Chicago (2002)

Director:

Rob Marshall

Writers (WGA):

Bill Condon (screenplay)
Bob Fosse (book) ...

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Musical

Tagline:

With the right song and dance, you can get away with murder.

Plot:

Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't 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.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Fame | 1920s | Jail | Vaudeville

Awards:

Won 6 Oscars. Another 34 wins & 54 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Dec. 3

7:00 AM

AMC

Cast

Taye Diggs	...	Bandleader
Renée Zellweger	...	Roxie Hart
Cliff Saunders	...	Stage Manager
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Velma Kelly
Richard Gere	...	Billy Flynn
Queen Latifah	...	Matron Mama Morton
John C. Reilly	...	Amos Hart
Dominic West	...	Fred Casely
Christine Baranski	...	Mary Sunshine
Jayne Eastwood	...	Mrs. Borusewicz
Bruce Beaton	...	Police Photographer
Roman Podhora	...	Sergeant Fogarty
Colm Feore	...	Harrison
Rob Smith	...	Newspaper Photographer
Sean Wayne Doyle	...	Reporter

Also Known As:

Chicago (Germany)
Chicago: The Musical (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and dialogue, violence and thematic elements.

Runtime:

113 min | Turkey:80 min (TV version)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Hungarian

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #39516) | Netherlands:MG6 | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | South Korea:15 | France:U | Brazil:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG (cut) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2003) | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

In the scene in prison where Billy Flynn is passing by the bars, Hunyak starts speaking in Hungarian but the final sentence is in Russian. She says, "Help, help me, please."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: By the time the story takes place, the electric chair had replaced hanging as Illinois's method of execution.

Quotes:

Roxie: Thank you, ma'am.
Matron Mama Morton: No, call me Mama. We're going to take care of you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "HBO First Look: The Making of 'Dreamgirls' (#13.23)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

And All That Jazz/End Credits

What a Wonderful Movie !

Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) has a very simple life, married with the simple and cuckold mechanic Amos Hart (John C. Reilley), but is a dreamer. She dreams of being successful, loved by the masses and rich, the same way Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones, in an outstanding performance) seems to be. Roxie is deceived by his lover, who had promised to present her to an owner of an important night-club only for taking sexual advantages from her and kills him. In the prison, she shares the jail with Velma, who killed her husband and her sister, and they become enemies. She meets Matron 'Mama' Morton (Queen Latifah), an important and influent jail-keeper, and Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), an expensive lawyer who never lost a case and who decided to take care of Roxie's case. Billy tries to change their passionate crimes to a different perspective to the public opinion. Yesterday I watched this movie for the first time. What a wonderful movie! The performance of the cast, highlighting Catherine Zeta-Jones in the first plan and Renée Zellweger next is fantastic. The screenplay, where reality is saw under the vision of Roxie as a musical all the time is marvelous. The direction is amazingly perfect for a rookie director of films. Congratulations to all cast: the Oscars wined by this film were very deserved. Renée Zellweger has proved in the past that she is an outstanding actress. Richard Gere also has many magnificent movies in his career. But Catherine Zeta-Jones surprised me a lot: I could never expect those skills on her. John C. Reilley is also a great underrated actor, but he has to be careful with his roles: this is the second time, in a short period, that he plays a cuckold (see `The Good Girl'). Honestly, I did not expect such an excellent movie. The scene of the interview of Roxie and Billy is a masterpiece. Only this scene would be enough for me. But this movie offers almost two hours of pleasure. I only regret that the DVD released in Brazil is in fullscreen, instead of widescreen. The extras are also great. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): `Chicago'