is for these reasons and they never agree with, but you just explained it so eloquently. Thank you so much, and this will definitely be my proof from now on that the movie is horrible.
This is a super interesting video, it's inspired to give the stage version of a chorus line a watch. Some of the word choices are super disconcerting though like what's with the slurs?
I’m glad you talked up about the music. I LOVE the original orchestrations with the great big sounds of the 70s. Not a fan of the movie’s sound
Dude you're better than the word spastic.
It apparently has less terrible connotations in the US
THANK YOU!!! that scene with Don used to frustrate me Soo Much!! and I had never seen the stage version so I didn't know what was missing but I knew nonsensical when I heard it.
I have a choreographer in my hometown in Texas who was actually in the OBC. I was truly humbled to find this news on
You know what, I grew up with this, and for all its faults experiencing Paul’s monologue in 1985, in a major movie release, was a big deal. I understand the movie pales in comparison to the stage version, but a lot of people work their ass of here. This movie has been the butt of jokes for so long, I really feel we lose sight of a lot of hard work. I’m grateful that for me, a kid in South America, who had no chance to see this on stage, I got to see a version of this. It contributed to my love for the theater, and it made me aware of the stage version. FYI, I’ve never seen the show on stage, haven’t had the opportunity because there hasn’t been a production running right where I’ve been, and I move around a lot and currently live in New York City, so I don’t think it’s fair to blame the viewer for not seeing the stage show. Ultimately, even though not great, this movie was still able to bring attention to this musical globally, reaching more people the musical ever could, and at least recruit some new fans. Credit where credit is due. (FYI, I know I’m harsh here, love your vids, this one just hit me personally)
If it were in my power to throw every copy of this movie in a fire and burn it I would. It's like painting a beard on the Mona Lisa a crapping on it.
I admire Chorus Line for what it is. The stage play does obviously draw more attention to some characters than others though, which is my only complaint because some of the characters it passes up exploring more in depth seem a lot more interesting than some of the ones it focuses on.
I’ll be honest, I used to love this movie, but after learning about the stage show and seeing clips of it on TH-cam, I realized how bad this movie is.
Sad thing is some of the actors here did A Chorus Line on stage: Gregg Burge(Richie), Matt West(Bobby), Justin Ross(Greg), Pam Klinger(Maggie, which makes sense, she has a fantastic voice for the character) and Vicki Frederick(Sheila) was Cassie! A couple actors here are well known in Broadway circles, Yamil Borges(Diana) was in the 1980 revival of West Side Story and Nicole Fosse(Kristine) is BOB FOSSE’s daughter!
I feel these actors got cheated out of being as authentic as possible here. I wish the actors I mentioned with a few more people were filmed as a stage production for A Chorus Line, it would’ve been so much better.
Madame Diva, any chance you'll do Cabaret?!! I LOATHE Liza in that role. It's taken me years of watching stage versions to get over Lisa chewing that role to bits. It needs to be scolded, though it will probably like it...I totally agree with Madame Diva on the casting of Michael Douglas. I was very young when this film turned up on HBO, and I watched it -- trying to discern why my parents and others liked the musical so much. And every single time Douglas appeared I was like "hey that is Big Film Actor Michael Douglas...and now back to the other people..."
I love the movie version of Cabaret, but the problem with Liza in the role is she's too GOOD. Sally Bowles, in the original Isherwood story, the stage play and movie I Am A Camera, and the stage version of Cabaret, is supposed to be a mediocre talent who's deluding herself otherwise, who throws away every chance at a stable life to pursue a career that's never going beyond a third-rate dive and a lifestyle that will probably land her in an early grave. But that leaves you with a dilemma--how do you cast a mediocre singer as your female lead in a musical? They tried that with Jill Hayworth in the stage version and the critics gave her (if not the show itself) a drubbing for it. But the movie went too far in the other direction--Liza is phenomenal as always, but you can't help but wonder how a talent like this could be stuck in a seedy little dive in Berlin when she could be headlining in Paris or New York!
Its crazy that Attenborough, who got everything right with Gandhi, in the bio genre which, like musical movies, is a notoriously difficult genre, got everything so wrong with ACL.
I found a copy of this movie at Goodwill for like $1.50 in pretty much pristine condition. My dad has always talked about being blown away by seeing the tour of it when he was a teenager. We decided it was worth buying it because he said he wasn't sure he'd ever actually seen the movie. I think the best way to describe my feelings towards it was underwhelmed. I really like the OBCR (I have it on vinyl, which I think I ironically also found at Goodwill), but the movie is just kinda meh. Like it's definitely not the worst film adaptation I've ever seen *cough cough Phantom* but I was just a bit disappointed. Definitely agree with your analysis
Maybe - just maybe - some musicals were meant to be stage productions and not movies - especially “concept musicals”?
“Bob fosse trying to teach Zumba”
How is that so on the nose
This review made me see A Chorus Line when yale drama did it.
One thing that bothers me about the movie that you didn’t mention is that Bebe makes it and Judy is cut. It’s such a weird thing to change while also a really bad change just because it has no reason.
Plus, they make Judy into a kind of vapid bitch, so you don't care she gets cut. She's written delightfully in the play. Plus, in the play, you hurt for every single person who leaves the stage after being cut.
I played Zach in one of the incarnations of this show - one night, my auto-Zach skipped a groove and I completely forgot to say Maggie's name when naming the dancers who would be cut. By this time, I was in the finale costume and backstage. Someone said, "You forgot Maggie!" And for a moment I considered saying her name WAY after it would have been appropriate to do so. Suffice it to say, Maggie made the cut that night. However, it completely screwed up the subsequent costume changes. I couldn't worry about it then though. By the time Maggie arrived backstage I was already onstage singing "One!"
8:27 Whoa, why is that note so breathy? It sounds the way I do when I'm trying to scream in a nightmare but can't.
The Dear Evan Hansen episode is gonna be interestinggggg
Actually this would be his 2nd directed musical--he did "oh what a lovely war" a wwi "jukebox" musical in 1969
Would you believe that "Surprise" was actually nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song? I think it deserved a Razzie nomination more. With all said and done, I definitely think A Chorus Line deserves a remake of the highest order, though should it be done as another film or as a "live" video in the vein of NBC's Live Musicals.
+harrietamidala1691 I've heard it suggested as a live TV show, and I think that would be a fabulous medium for it--minimal set and costume requirements, more-or-less real-time story progression, etc. Unfortunately I think the networks are leaning more towards "family friendly" stuff (though depending on how Grease and Rocky Horror do, that could change).
+Musical Hell Yeah, that's also my concern. The Live musical broadcasts are probably going to be geared more toward families to get more viewers, but the number of musicals that are family-friendly that have not been done before (or adapted well in the past) is dwindling. I don't want another Annie or Music Man, as much as I like them, because they've already had more than one adaptation. I feel like the Live shows should be devoted to musicals that have had crummy adaptations in the past, like the Wiz, so they can be seen in their great glory on stage. I'd like to see a Once Upon a Mattress Live production because I'm not entirely familiar with it and I felt the Disney TV version was a little lacking. I don't see NBC putting on A Chorus Line any day soon, but maybe Fox could do it if Grease and Rocky Horror go well.
I love “A Chorus Line!” My father took me to see this play as a child in 1990, when I was 10 years old. It was the second live musical I saw, the first was “Cats”
Loved your video.
I was very lucky. I saw this in the theater when I was 20. However, I'd been able to see a national tour of it a few years before, and I was intimately familiar with the soundtrack before that. I wanted to love the movie, but I just couldn't do it.
At the ballet is one of my all time favorite songs in all musical history. Hate to see it done so bad 😔