Regular Price $14.98

Starring: Michael Douglas,  Terrence Mann,  Michael Blevins,  Yamil Borges,  Jan Gan Boyd, 
Directed By: Richard Attenborough, 
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Release Date: 1985-12-13
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Format: Anamorphic,  Closed-captioned,  Color,  DVD-Video,  Subtitled,  Widescreen,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about A Chorus Line

Description
Michael Douglas stars as a choreographer who subjects 16 dancers to a grueling audition in this Academy AwardÂ(r)-nominated* adaptation of the landmark Broadway musical. Featuring Marvin Hamlisch's OscarÂ(r)-nominated* music and Jeffrey Hornaday's (Flashdance) sizzling choreography, this thrilling portrayal of life behind the velvet curtain is truly "One Singular Sensation"! After narrowing down hundreds of Broadway hopefuls, Zach (Douglas) leads a select group of dancers on the tryout of their lives. In an audition twist, Zach asks each performer personal and intimate questionswith results that powerfully affect not only the young performers but the hardened stage veteran as well. *1985: Original Song, Sound, Film Editing

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

Customer Reviews for A Chorus Line

2 stars out of 4
The Bottom Line:

A Chorus Line is a classic example of something working on stage but not on screen--the musical was a revolutionary piece of musical theater, but the movie just feels uninspired and ordinary; the film may be of interest to those who like musicals, but it's not very accomplished.A Chorus Line

An excellent gift
I gave this dvd to a dear friend of mine. It's an excellent musical and it originated a famous tv series.A Chorus Line

Song, Dance, and interesting characters
A Chorus Line allows us to watch as a director (Michael Douglas) selects the men and women he wants in the chorus of a play he will direct. He asks the people who have come to try out to tell him something about themselves, since members of the chorus will have bit parts in the play. Among those trying out are a married couple, a woman who has acted for the Douglas character before, a young man involved in gay theater without his family's knowledge, and one of the great loves of the director's life.

While it's difficult to imagine an actual try-out being conducted along these lines, it does offer an opportunity for the audience to get to know the often-anonymous chorus and for each of the chorus members to have a moment (or more) to shine.A Chorus Line

Chorus Line DVD
The movie is great; however a sequence where BeBe is asked to demonstrate a solo is missing.A Chorus Line

A Chorus Line
A very good movie. A precursor to the play at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore.A Chorus Line