1. Title of Film? Director? Identify source material and creator
Chicago. Rob Marshall. Chicago was based on a book created by Fredd Ebb and Bob Fosse which was based on the play written by Maurine Dallas Watkins.
2. State a central idea/literary theme for this film. Explain using specific examples from the film.
Bad things can sometimes be forgiven or over looked but sometimes it cannot always be that way. Around 1 hour 16 minutes, it shows the start of when one girl is the first women to be executed in the state of Illinois. Meaning that life is not fair for her because there are others who did purposely someone and got away with it while she was innocent and is being hung for it. While at the end Roxie is proven to be not guilty at approximately 1 hour 34 minutes and 40 seconds. It presents almost opposite of what happen to the women mentioned above. Roxie did kill a man and was able to survive while the other girl was killed for being innocent.
3. What was one difference between the book, play or factual story from which this film was adapted and the actual film? (You could research this on sites like imdb.com or another.Cite your source or, if you read the book, play or true biography, tell when you read it.)
The Original play was written about true events but changed up a little bit. Velma's real character (from what I read) only killed one person instead of two that the musical she said she did. Also one other difference is that in the play that Roxie was not imagning the "music" but in it while in the musical she was trying to comfort herself by pretending there were musical moments. Especially since her idol in the musical, was popular music star at the time in Chicago.
4. Give examples of how the actor's physical characteristics, facial features and/or vocal qualities seemed to fit the character he or she was attempting to portray? Cite one actor, the character's name, two different scenes and one of the characteristics (noted here in bold face) to support your claim. Example: In Doubt, Meryl Streep used a gruff voice and mostly stern facial expression every time she spoke with the priest about her allegations of molestation.
Renee Zellweger portrayed Roxie Hart as some one who was scared, timid, nervous at the beginning of the movie until she had got some help. For the part, Zellweger kept her head looking more towards the ground. She also either talked kind of quietly or talked quite a bit. Like when she was done with the laundry and brought it up to Mama's to bring her some clean laundry. She also had Velma's clothes. When she ended up talking to Velma but kept talking. Another Scene is, When she first enters the jail house after it was discovered she killed Fred Casely, she was messing with her hands and had her head down.
5. Which supporting characters made a major impact in this film? (Note 2 characters and why they were necessary.)
Amos because if he did not slip up on his "confession" at the beginning of the movie Mrs. Hart would not have gone to jail. Without her going to jail the plot of the movie would not be the way it had ended up.
Mary Sunshine. She was there frequently but only for brief amounts of time. She is representing all the journalist. She also tells about how it cn be difficult it can be as a journalist but how to power through.
6. Describe at least two scenes where extras were used. Which "working tasks" did these actors perform in this film? You need to understand what an extra does and what a working task means—Review the text. Working tasks in The Pianist for example, includes the Jewish population being moved at various times, the Nazi military dominating citizens, killing people, etc... Without these extras performing as directed, there would be no realism in the film.
One scene that extras were used in the Cell block Tango scene starting around 23 minutes. What the extras did was that towards the end of the song. They came and danced to the song. They also were being the chorus as well. Some were in the cell blocks while some were on the main floor where the 6 merry murderesses were. They were also there to represent the other women also staying in the same cell area.
There where extras used in the song when Billy is introduced for the first time around 35 minutes into the movie. The ladies could potentially represent the women in the jailhouse who want him to represent them. Without the ladies wanting him to represent them he would not be able to have a career.
7. What were the film's strengths? (Such as editing, set design, acting, dialogue, cinematography, directing, etc.) Include specific details from the film for any strength and explain WHY it was a strength. You must come up with at least two strengths, regardless of if you "liked" the film. This, by the way, is YOUR personal opinion, not from the review.
I really enjoyed the part when they did the Cell Block Tango on the first night Mrs. Hart was in Jail. Especially since they edited the dripping beat and foot steps it to the beat of the song. Also the almost blended the jail cells of the six murders into the song. I really liked how they were able to set up the cloths that represented where each person was killed. The thing that I really liked was the editing because the editors knew how to almost blend one thing into another part of the scene.
8. After watching this film, were there any scenes you feel could have been left out? If so, which one(s) and why? OR If not, which scene or sequence do you think should have been given more time to clarify a certain part of the story? (Just answer one part of this question.)
I don't think it was all that necessary to have the song for Velma trying to convince Roxie to become apart of the her duo group.(about the 58 mark.) It was necessary in the fact that Velma does not want to lose her fame, but the entire song was not needed. It would have been better for a brief one on one talk.
9. Which examples from this film did you witness each of the following lighting techniques? Your example must show how you know that it is this type of lighting; do not just cite a scene.
low-key: There was a lot of lighting used in the Cell Block Tango about 23 minutes into the movie. Pretty much all the women, and extras had a spotlight on them. It shows their mysteriousness and hiding what others do not know.
side lighting: at 1:14:49 there is low-key lighting on Billy. It shows how Billy is mysterious and will do things without always consulting his people he working with. Like Saying Roxie can knit when she cannot knit
10. Where did you notice "invisible sound?" Why was this effective?
At around the 50 mark when Roxie is almost having a comedy act after making Mama laugh; we can hear laughter from the audience. It was effective in showing how her inner desire was to make people feel good. One way she did it was to make a audience laugh. The Laughter was also to represent an audience without showing an audience and how Roxie wants to be in front of an audience.
