A Chorus Line

One of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time, A Chorus Line explores the stage musical experience from the other side of the curtain, set entirely at an audition for a new show where a choreographer (played in the film by Michael Douglas) asks the dancers (all in rehearsal clothes—sweats, tights, ripped shirts—on a bare stage) about themselves, and each answer turns into a song and dance of a monologue. The film version stays true to the source, with no attempt to "open up" the film using scenes outside the theater (apart from a couple of brief, silent flashbacks), and hands the directing chores to Richard Attenborough, who had won an Oscar for Gandhi two years prior. Attenborough is quite the old-fashioned filmmaker, serious and sturdy, and he doesn't bring any flashy effects or razzle dazzle to the film, letting the dancers (most of them experienced Broadway veterans) carry the production with their performances and dance routines. A Chorus Line is essentially a good showcase for the dancers but a slow film that has no energy or spark to carry the story along and little reason for the audience to invest emotionally in the characters. Douglas is miscast as the dour choreographer and the attempt at "realism" actually works against the musical numbers. As a film record of a stage phenomenon it will be of interest to musical buffs (two of the songs are now standards: "One" and "What I Did For Love"), but as a film musical in its own right, this is a cinematic misfire that has aged poorly. Bowing on Blu-ray with a handsome newly remastered image, but no extras aside from a trailer, this is an optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)