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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. Read critic reviews

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A Chorus Line Photos

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Movie Info

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.
  • Rating:
    PG-13
  • Genre:
    musical
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Richard Attenborough
  • Producer:
    Ernest H. Martin, Cy Feuer
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $14.2M
  • Runtime:
  • Production Co:
    PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
  • Sound Mix:
    Surround, Stereo

Cast & Crew

Michael Douglas
Zach
Terrence Mann
Larry
Audrey Landers
Val
Michael Blevins
Mark
Yamil Borges
Diana Morales
Sharon Brown
Kim
Gregg Burge
Richie Walters
Cameron English
Paul San Marco
Tony Fields
Al DeLuca
Nicole Fosse
Kristine Evelyn Erlich-DeLuca
Richard Attenborough
Director
Gordon Stulberg
Executive Producer
Ernest H. Martin
Producer
Cy Feuer
Producer
Marvin Hamlisch
Original Music
Ronnie Taylor
Cinematographer
John Bloom
Film Editor
Julie Hughes
Casting
Barry Moss
Casting
John Dapper
Art Direction
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Critic Reviews for A Chorus Line

All Critics (35) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (21)

  • 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.

    March 7, 2019 | Full Review…

    Sheila Benson

    Los Angeles Times

  • A Chorus Line: The Movie is like a soccer match seen only from the waist up. They've cut off the feet, which is all the more frustrating when you're supposed to be enjoying the fancy footwork.

    March 7, 2019 | Full Review…

    Rita Kempley

    Washington Post

  • A Chorus Line is a kind of 'Murphy's Law: The Motion Picture' -- everything that can go wrong does.

    March 7, 2019 | Full Review…

    Paul Attanasio

    Washington Post

  • Richard Attenborough's movies are like the best-behaved guests at a Swiss embassy reception; they never offend, never impress.

    March 7, 2019 | Full Review…

    Richard Corliss

    TIME Magazine

  • You want to know about the dancing? It's bad. Rather, the way it has been restaged and shot for the movie is bad.

    March 7, 2019 | Full Review…

    Jay Boyar

    Orlando Sentinel

  • A classic play has been reduced a decent movie. It's a shame it couldn't be as good as the play; it's a small pleasure that it`s as entertaining as it is.

    March 7, 2019 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Gene Siskel

    Chicago Tribune
View All Critic Reviews (35)

Audience Reviews for A Chorus Line

  • Sep 27, 2015
    Who knew making a musical could be so dull? Filled with the all the horrendous hair and clothing fashions of the 1980's, "A Chorus Line" falls flat with poor acting and inept screenwriting. Although there is much admirable in the music, the 80's electo-orchestration is atrocious and there aren't strong enough voices to sing through the weaknesses. This ain't "off Broadway" -- it's just "off".
    Christian C Super Reviewer
  • May 02, 2015
    17 hopefuls are auditioning for 4 males and 4 females chorus roles. Each one of them were asked about why they wanted to be a dancer. Some stories were funny, some were heartbreaking but all of them needed this job. The film adaptation focused way too much on the sub-plot of Zach and Cassie which made the film lost its magical touch of the stage version. it's still enjoyable to watch nonetheless.
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
  • Oct 16, 2008
    Good fun, lovable characters, fantastic dance. Cop out of a story, but hey it's Broadway. Worth the watch. P. S. The DVD box looks like shit.
    meril l Super Reviewer
  • Aug 22, 2007
    I recently saw a 30 minute excerpt of the play at a community theater conference. This got my wife and I interested in watching the DVD. Unfortunately, some songs were added in the movie that were not in the stage musical and some songs were excluded from the movie that were in the stage musical. This all came together to mean that the audience doesn't get a chance to know all of the core group of auditioning dancers as well here as in the stage version and that the emotional impact seemed diminished. I ended up thinking that the 30 minute excerpt with some of the highlights of the show was a better piece of entertainment than this two hour movie. That being said, I did like Michael Douglas's performance. The drama happening between the director, the choreographer, and the returning star is something I missed in the excerpt I saw. I missed the song from the stage production though where the director asks the performers what they would do if they couldn't dance. The way the camera captures the dance numbers, the often used mirrors, the backstage areas, and the dark shadows of the house where the director sits made the movie visually interesting especially since I love theater. I only really fell in love with three of the musical numbers here in the movie, so that's not a very large percentage. Overall a disappointment.
    Byron B Super Reviewer
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