- Actors: Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Montgomery, Lynne Overman, Nigel Bruce
- Directors: William A. Wellman
- Writers: Nunnally Johnson, Ben Hecht, Maurine Dallas Watkins
- Producers: Nunnally Johnson
- Format: Colour, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
- Language English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- DVD Release Date: 20 April 2004
- Run Time: 75 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0001FR54S
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 26,686 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details |
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Fans of the recent 'Chicago' will recognize the story about Roxie, the 1920's starlet tried for a murder and exploiting the media exposition to get a break in showbiz, defended by the cynical lawyer Billy Flynn who couldn't care less if she is innocent or guilty.
William Wellman's wonderful 1942 picture is every bit as satiric and even more hardboiled than the musical. You will be constantly entertained by the wealth of wicked ideas in the script and no less by Wellman's masterful execution which coyly flirts (very, very tongue in cheek!) with the black and white style of the contemporary noir film and is willing to see its themes through, even ad absurdum (the divine 'Black Bottom' dance scene in the prison!).
Ginger Rogers was obviously giving a Mae West parody as Roxie Hart, a performance which is always out there and a sheer delight, chewing her gum, winking her eyes, showing off her legs to the jury, seducing men under her breath as a matter of course. Rogers is great!
So is the film. And the print itself deserves a viewing.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Not Guilty Verdict in Trial of Blond Who Shot Friend Six Times Accidentally!"
"He Refused to Take Me to See Victor Mature Claims Woman on Trial for Life!"
"No Recollection of Picking Up Axe, Jilted Girl Testifies!"
"Crowd Cheers as Jury Clears Red-Head of Driving Car Over Electric Refrigerator Salesman!"
Roxie Hart, one of the funniest and most cynical Hollywood comedies, starts out with these newspaper headlines, and it just gets better. It's 1927 and Roxie (Ginger Rogers) may or may not have shot her lecherous agent. Her dim, loving husband at first agrees to take the fall. Then he finds out about some hanky-panky, so Roxie is arrested and sent to the Cook County jail. She quickly realizes a great lawyer like Billy Flynn (Adolphe Menjou) can put on such a show that she'll get off and the publicity will finally bring that big break in show biz she's always dreamed of. Sound familiar? This is what the stage and film version, both named Chicago, were based on. Surprisingly, they followed the story line almost exactly.
And what a story it is. The movie takes ambition, greed, the media, the public, lawyers and the justice system and then squeezes every jaundiced laugh out of each one. "Laugh and the world laughs with you," says Flynn, "weep and they'll think you're a chump."
Ginger Rogers does a great job as the dumb but crafty, gum-chewing Roxie. She's "the prettiest woman ever tried for murder in Cook County," says Homer Howard (George Montgomery), a young reporter who falls for her. Roxie always has an eye out for the main chance, and if she were any smarter she'd be hard to like. Rogers even gets a chance to dance a couple of times, once a wonderful and surreal strut to The Black Bottom when she's in jail during a press interview. Suddenly, all the reporters, including Mary Sunshine, join in.
The real star, for me, is Adolph Menjou. He plays Flynn with just enough ham to be funny and just enough honesty to be uproarious. When some vital testimony is thrown out as hearsay, Flynn turns to Roxie and whispers, "You see in New York or Los Angeles or some other sissy town, that'd be the end of it. Nothing but law. But in Chicago the law doesn't count. It's justice we're after. What'ya say, kid?" And he puts her on the stand for a cross examination that would even have the talking heads on Fox and MSNBC singing his and Roxie's praises. I seldom laugh out loud during movies, but Menjou's florid, manipulative cynicism had me wiping my eyes.
Since this is a comedy, Roxie gets off, partly through the judicious exposure of her gams to the all-male jury. And because Roxie's story is told in flashback by Homer in 1942 while he's waiting in a bar during a rainstorm, there's a nice twist at the end.
There are no extras to speak of. The black and white DVD transfer looks great.
"He Refused to Take Me to See Victor Mature Claims Woman on Trial for Life!"
"No Recollection of Picking Up Axe, Jilted Girl Testifies!"
"Crowd Cheers as Jury Clears Red-Head of Driving Car Over Electric Refrigerator Salesman!"
Roxie Hart, one of the funniest and most cynical Hollywood comedies, starts out with these newspaper headlines, and it just gets better. It's 1927 and Roxie (Ginger Rogers) may or may not have shot her lecherous agent. Her dim, loving husband at first agrees to take the fall. Then he finds out about some hanky-panky, so Roxie is arrested and sent to the Cook County jail. She quickly realizes a great lawyer like Billy Flynn (Adolphe Menjou) can put on such a show that she'll get off and the publicity will finally bring that big break in show biz she's always dreamed of. Sound familiar? This is what the stage and film version, both named Chicago, were based on. Surprisingly, they followed the story line almost exactly.
And what a story it is. The movie takes ambition, greed, the media, the public, lawyers and the justice system and then squeezes every jaundiced laugh out of each one. "Laugh and the world laughs with you," says Flynn, "weep and they'll think you're a chump."
Ginger Rogers does a great job as the dumb but crafty, gum-chewing Roxie. She's "the prettiest woman ever tried for murder in Cook County," says Homer Howard (George Montgomery), a young reporter who falls for her. Roxie always has an eye out for the main chance, and if she were any smarter she'd be hard to like. Rogers even gets a chance to dance a couple of times, once a wonderful and surreal strut to The Black Bottom when she's in jail during a press interview. Suddenly, all the reporters, including Mary Sunshine, join in.
The real star, for me, is Adolph Menjou. He plays Flynn with just enough ham to be funny and just enough honesty to be uproarious. When some vital testimony is thrown out as hearsay, Flynn turns to Roxie and whispers, "You see in New York or Los Angeles or some other sissy town, that'd be the end of it. Nothing but law. But in Chicago the law doesn't count. It's justice we're after. What'ya say, kid?" And he puts her on the stand for a cross examination that would even have the talking heads on Fox and MSNBC singing his and Roxie's praises. I seldom laugh out loud during movies, but Menjou's florid, manipulative cynicism had me wiping my eyes.
Since this is a comedy, Roxie gets off, partly through the judicious exposure of her gams to the all-male jury. And because Roxie's story is told in flashback by Homer in 1942 while he's waiting in a bar during a rainstorm, there's a nice twist at the end.
There are no extras to speak of. The black and white DVD transfer looks great.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
this original (from which chicago is based )is by far the better movie albeit not a musical and in glorious b/w.the humour is ripe ,ginger even does a little black bottom number and her comedy timing is spot on.as a publicity seeking showgirl stopping at nothing to get famous ,even to admitting to a murder she didn't commit and adding more and more to her "story" to sell more papers this is very,very funny.well worth a look.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Film & TV > Classics > Comedy
- Film & TV > Classics > Drama
- Film & TV > Classics > Musicals
- Film & TV > Comedy
- Film & TV > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery
- Film & TV > Drama > Comedy
- Film & TV > English Subtitles
- Film & TV > Musicals & Classical > Musicals & Stage Performances > Classic
- Film & TV > Musicals & Classical > Musicals & Stage Performances > Film Musicals
- Film & TV > Region 1
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
