Chicago (2002) Diamond Edition 1080p BluRay x264 AC3-SARTRE

A starry-eyed would-be star discovers just how far the notion that "there's no such thing as bad publicity" can go in this screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Chicago, originally directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. In the mid-'20s, Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) is a small-time chorus dancer married to a well-meaning dunderhead named Amos (John C. Reilly). Roxie is having an affair on the side with Fred Casley (Dominic West), a smooth talker who insists he can make her a star. However, Fred strings Roxie along a bit too far for his own good, and when she realizes that his promises are empty, she becomes enraged and murders Fred in cold blood. Roxie soon finds herself behind bars alongside Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a sexy vaudeville star who used to perform with her sister until Velma discovered that her sister had been sleeping with her husband. Velma shot them both dead, and, after scheming prison matron "Mama" Morton hooks Velma up with hotshot lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), Velma becomes the new Queen of the scandal sheets. Roxie is just shrewd enough to realize that her poor fortune could also bring her fame, so she convinces Amos to also hire Flynn. Soon Flynn is splashing Roxie's story -- or, more accurately, a highly melodramatic revision of Roxie's story -- all over the gutter press, and Roxy and Velma are soon battling neck-to-neck over who can win greater fame through the headlines. A project that had been moving from studio to studio since the musical opened on Broadway in 1973, Chicago also features guest appearances by Lucy Liu and Christine Baranski.

STARS.........: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard GereDIRECTOR......: Rob MarshallWRITERS.......: Bill CondonGENRE.........: Musical | Drama | ComedyRATING........: 7.2/10 154,808 votesMETASCORE.....: 82/100IMDB LINK.....: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299658/RUNTIME.......: 1h 53mnSIZE..........: 4.53 GiBVIDEO CODEC...: x264 (High@4.0)RESOLUTION....: 1920x1040BITRATE.......: 5000 KbpsFRAMERATE.....: 23.976 fpsAUDIO.........: English AC3 5.1 640kbpsSOURCE........: Chicago 2002 Diamond Edition 1080p Blu-ray AVC TrueHD 7 1-insinuendoSUBTITLES.....: EnglishCHAPTERS......: YesENCODED BY....: SartreENCODE DATE...: 2015-04-04

Chicago: Diamond Edition is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. There's been some PR hype surrounding this release, as the new master was prepared in Dolby Vision, a relatively recent proprietary technique that is said to significantly boost detail and contrast. What the PR hype isn't telling you (at least, unless you read the "fine print") is that while the master was prepared in Dolby Vision, compatible playing and viewing equipment (not currently available) is needed to fully enjoy the results. This situation is perhaps analogous to watching a Blu-ray on an old cathode ray television only capable of 480 resolution and lo-fi audio. Somewhere in there is HD content, but you're sure not seeing or hearing it. Be that as it may, there are indeed noticeable differences between the previous Blu-ray and this one. Detail is improved, if not markedly, at least noticeably. Part of this is due to the increased contrast, which is most noticeable in the darker scenes. One thing that some people found problematic with the first release was what some viewed as "excessive" grain, ignoring the fact that evidently Marshall and his DP Dion Beebe "pushed" the film in many of the darker or filtered segments, something that will automatically increase evident grain. Those who felt the first version was somehow "too" grainy will probably have the same issue with this release, and perhaps even more so, as grain structure is perhaps even more evident in the pushed sequences than before. Colors are beautifully saturated and accurate looking. It's hard to imagine Chicago looking any better-at least until Dolby Vision compatible discs, players and televisions come along.