Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The movie version of Kander and Ebb's Chicago was long in the making, but it's well worth the wait. Director Rob Marshall's main change was to turn the classic musical numbers into fantasy sequences, but of course this isn't obvious on CD. Most importantly, the arrangements are bursting with life while being true to the show's spirit, and the casting is simply inspired. Catherine Zeta-Jones actually started her career on the British boards (she was in The Pajama Game and 42nd Street), so her turn as slinky Velma Kelly isn't that surprising; Renée Zellweger as Roxie Hart is more of a leftfield choice, but she shows she can handle the singing demands with pizzazz. The real revelation may well be rapper Queen Latifah, who belts out "When You're Good to Mama" with a marvelous affinity for the material. OK, so the R&B; reprise of "Cell Block Tango/He Had It Coming" by Queen Latifah, Macy Gray, and Lil' Kim fails to convince, while Anastacia's "Love Is a Crime" is just blah (rest easy, purists, it's over the end credits). On the other hand, the CD provides two bonuses: "Class," which was cut from the movie, and "I Move On," a great duet written by Kander and Ebb for the final cut. It's really easy to mess up film adaptations of Broadway shows. Happily, Chicago proves it can be done right. --Elisabeth Vincentelli |
Customer Reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Poor Imitation of the Broadway Soundtracks, Aug 28, 2023
This is enjoyable, but not nearly as good as the Broadway versions. 1996's cast album with Bebe Neuwirth and Ann Reinking is fabulous (James Naughton is an excellent Billy Flynn). The Gwen Verdon/Chita Rivera/Jerry Orbach album is also wonderful. The movie soundtrack does not come close to rivaling either one -- the actors were cast primarily as actors, not singers! Richard Gere comes off as especially weak.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Makes other musicals look so entirely lame it's scary., Aug 18, 2023
I'll make my review short, sweet and to the point:
The best musical soundtrack ever. The songs are catchy to the point of insanity. And there's humor as well. Espeacially in CELL BLOCK TANGO. "Some guys just can't hold their arsenic." "I fired two warning shots....Into his head." Unlike the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack, which annoyingly contents dialogue in the tracks, Chicago only contains what it needs to make a song complete. It comes down to one thing: This is one of those few soundtracks that are timeless. A must buy.
FAVS:
All that Jazz
Funny Honey
We both Reached for the Gun
Roxie
Mister Cellophane
Razzle Dazzle
Roxie's Suite
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Incredible score to a rather dull movie, Jul 8, 2023
I love the songs from Chicago. In my opinion, these are the best you can find. the Original recording was British, and in my opinion, sounded odd in some places, like the Cell Block Tango (but still good!)
Catherine and Renee' have great voices, and make a great team. Who knew they could sing! I was blown away. The best song on this album is deffinately Cell block tango, but All that Jazz is amazing, aswell.
As I said, I thought the movie was rather dull. It was very... classy. Classy in that old aged show-biz kind of way. Everyone was on stage, everyone looked glamorous, and everyone's voice was great.
And still, the movie didn't appeal to me. It seemed like everything happened too fast. She shot her lover, ended up in jail, and all that Jazz. Something just didn't seem to fit into place.
But the music makes up for it, nonetheless.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Simply Fun To Listen To, Jul 1, 2023
The soundtrack to the Oscar winning "Chicago" is one of those you can listen to all the way through and feel satisfyed when the last track finishes. Track eleven, "Class", is a hidden gem that should have made it into the movie. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah belt out a haunting ballad of dispare and unsatisfaction. Although the track is littered with swears, it's great nonetheless. Every track is a stand-out with the exception of the final two. These songs were not in the movie, but were instead "inspired" by the movie. They were sung by main-stream artists, along with Queen Latifah. These seem like an attempt to make the soundtrack appeal to more people, but they just end up cheapening the other tracks in the process. My personal favorite is "Cell Block Tango". Overall, a very good soundtrack, with the exception of the final two tracks.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Entertaining!, Jun 9, 2023
In 2002 I didn't see the reasons for the surrounding hoopla for Miramax's masterpiece Chicago. I had no desire whatsoever to see it, despite its critical acclaim and --in the end-- numerous Oscars. Once it hit movie rental stores my parents rented it just because they'd never seen it before, and I happened to sit in and watch it because I had nothing else to do. I discovered that it was more enjoyable than I'd thought, but it was in its absolutely entertaining musical confections that made it viewable. Catherine Zeta-Jones delivered and, surprisingly, Renee Zellweger did too; "We Both Reached For The Gun" was pure magic and "I Can't Do It Alone" proved just as equal in entertainment and enjoyment. The soundtrack to Chicago, in my opinion, is much better to purchase than the actual DVD. Why? Because though lavish and impressive in scale in production, Chicago's main strong point lies in its music and performance. Every song, save for a couple drab tracks, prove to be listenable and quite the delectable pieces of candy ("Cell Block Tango" for example). Like chocolate, Miramax's Chicago on CD is one record that's just as guilty and just as pleasurable.
1. Overture/And All That Jazz ****
2. Funny Honey ***1/2
3. When You're Good To Mama *****
4. Cell Block Tango *****
5. All I Care About ***
6. We Both Reached For The Gun *****
7. Roxie ****
8. I Can't Do It Alone *****
9. Mister Cellophane ***1/2
10.Razzle Dazzle ***
11.Class ***
12.Nowadays (Roxie) ****
13.Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag ****1/2
Bonus tracks not in the actual movie (tracks 14-18) are pointless and unnecessary to feature on this record. If they're not in the film, why put them on its soundtrack?
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Based on 260 reviews.