Chicago
(2002/Blu-ray)
Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B Film: B
The film
of the hit musical Chicago (2002) is
one people are still talking about and the talk heated up again when Dreamgirls (directed by Chicago’s Bill Condon, who just produced here
while Rob Marshall directed here) arrived and became almost as big a hit. Together, the comprise two of the best film
Musicals since Grease, so it is no
surprise Disney has made it one of their first Blu-ray releases and one fop the
first Musicals to arrive in either HD format.
We have previously reviewed the film and that cove rage can be found at
the following link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3146/Chicago+-+The+Razzle-Dazzle+Edition
That was
a good, solid DVD version of the film, but this new Blu-ray has all the extras
and improved playback performance overall.
The already impressive 1.85 x 1 frame is now here in an even clearer,
more colorful and deeper appearance at 1080p digital High Definition, making
the musical numbers even more involving and vivid. Fore those who had not seen it in 35mm in
theaters and were not impressed with previous DVD and video presentations, they
need to see this version, often offering demonstration quality images.
That
standard DVD also had standard Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 mixes. The regular Dolby has been retained, but the
DTS has been supplanted by an even more impressive PCM 24-bit/48kHz 5.1 mix
that blows away the previous video versions and music-only soundtrack
release. This is nicely recorded and is
a sonic treat for those who love sound fidelity. For those who love and have titles in the
multi-channel audio formats Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio, they too will be
anxious to add this to their collections.
Extras
are the same as the expanded Razzle-Dazzle
Edition, but the improved access is a plus, though everything is improved
all around making this an early overall winner in Blu-ray releases in general. Slowly but surely, this has become a new gem
in Disney’s live action catalog.
- Nicholas Sheffo
