A Chorus Line


1h 53m 1985
A Chorus Line

Brief Synopsis

A director forces dancers to reveal their inner torments during an audition.

Film Details

Also Known As
Chorus Line, A
MPAA Rating
Genre
Musical
Adaptation
Drama
Music
Release Date
1985
Distribution Company
Sony Pictures Releasing
Location
New York City, New York, USA

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 53m

Synopsis

A Broadway show director puts his singers and dancers through a gruelling audition process.

Cast

Michael Douglas

Terrence Mann

Alyson Reed

Craig Innes

Jeffery Cornell

Scott Wise

Vicki Regan

Marsha Watkins

Alan Onickel

Scott Taylor

Cheryl Burr

Anne Connors

Cameron English

Niki Harris

Pat Mcnamara

John Deluca

D Michael Heath

Celia Marta

Andrew Kraus

Michael Blevins

Frank Mastrocola

Gregory Mitchell

Amy Danis

Charles Mcgowan

Bryant Baldwin

Daryl Richardson

Sonya Hensley

Blane Savage

Richard Defabees

Barbara Yeager

Jan Gan

Carol Baxter

Liz Mclennan

Tina Bellis

Melissa Randel

Mary Ellen Stuart

Debi A. Monahan

Lily Lee Wong

Laura Hartman

Gary Michael Davies

Janet Jones

Leslie Woodies

Dawn Herbert

Richard Pierlon

Melanie Winter

Khandi Alexander

Sharon Brown

David Askler

Joe Anthony Cavise

Frank Cruz

Faruma Williams

Christine Colby

Reed Jones

William Gabriner

Bambi Jordan

Alan Maguire

Scott Plank

Kim Darwin

Roxann Cabalero

Eric Aaron

Arleen Ng

Rhett Pyle

Kimry Smith

Justin Ross

Bob Kellet

Bubba Dean Rambo

Gloria Lynch

David Vernon

Evelyn Tosi

Brian Bullard

Christopher Todd

Ida Broughton

William Sutton

Timothy Scott

David Gibson

Cindy Lauren Jackson

Lynne Savage

Leora Ron

Tony Fields

Anna Bruno

Denise Faye

Brad Miskell

Sandra Gray

James Walski

Charles Murray

Reggie O'gwyn

Nicole Fosse

Pam Klinger

John Hammil

Elissa Rosati

Penny Fekany

Michelle Johnston

Monique Mannen

Angel Ferreira

Ty Stephens

Peggy Parten

Linda Von Germer

Cheryl Clark

Sergio Cal

Debbie Roche

Gregg Huffman

Ron Navarre

Bobby Walker

Helene Phillips

Lorena Palacios

Barbara Lavorato

Gwendolyn Miller

Jeanna Schweppe

Michael Scott Gregory

Edd Morgan

Audrey Landers

Michele Assaf

Yamil Borges

Robin Brown

Ann Louise Schaut

Kirby Tepper

Edmond Alan Forsyth

Leslie Cook

Robert Warners

Gregg Hannum

Darrell Greene

Mia Malm

Gregg Burge

Sammy Smith

Bob Morrisy

Mansoor Najeeullah

Nancy Melius

Jan Gan Boyd

Scott Fless

Leslie Stevens

George Russell

Keri Lee Pearsall

Vicki Frederick

Jodi Sperduto

Linda Cholodenko

Brett Larson

Lacy Phillips

Alexander Cole

Michael Rivera

Adrian Rosario

Jennifer Kent

Mark Ruhala

Michael Lafferty

Tia Riebling

Matt West

Linda Hess

Bill Bushnell

Patricia Ruck

Rickie Farrell

Michelle Rudy

Barbara Kovac

Anita Ehrler

Buddy Balou

Regina Hood

Wayde Laboissoniere

Karen Pruncziik

Peter Fitzgerald

Jack Lehnert

Alice Cox

Crew

Stuart Allen

Other

Toyce Anderson

Costume Consultant

Jonathan Bates

Sound Editor

Michael Bennett

Source Material

Arthur Bloom

Sound

John Bloom

Editor

Ralph Burns

Music Arranger

Joseph M Caracciolo

Associate Producer

Joseph M Caracciolo

Unit Production Manager

Al Cerullo

Helicopter Pilot

Bill Christians

Wardrobe Supervisor

Louis D'esposito

Assistant Director

Nicholas Dante

Source Material

John Dapper

Art Director

George Detitta Jr.

Set Decorator

Michael Discosimo

Other

Neil Fallon

Video Playback

Michael Farrow

Sound

Cy Feuer

Producer

Jed Feuer

Production Assistant

Robert Girolami

Assistant Director

Michael S Glick

Production Supervisor

Marvin Hamlisch

Song

Jeffrey Hornaday

Choreographer

Julie Hughes

Casting

Joseph Joubert

Music

James Kirkwood

Source Material

Edward Kleban

Theme Lyrics

Richard Kratina

Photography

Ernest Martin

Producer

Donald O Mitchell

Sound

Richard Morrison

Titles

Barry Moss

Casting

Chris Newman

Sound

Rick Nicholas

Audio

Jennifer Nichols

Wardrobe Supervisor

Peter Norman

Photography

Jane Paul

Production Assistant

Faye Poliakin

Costumes

Tom Priestley

Camera Operator

Jane Raab

Production Coordinator

Russ Regan

Music

Martin Rosenberg

On-Set Dresser

John Saffir

Production Assistant

Amy Sayres

Assistant Director

Arnold Schulman

Screenplay

James Skotchdopole

Assistant Director

Karen Sloe

Production Assistant

Gordon Stulberg

Executive Producer

Don Sweeney

Photography

Ron Taylor

Director Of Photography

Clayton Townsend

Location Manager

Michael Tronick

Music Editor

Patrizia Von Brandenstein

Production Designer

Allen Weisinger

Makeup

Robert E Wooten

Music

Film Details

Also Known As
Chorus Line, A
MPAA Rating
Genre
Musical
Adaptation
Drama
Music
Release Date
1985
Distribution Company
Sony Pictures Releasing
Location
New York City, New York, USA

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 53m

Award Nominations

Best Editing

1985
John Bloom

Best Song

1985

Best Sound

1985

Articles

A Chorus Line -


When Richard Attenborough directed A Chorus Line (1985), starring Michael Douglas, he was taking on a legendary property. The story of dancers desperate to win spots in a chorus line began as a Broadway show that opened at the Shubert Theater on July 25, 1975. Directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, the play featured music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban. It was a smash hit with audiences and critics, earning twelve Tony Award nominations and nine wins. The play ran for 6,137 performances, making it the longest-running Broadway show until Cats. It also won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Joseph E. Levine's Embassy Pictures bought the rights for a film adaptation (at a cost of $5.5 million), and agreed to wait to make the film until five years after the Broadway production had completed its run. In preparation, Embassy teamed up with Columbia and brought on producer Cy Feuer, a Broadway director-turned-producer, responsible for Cabaret (1972). Getting a director was difficult. Several turned down the project and Feuer decided that he wanted an unknown, which made financing problematic. When Attenborough agreed to make the film, Hollywood wondered if a British director could understand an American play.

Attenborough's film had a screenplay by Arnold Schulman, based on Michael Bennett's original show concept and the book of the musical by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Schulman made one significant change from the play, in which the choreographer is never seen, only heard. For some, this represented a God figure. Schulman allowed the audience to actually see him, which author Marc Eliot believed "destroyed the show's mystical and metaphorical reach, where all its power lay; these kids were auditioning not just for the show of their lives but to show off their lives."

Michael Douglas called Zach "closer to a prick than what I usually play," but admitted he took the role "for the joy of it." Filming began in January 1985 at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City (with additional location work at the Helen Hayes Theater). Douglas was a hot property at the time he shot A Chorus Line , having just come off of a box office smash with Romancing the Stone (1984) and was doing double duty on this film while in preproduction for the sequel, Jewel of the Nile (1985). Rather than go home at night, Douglas preferred to remain in his office at the Hellinger where he could work on the Jewel shooting schedule.

Joining Douglas in A Chorus Line were Alyson Reed, Michael Blevins, Yamil Borges, Jan Gan Boyd, and Audrey Landers, best known for her role on Dallas . It was a film was plagued with problems, mostly Attenborough's inability to fully understand the dancer's characters. According to Eliot, Attenborough tried to flatter Douglas into helping him, but Douglas saw this as only an acting job; he had no intention of being an unofficial producer or co-director. He had his hands full.

Jewel of the Nile and A Chorus Line opened within days of each other in December 1985. Jewel did respectable box office, bringing in more than $95 million but A Chorus Line barely made $14 million. Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times that it was "a fizzless adaptation by Richard Attenborough that misses the whole point of the Broadway show -- i.e. the dancing and the dancers. Instead, the dancers become a limp Greek chorus for the dead love affair between a choreographer, Zach (a pre-Gordon Gekko Michael Douglas) and his old flame, Cassie (Alyson Reed) the star dancer." Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times disagreed. He understood that Attenborough's film "may not please purists who want a film record of what they saw on stage, but this is one of the most intelligent and compelling movie musicals in a long time - and the most grown up, since it isn't limited, as so many contemporary musicals are, to the celebration of the survival qualities of geriatric actresses."

Actress Kelly Bishop, best known for her work on The Gilmore Girls won a Tony Award for her role of Shelia in the original Broadway production. She was one of those purists who were not pleased by the film. She complained of Attenborough's talk show jaunt, in which he called the film "a story about kids trying to break into show business." Bishop nearly tossed her television out the window in anger because in her opinion, Attenborough completely missed the point of the show. "It's about veteran dancers looking for one last job before it's too late for them to dance anymore, No wonder the film sucked."

By Lorraine LoBianco

SOURCES:
Ebert, Roger A Chorus Line Retrieved from www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-chorus-line-1985
Eliot, Marc Michael Douglas: A Biography
The Internet Movie Database
Life imitates art as cast members for A Chorus Line are chosen from open auditions Retrieved from https://www.londontheatredirect.com/news/1109/Life-imitates-art-as-cast-members-for-A-Chorus-Line-are-chosen-from-open-auditions.aspx
A Chorus Line -

A Chorus Line -

When Richard Attenborough directed A Chorus Line (1985), starring Michael Douglas, he was taking on a legendary property. The story of dancers desperate to win spots in a chorus line began as a Broadway show that opened at the Shubert Theater on July 25, 1975. Directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, the play featured music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban. It was a smash hit with audiences and critics, earning twelve Tony Award nominations and nine wins. The play ran for 6,137 performances, making it the longest-running Broadway show until Cats. It also won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Joseph E. Levine's Embassy Pictures bought the rights for a film adaptation (at a cost of $5.5 million), and agreed to wait to make the film until five years after the Broadway production had completed its run. In preparation, Embassy teamed up with Columbia and brought on producer Cy Feuer, a Broadway director-turned-producer, responsible for Cabaret (1972). Getting a director was difficult. Several turned down the project and Feuer decided that he wanted an unknown, which made financing problematic. When Attenborough agreed to make the film, Hollywood wondered if a British director could understand an American play. Attenborough's film had a screenplay by Arnold Schulman, based on Michael Bennett's original show concept and the book of the musical by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Schulman made one significant change from the play, in which the choreographer is never seen, only heard. For some, this represented a God figure. Schulman allowed the audience to actually see him, which author Marc Eliot believed "destroyed the show's mystical and metaphorical reach, where all its power lay; these kids were auditioning not just for the show of their lives but to show off their lives." Michael Douglas called Zach "closer to a prick than what I usually play," but admitted he took the role "for the joy of it." Filming began in January 1985 at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City (with additional location work at the Helen Hayes Theater). Douglas was a hot property at the time he shot A Chorus Line , having just come off of a box office smash with Romancing the Stone (1984) and was doing double duty on this film while in preproduction for the sequel, Jewel of the Nile (1985). Rather than go home at night, Douglas preferred to remain in his office at the Hellinger where he could work on the Jewel shooting schedule. Joining Douglas in A Chorus Line were Alyson Reed, Michael Blevins, Yamil Borges, Jan Gan Boyd, and Audrey Landers, best known for her role on Dallas . It was a film was plagued with problems, mostly Attenborough's inability to fully understand the dancer's characters. According to Eliot, Attenborough tried to flatter Douglas into helping him, but Douglas saw this as only an acting job; he had no intention of being an unofficial producer or co-director. He had his hands full. Jewel of the Nile and A Chorus Line opened within days of each other in December 1985. Jewel did respectable box office, bringing in more than $95 million but A Chorus Line barely made $14 million. Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times that it was "a fizzless adaptation by Richard Attenborough that misses the whole point of the Broadway show -- i.e. the dancing and the dancers. Instead, the dancers become a limp Greek chorus for the dead love affair between a choreographer, Zach (a pre-Gordon Gekko Michael Douglas) and his old flame, Cassie (Alyson Reed) the star dancer." Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times disagreed. He understood that Attenborough's film "may not please purists who want a film record of what they saw on stage, but this is one of the most intelligent and compelling movie musicals in a long time - and the most grown up, since it isn't limited, as so many contemporary musicals are, to the celebration of the survival qualities of geriatric actresses." Actress Kelly Bishop, best known for her work on The Gilmore Girls won a Tony Award for her role of Shelia in the original Broadway production. She was one of those purists who were not pleased by the film. She complained of Attenborough's talk show jaunt, in which he called the film "a story about kids trying to break into show business." Bishop nearly tossed her television out the window in anger because in her opinion, Attenborough completely missed the point of the show. "It's about veteran dancers looking for one last job before it's too late for them to dance anymore, No wonder the film sucked." By Lorraine LoBianco SOURCES: Ebert, Roger A Chorus Line Retrieved from www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-chorus-line-1985 Eliot, Marc Michael Douglas: A Biography The Internet Movie Database Life imitates art as cast members for A Chorus Line are chosen from open auditions Retrieved from https://www.londontheatredirect.com/news/1109/Life-imitates-art-as-cast-members-for-A-Chorus-Line-are-chosen-from-open-auditions.aspx

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Winter December 10, 1985

Released in USA on video.

Released in United States Winter December 10, 1985