Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Chicago (2002)
Chicago
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Photos (see all 102 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2)
Chicago (2002) -- Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together)and Roxie Hart (Who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and
Chicago (2002) -- Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together)and Roxie Hart (Who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and

Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   75,760 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Rob Marshall
Writers (WGA):
Bill Condon (screenplay)
Bob Fosse (book) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Chicago on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
24 January 2003 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime | Drama | Musical more
Tagline:
With the right song and dance, you can get away with murder. more
Plot:
Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 6 Oscars. Another 34 wins & 54 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(212 articles)
Queen Latifah Reveals Past As Sexual Abuse Victim
 (From WENN. 10 June 2009, 9:10 AM, PDT)

Jackman Plans Carousel Trip With Oscars Partner Hathaway
 (From WENN. 1 May 2009, 6:35 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Stunning; the first really good musical in a decade more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Chicago (Germany)
Chicago: The Musical (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and dialogue, violence and thematic elements.
Runtime:
113 min | Turkey:80 min (TV version)
Country:
USA | Germany
Language:
English | Hungarian
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
USA:PG-13 (certificate #39516) | Netherlands:MG6 | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | South Korea:15 | France:U | Brazil:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG (cut) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2003) | Greece:K-13
Filming Locations:
Chicago, Illinois, USA more
Company:
Miramax Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The play "Chicago" was Maurine Dallas Watkins' retelling of two very public murder trials that occurred in Chicago in 1924, those of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. Watkins had been a reporter for the Chicago Tribune (real life Mary Sunshine) and later wrote a play based on her coverage. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: By the time the story takes place, the electric chair had replaced hanging as Illinois's method of execution. more
Quotes:
[after Roxie finds out about Fred Casley]
Roxie: Yeah, I killed him and I would kill him again! I would kill him again!
Assistant District Attorney Martin Harrison: Once was enough, dearie. Take her downtown. Come on!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Overture/And All That Jazz more

FAQ

Was Roxie really pregnant?
Was Queen Latifah's character (Mama Morton) a lesbian?
more
20 out of 37 people found the following comment useful:-
Stunning; the first really good musical in a decade, 7 June 2003
8/10
Author: Spleen from Canberra, Australia

"Chicago" is the first film in eleven or ten years thoroughly determined to be a full-blooded musical (the previous one was "Beauty and the Beast", or just possibly "Aladdin"), and, if there have been others, is almost certainly the best. Forget "Moulin Rouge". That film was terrified by the very idea of being a musical. It couldn't introduce a song without being seen to quote it rather than sing it, and would cut the song short, relieved to have it over and done with, at the soonest possible moment. But "Chicago" REALLY launches into its production numbers. Its songs are full-throated and lusty. (As far as the music goes, and the wit and sparkle of the lyrics, Kander and Ebb wrote far better songs for "Chicago" than for "Cabaret".) They've been staged with dazzling style.

Yes, a pity about the editing. But whereas the rapid-fire editing of "Moulin Rouge" as good as put a bullet through that film's heart, the rapid-fire - and it's not really "rapid-fire", it's just that there's too much of it - editing of "Chicago" does only minimal harm. Don't get me wrong: it's unquestionably a bad thing. The sudden shifts, bang on the downbeat, from the subtler colour schemes of the everyday Chicago to the block reds and misty blues of the stage Chicago, don't have nearly the impact they'd have if they weren't occurring every other minute; and Marshall's stark and striking shots are never held long enough to get the most out of them. A good thing the next image is never a disgrace on the previous one. A good thing that every other aspect of the production is so rock-solid to begin with.

It's absurd that Martin Walsh won an Oscar for such overdone to-ing an fro-ing. Some critics (Roger Ebert is one) suggest that the award was justfied on the grounds that Walsh's editing skillfully hides the defects of inferior performers, but I don't buy this. I'm convinced, for instance, that Catherine Zeta-Jones is NOT an inferior performer, that she doesn't NEED patchwork-quilt editing in order to look good; if she does, then Walsh has indeed performed a miracle, but not one he should be congratulated for in polite society. As for Richard Gere, I again don't see the need for him to appear to be better than he is. There's nothing wrong with his voice and he doesn't have to dance much HIMSELF. He's the kind who gets other people to dance for him. In the song "Razzle Dazzle 'Em" he actually sings as much: "As long as you keep 'em way off balance, How can they spot you got no talents?" Billy Flynn OUGHT to be a mediocre song-and-dance artist, who relies on glitter, lights and inspired staging - but certainly NOT on deceptive editing. In that song we need to see what's going on. We also need the suggestion that Flynn fools people who on some level willingly allow themselves to be fooled. In fact, we do see all this anyway, which is why the overly frenetic editing fails to do any real damage.

The story of "Chicago" is at once deeply moral and deliciously amoral. The two go together. Amorality depends for its zest on our sense of the pull of true morality: our sense that our heroes and heroines really do do the wrong thing now and then, and that no false excuses are being made on their behalf.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Chicago (2002)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Does anyone kinda wish Bob Fosse...... awsomecal
Ruin the Moment - Chicago Style! bigbrowneyes734
YOUR FAVORITE SONG glass_of_water
Squish...... cristennn
I think they broke there own rules... michaelmansy
central theme AngelEyesDuchess
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Call Northside 777 Gypsy Funny Girl All About Eve Basic Instinct
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Comedy section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.