Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Murder, celebrity and All That Jazz - Paul Gambaccini tells the story of the Oscar success of the 2002 musical film Chicago.

It was a heady combination of the seedy side of a city, jazz and murder, and memorable performances from Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere that scooped the musical film "Chicago" 6 Academy Awards., including one for Best Picture. The 2002 movie was based on the 1975 stage musical created by Bob Fosse, but the story of murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart had been told in several forms before that. The first was in 1926 by Chicago Tribune reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, based on two actual 1924 murder cases.

Paul Gambaccini traces the origin of the film and hears why it triumphed so spectacularly at the Oscars. There are contributions from the film's Musical Supervisor Maureen Crowe who recalls the way the music was recorded and put together in London, Toronto and Los Angeles and how difficult it was to get the opening horn lick in the first few bars just right.
We also hear from film critics Toby Miller and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and there are interviews recorded at the time of the film's release with starring actor Richard Gere and director Rob Marshall.

Producer: Emma Kingsley

28 minutes

Last on

Fri 7 Feb 2020 11:00

More episodes

Previous

You are at the first episode

See all episodes from And the Academy Award Goes To...

Broadcast

  • Fri 7 Feb 2020 11:00

The Business of Film

The Business of Film

Mark Kermode reveals the economic realities behind the film industry.