Chicago appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Despite challenging imagery, this became a strong presentation.
Sharpness always seemed solid, as the film consistently came across as distinct and well defined. I noticed no issues connected to softness or fuzziness.
Jagged edges and moiré effects never presented concerns, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also failed to materialize.
Hues became a potential problem, largely due to the ample use of colored lighting. The Blu-ray handled these tones with aplomb, though, and left the colors as rich and full without noise or other concerns.
Black levels were deep and dense, and low-light situations demonstrated good definition without becoming overly thick. This turned into an impressive presentation.
Not surprisingly, music dominated the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundfield. The showtunes demonstrated very good breadth and spread across the front channels.
Stereo response seemed strong, as the songs filled the speakers nicely. They also popped up appropriately from the rears.
The surround channels supported the music naturally and didn’t resort to gimmicky material. Effects played a less active role in the film, but they helped flesh out the story well, as they created a good feeling of atmosphere throughout the flick.
Audio quality came across as solid. Speech appeared distinct and natural, and I noticed no issues connected to intelligibility or edginess.
Effects seemed tight and accurate. As previously noted, they didn’t play a prominent role in the proceedings, but they remained clear and concise at all times.
Music sounded great. The songs and score demonstrated clean highs and a nice dimensionality in general, with warm low-end. This became a positive mix for a musical.
How did the 2023 Blu-ray compare to those of the ”Diamond Edition” BD from 2014? Both are identical – literally, as the 2023 set just reuses the old disc.
In terms of extras, we start with an audio commentary from director Rob Marshall and screenwriter Bill Condon. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific look at the challenges of making a musical these days along with information about changes made from the stage presentation, working with the actors, and general issues related to staging and budget.
They also get into deleted scenes and other alterations. At times the pair devolve into simple praise for the participants, but overall they provide a fairly rich and informative chat that helps flesh out our appreciation for the movie.
Chicago in the Spotlight runs two hours, 22 minutes, 19 seconds and involves Marshall, producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, choreography supervisor John DeLuca, and actors Renee Zellweger, Queen Latifah, Catherine Zeta Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, and Christine Baranski.
“Spotlight” looks at the project’s development and Marshall’s approach to the material, developing the screenplay, characters, cast and performances. It also discusses choreography and performance numbers, rehearsals, Marshall’s work on the set, costumes, cinematography and production design, editing, the Oscars, and reflections on the film.
With almost two and a half hours at its disposal, “Spotlight” enjoys the potential to become a great documentary, but it doesn’t quite achieve that level. Some of the concerns stem from the limited roster of participants, as we lack information from key collaborators.
We might hear about costumes, camerawork and production design, but we don’t hear from the people who did those jobs, and that’s a negative.
“Spotlight” also devotes far too much time to superficial topics. For instance, we get a long segment about the 10th anniversary celebration at the 2013 Oscars – why? Who cares?
“Spotlight” uses more space to talk about Zeta-Jones’ Oscar performance than it does with crucial topics like editing and design choices – that’s nuts.
None of these decisions make “Spotlight” a bad show, as it still gives us some good insights. Unfortunately, it fills far too much of its extended running time with either praise or superfluous topics. There’s maybe an hour of actual useful content here.
Under Extended Musical Performances, we start with “And All That Jazz” (six minutes, seven seconds), “When You’re Good to Mama” (3:33), “Cell Block Tango” (8:02), “We Both Reached For the Gun” (6:37), “Mister Cellophane” (4:00) and “All I Care About” (4:43).
Some of these offer curious presentations, as they mix movie clips, rehearsal footage and other behind the scenes bit, and they show all onscreen at the same time via multiple panels.
I like the extra footage, but the “Extended Performances” title seems misleading. It implies we’ll get longer versions of the tunes, but really we just find “making of” material for most. A few do appear to present elongated performances, though, and all are interesting to see.
Next come three “From Start to Finish” clips. We see “Richard Gere and ‘All I Care About’” (3:30), “Renee Zellweger and ‘Nowadays’” (2:08), and “Catherine Zeta-Jones and ‘And All That Jazz’” (3:03).
“About” and “Jazz” mix rehearsals, song recording and filming the final scenes. A few comments appear during “Nowadays”, as it includes remarks from Meron, Zellweger and Marshall, and the rest of it shows Zellweger’s recording session.
Zeta-Jones also talks about her taping in “Jazz”. They’re not terribly different than the “Extended Performances”, and I continue to think they’re cool additions.
Finally, “Musical Performances” looks at four rehearsals. We get these takes for “I Can’t Do It Alone” (3:46), “Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag” (3:31), “We Both Reached for the Gun” (3:58) and “Cell Block Tango” (3:12).
Based on the title, the content should be self-explanatory, as these show the performers as they practice the numbers. Meron, Marshall, Zeta-Jones, music supervisor Maureen Crowe and associate choreographer Denise Faye chat a little about “Tango” as well.
A lot more nice footage shows up here. I especially like “Gun” since it shows the entire number straight through with only one camera and no cutting.
Whereas the 2014 “Diamond” set included a DVD copy with other extras, that platter goes missing here. Its absence seems like a shame since it provided a deleted musical number and a program about the show’s history.
The 20th anniversary Blu-ray does deliver a steelbook case, though. Yay?
A cynical but lively and amusing flick, Chicago offers a musical even a dedicated foe of the genre can like. The film diminishes many of the usual flaws and offers a fun and vibrant experience. The Blu-ray presents excellent picture and audio along with a mostly useful set of supplements. Chicago presents a dynamic musical and a fine Blu-ray, though this 20th anniversary set feels inferior to the prior version from 2014 due to the omission of a DVD with additional materials.
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