"CHICAGO" - Full Specs!

[JakeLipson]

Full specs for the Best Picture-winning musical "CHICAGO" are in courtesy IGN DVD and, admittedly, they're a bit disappointing. Technecially, it will probably be great in its 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, but the only extras are deleted scenes and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

I'm excited about the deleted scenes -- hopefully the great deleted song "Class," which appears on the soundtrack, will be among them -- and I'm sure the featurette will be decent, but this set could and should have been so much more. I wanted a big two-disc special edition with a (long) in-depth doc "Making Chicago," AT LEAST director's commentary if not cast commentary too, and DTS would be great too. Sigh. I don't like double-dipping much but I hope Chicago gets better DVD treatment later on, and I'd bet on it, too.

[Naminator]

Oh, goodie - mediocre movie gets mediocre treatment.

Even if I was a fan of the film, and if Chicago was a special edition, I'm not so sure I would be too stoked about the DVD being a 2-Disc set, anyways... what the hell could you possibly put on it? A bunch of ego-crammed behind the scenes feautrettes? Dance Choreography (If you could even call it "dancing")? Maybe an "In The Makeup Chair" sequence, with the camera capturing Richard Gere putting on his mascera for 20 minutes?

I think one featurette encompassing the production is perfect. It's not like there was a deeper or thematic meaning to this film that could warrant a discussion anyways, like LotR or Gandhi.

I dunno... to me, I'm really getting fed up with all of this "No Extras, No Purchase" talk. What do you watch more - the film, or the supplements? I only watch the 2nd disc about once or twice, and never touch it again. Also, when I rent a movie (Which is most of the time), I don't touch the supplements at all. I'm part of the Spielberg camp, I suppose - seeing every little intricate detail of the film really destroys the magic and integrity of the story. Instead of enjoying the film, you start to recall how this scene was technically executed, or the problems with the set instead of the actual story.

Extras are overrated.

But that's just a little personal gripe of mine - if someone watches the supplements more than the film (That would be simply bizarre, though), then let them have what they want. But give me a good A/V presentation and I'm perfectly happy.

[Alexandr]

I agree somewhat. With all these epk extras and the number of disks equaling how good the set is, the movie itself seems to be taking a back seat. David Lynch doesn't like extra's for this very reason!

However, extra's can be fun if they are unique and interesting for fans. Memento's special edition is a great example of a quality presentation built for fans.

Chicago was a very good entertaining film, IMO. I will buy it with or without extra's.

[SilentBob]

Yeah a little light on extras and no DTS. But i still loved the movie and shall purchase it come this August 19th.


Oh yeah the new revised cover art

[PolloDiablo]

I thought this was a pretty fun movie and had some cool musical numbers, I'll definatley be picking it up when it comes out. Musicals are always a fun escape when your not in the mood to do alot of thinking, my Rocky Horror disc gets a fair amount of play for that exact reason. I would think there would have been alot of fun supplemental material for a film such as this, I'm sure the cast had to go through alot of training for their dancing/singing scenes and you would think there would be some pretty humoruous & interesting stuff there.

[John D. Moore]

I'm sure the making of will be a fluff piece. Before DVDs, I loved making ofs, but now I'm just burnt out. It has one of the extras I really like -- deleted scenes, and that's all I really need unless they really go the distance like FOTR EE or Royal tenenbaums CC.
I like commentaries and am a little surprised that there isn't one. Might Miramax make me double dip?

[FurryHumanBeing]

I wouldn't be suprised if there is a future SE. The did the same thing with Shakespear in Love, Scream, Good Will Hunting, ect. And hasn't it also been made kinda official that Gangs of NY will have multiple releases?

[CHSHartney]

Maybe, for the first time in DVD history, the movie will be a bigger fluff piece than the behind-the-scenes featurette.

[BubbleGumUK]

I heard a confirmation of a 2-disc.

I'll dig around and find out where that came from, but it was an industry pupblication/website.

If this is a single disc, I'll wait. There is an SE in the works.

[oddbodd]

Ah miramax screw it up again , I mean you'd expect this film to have a fully fledged special edition like Moulin Rouge , I mean if fox can do it for such an awful film , Couldn't Miramax do it for a good one?.

Oh well I will still be buying it.

[JakeLipson]

I'll still be buying this regardless; it IS the movie that matters most to me, of course. I'm just a bit disappointed and wouldn't put it past BVHE to double dip on this in a year or so. And if that one has good extras, I'll probably buy it too. But for now, Chicago will be mine on August 19, extras or not.

[John D. Moore]

While I loved the film, I can't see Miramax waiting more than MAYBE 6 months to release another SE if they will. I mean, it's a good film and all, but hardly the most memorable of last year. It's not been so long since 2001/2's Oscar winner, but who here remembers "A Beautiful Mind."
I personally think they ought to release a single-disc and double-disc simulataneously. I'd buy a second disc for a bit more in a heart beat, but I don't think I'd actually double dip.

[reapersaurus]

I would think there would have been alot of fun supplemental material for a film such as this, I'm sure the cast had to go through alot of training for their dancing/singing scenes and you would think there would be some pretty humoruous & interesting stuff there.

Anyone who has seen the Behind the Movie special on Chicago on VH1 knows there's a lot of supplemental material they could include on the production, cast, rehearsals, difficulty of getting it made, etc.

Hell, just plopping the VH1 special on the disc would have been a vast improvement over..... hardly ANY extras!

If a blockbuster movie like Chicago (tons of awards, huge box office) doesn't get a 2 Disc treatment, than what the heck dictates whether a movie DOES?

What I was expecting/hoping for in a 2-Disc release:

• Behind the Scenes production that basically did what the VH1 special did.
• Featurette on the actors, and the difficulties they had in learning the singing/dancing required for the movie.
• History of the play, with in-depth comparisons about what was changed in the adaptation to the film.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes for every scene that was shortened or excised. (hopefully this is on the 1-disc release)

[Paul.n3w]

This is disapointing, I would think more effort would go into the DVD that won Miramax Movie of the Year... I'll buy it no matter what extras it has, but if a 2 disc version is confirmed (not just rumored) by the time the single disc comes out, I might wait for that.

[BubbleGumUK]

I was freelance editor on an entertainment show here in the UK and we got a very long EPK set when we were pushing Chicago.

I know there is an SE planned (maybe for Christmas?) and there was at least an hour and a half of material on that EPK alone. I've also seen a documentary on the film that had stuff that the EPK didn't have so there is obviously stuff out there for the 2-disc, or even a better edition.

Rob Marshall has apparently already recorded a commentary, so that'll turn up at some point.

Oh yeah, anyone else realize that Disney handles the Miramax stuff? Maybe we'll see the SE around the same time as Lilo And Stitch!

[Istagi]

The answer to all your questions is one word

miramax

I do not believe they have yet come out with a true special edition of anything. I enjoyed the movie very much and will be happy to have it.

extras are just that extras unless it is an extended version of the film, and as far as the song "Class" I thought it stunk like the ass on a week dead rhino.

[DrDetroit]

Originally posted by Istagi
The answer to all your questions is one word

miramax

I do not believe they have yet come out with a true special edition of anything. I enjoyed the movie very much and will be happy to have it.

You should pick up A Hard Day's Night. That sucker's packed.

[FurryHumanBeing]

Originally posted by Istagi
I do not believe they have yet come out with a true special edition of anything. [/b]

Pulp Fiction?

[BubbleGumUK]

Jay And Silent Bob?

The Others?

Scream trilogy box set?


I thought these were all pretty good for the films they were. I was just expecting a better edition for this year's Best Picture.

[Istagi]

I said, "I do not believe" so it was an opinion formed by the fact that miramax and their parent company Disney is not truely sold on the idea of a true "special edition" The seem to grudgeingly produce a handfull but it is more of an exception than a rule.

[bgbohemian217]

Oh, goodie - mediocre movie gets mediocre treatment.

I'm with Naminator.... I mean, I thought Chicago was decent, maybe okay even, but there's not much, I could see to warrant a 2 discer, aside from the VH1 thing or a commentary or 2.... it just wasn't a movie, um, very big on depth. Anyway, I might rent it sometime.

[Diana]

Originally posted by Naminator
Oh, goodie - mediocre movie gets mediocre treatment.

I'll pass!

[oddbodd]

Originally posted by bgbohemian217
I'm with Naminator.... I mean, I thought Chicago was decent, maybe okay even, but there's not much, I could see to warrant a 2 discer, aside from the VH1 thing or a commentary or 2.... it just wasn't a movie, um, very big on depth. Anyway, I might rent it sometime.

Musicals rarely do have much depth , I mean if Moulin Rouge got a 2 discer why couldn't Chicago ? Moulin Rouge had as much depth as a baby swimming pool

[Dehrian]

I liked the movie a great deal, and all I was hoping for was deleted scenes. But even if the disc was bare bones, I would still buy it.

[Naminator]

Originally posted by oddbodd
Musicals rarely do have much depth , I mean if Moulin Rouge got a 2 discer why couldn't Chicago ? Moulin Rouge had as much depth as a baby swimming pool

Moulin Rouge was one of the biggest visual accomplishments the film industry has ever seen.

I marvel to this day how anyone other than a God could have edited that film and made it what it was.

Maybe the music stunk, but for the most part, I happened to like it. It added a neat twist to the modern-day musical scene, with a great parallel to modern-day music, and how enthusiasts of it are always going "Oh, we've heard this shit already". I got a kick out of that.

Also, Moulin Rouge left people talking. It sparked some debate, at least for me. As for Chicago, this is basically what a conversation consisted of:

Me: "So did you see Chicago?"
Person: "Yeah! I LOVED IT!"
Me: "Oh."
*Silence*
Me: "Why?"
Person: "I don't know."
*Silence*
Me: "So how about them Oilers?"

I mean, it was OK, I guess... A quaint, one-time-only time waster, but nothing more than that. It didn't leave as much of an impact as Moulin Rouge did when I left the theater. Hell, I felt NOTHING at ALL once I saw Chicago, except for the nagging question of how anybody could have actually found this movie above-average.

This seems to be a plaguing problem with cinema these days... films are slowly and slowly becoming more accepted as time-wasters instead of conversation and thought-provokers. Funny how such a meaningless, hollow film like Chicago could win an Oscar, when competition like The Pianst, LotR: TTT, Far From Heaven, The Hours and Minority Report.

And while this rejection of such noteworthy celluloid is going on, Hollywood is continuing to block any light at the end of the tunnel.

- Studios continue to mess up potential hits, like Miramax and Equilibrium. Even if it wasn't outstanding, it did bring up some interesting questions at the end. The Weinsteins were probably too busy hanging out at the snack bar during the preview screening to notice.
- Rick Berman and Brannon Braga continue to fuck up one of the smartest franchises of all time, Star Trek. The franchise that made me grow up and realize that there was something to strive for in my life.
- Sequels and Remakes continue to get made, even though none of them break past their budget.
- The Oscars continue to be bought out by Miramax. I have a somewhat nagging feeling that every Oscar broadcast that is to come in the next 10 years will have the subtitle "Bought-er, Brought to you by Bob and Harvey Weinstein!!!!".

I guess I should thank my lucky stars that I happen to bounce upon a little gem every once in a while that I completely obsess over; the little gem that makes me love movies again, like Spirited Away and The Time Machine, although they're slowly becoming fewer and farther apart.

So for this, I THANK YOU HOLLYWOOD! Thank you for continuing effors to support the medium of film, and I hope that your relationship with the general public continues to fluorish!

Now if you will excuse me, I am off to burn every original, groundbreaking screenplay on the face of the earth.

I apologise again for going off on a tangent... :p

[bgbohemian217]

I with Naminator again, I loved Moulin Rouge, everything about it, thought it had incredible depth. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't think Chicago was, say, Dude Where's My Car, and I'm Chicago-bashing cause I'm an angry Moulin Rouger, I'm just defending my movie... it had incredible depth to me... especially with many of the songs I identified with in ways I know not everyone does/can, and I'm not talking about the love songs, but I'm just saying that it had depth to me. Plus, it delves into character, thought larger than life, the characters all have a personality etc., that's muti-faceted, and so on... and I apologize for the rant, I do NOT want to add to this whole MR/Chicago thing... I was at these other message boards on IMDB and the bashing on both sides was rather sad.
So, sorry.

[TylerD]

I really liked the film a lot and I am a little dissapointed there isn't more content on the disc. But like a few others have said, I'd buy it even if it were bare bones.

I wonder if the Featurette is the same one that's on the Limited Edition Soundtrack DVD?

[oddbodd]

Originally posted by Naminator
Moulin Rouge was one of the biggest visual accomplishments the film industry has ever seen.

I marvel to this day how anyone other than a God could have edited that film and made it what it was.

Maybe the music stunk, but for the most part, I happened to like it. It added a neat twist to the modern-day musical scene, with a great parallel to modern-day music, and how enthusiasts of it are always going "Oh, we've heard this shit already". I got a kick out of that.

Also, Moulin Rouge left people talking. It sparked some debate, at least for me. As for Chicago, this is basically what a conversation consisted of:

Me: "So did you see Chicago?"
Person: "Yeah! I LOVED IT!"
Me: "Oh."
*Silence*
Me: "Why?"
Person: "I don't know."
*Silence*
Me: "So how about them Oilers?"

I mean, it was OK, I guess... A quaint, one-time-only time waster, but nothing more than that. It didn't leave as much of an impact as Moulin Rouge did when I left the theater. Hell, I felt NOTHING at ALL once I saw Chicago, except for the nagging question of how anybody could have actually found this movie above-average.

This seems to be a plaguing problem with cinema these days... films are slowly and slowly becoming more accepted as time-wasters instead of conversation and thought-provokers. Funny how such a meaningless, hollow film like Chicago could win an Oscar, when competition like The Pianst, LotR: TTT, Far From Heaven, The Hours and Minority Report.

And while this rejection of such noteworthy celluloid is going on, Hollywood is continuing to block any light at the end of the tunnel.

- Studios continue to mess up potential hits, like Miramax and Equilibrium. Even if it wasn't outstanding, it did bring up some interesting questions at the end. The Weinsteins were probably too busy hanging out at the snack bar during the preview screening to notice.
- Rick Berman and Brannon Braga continue to fuck up one of the smartest franchises of all time, Star Trek. The franchise that made me grow up and realize that there was something to strive for in my life.
- Sequels and Remakes continue to get made, even though none of them break past their budget.
- The Oscars continue to be bought out by Miramax. I have a somewhat nagging feeling that every Oscar broadcast that is to come in the next 10 years will have the subtitle "Bought-er, Brought to you by Bob and Harvey Weinstein!!!!".

I guess I should thank my lucky stars that I happen to bounce upon a little gem every once in a while that I completely obsess over; the little gem that makes me love movies again, like Spirited Away and The Time Machine, although they're slowly becoming fewer and farther apart.

So for this, I THANK YOU HOLLYWOOD! Thank you for continuing effors to support the medium of film, and I hope that your relationship with the general public continues to fluorish!

Now if you will excuse me, I am off to burn every original, groundbreaking screenplay on the face of the earth.

I apologise again for going off on a tangent... :p

[jonathan_little]

oddbodd, I ignored your first comment about Moulin Rouge and then you just had to make another one. Instead of turning this thread into a "I hate Moulin Rouge" rant, why don't you display your positive feelings about Chicago?

Saying that Moulin Rogue had "no depth" when we have movies like The Transporter floating around is just silly. I'm not necessarily a fan of Chicago, but I wasn't about to come here and blast everybody else for liking it.

[oddbodd]

I don't hate moulin rouge but I don't feel every new musical has to kiss its ass because it "reinvented" the movie musical.

[deltau922]

A&E had a terrific "Chicago" special a couple of weeks ago. I hope that's the one that gets on the DVD and not one of those 12-minute HBO promos. Either way I'll be buying it for the movie, not the extras.

[reeltime]

Ugh - I hate the Academy Award winner plug they added to the cover. Totally takes you out of the art. I wouldn't mind if it were more subtle, but it really throws off the balance.