A Chorus Line

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A Chorus Line

PG-13,

1985,

1h 53m,

Musical

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Watchlist

48%

44 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

48%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Hundreds of hopefuls congregate at a cattle call for Broadway dancers. A sour director, Zach (Michael Douglas), and his brusque assistant (Terrence Mann) whittle down the ranks until they're left with 16 dancers. All tell their life stories -- some tragic, some comic -- and explain their love of dance. Tension mounts when Cassie (Alyson Reed) -- once both a big star and the director's lover but now desperate for a part -- auditions. But Zach must choose only the best for his show.

Critics Consensus

On stage, A Chorus Line pulled back the curtain to reveal the hopes and fears of showbiz strivers, but that energy and urgency is lost in the transition to the big screen.

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Joe Pollack

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

May 25, 2023

I think the film version suffers badly by comparison, but more important, I think that even if there had been no stage production, the film would not have worked very well.

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Perry Stewart

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

May 25, 2023

3/4

Is it good? Yes. But is it, in the words of the finale, a "singular sensation?" Well, no, it isn't.

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Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

Mar 7, 2019

If you were one of that legion who saw A Chorus Line more than once in the theater, the film is enough to make you doubt your judgment. If you've never seen the stage piece, you may come out wondering what in the name of goodness all the fuss was about.

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Bob Ross

Tampa Tribune

May 25, 2023

2.5/4

While conceding that the film medium cannot convey the same intensity as Michael Bennett's ingenious play, one still finds plenty of musical and emotional kicks in Richard Attenborough's conscientious screen adaptation.

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Robert W. Butler

Kansas City Star

May 25, 2023

3/4

It lacks the stunning theatricality of the stage production, but it is reasonably diverting and every now and then lit up by flashes of genuine excitement.

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Richard Freedman

Newhouse News Service

May 25, 2023

On film, it has its own -- often glittering -- pleasures to offer, suggesting a less original All That Jazz merged with a less frenetic Fame.

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Jan 27, 2019

The best movie song ever sung: One!

Hermione L

Aug 16, 2017

Richard Attenborough's film adaptation of the beloved Tony award-winning musical about dancers and their sob stories only perks up when the cast breaks into songs with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban.

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Richard Attenborough

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Michael Douglas

Zach

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Synopsis

Hundreds of hopefuls congregate at a cattle call for Broadway dancers. A sour director, Zach (Michael Douglas), and his brusque assistant (Terrence Mann) whittle down the ranks until they're left with 16 dancers. All tell their life stories -- some tragic, some comic -- and explain their love of dance. Tension mounts when Cassie (Alyson Reed) -- once both a big star and the director's lover but now desperate for a part -- auditions. But Zach must choose only the best for his show.

Director: Richard Attenborough
Producer: Ernest H. Martin, Cy Feuer
Screenwriter: Arnold Schulman
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 10, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 8, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.2M
Runtime: 1h 53m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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