This movie is great because every musical scene is intercut with whats really happening in “reality”. These people aren’t just breaking into song randomly; the songs are more of a representation of whats happening to the characters, and it’s shown in the most clear way I’ve seen in a musical.

My favorite moment has always been when Roxie says, "Are you kidding?"

When he drinks the milk and sings "gun", it's not just a ventriloquist trick. In this particular scene it is showing how the narrative is taking off without him saying another word.

Literally still the best musical movie adaptation. To elevate the source material, intercut it with live scenes like it wasn't a musical. Genius

Zellwegger is doing such a fantastic performance as the doll.

The most brilliant part is that his favorite reporter doesn't have the marionette makeup, so it looks like she is special, and it even looks that way as she directs the others--but she still has the strings. That is such a BRILLIANT detail for this number, and I love it.

No praise for the make up/hair team yet? I always love how plastic-y/wooden they got all the puppet people to look in this sequence. It legitimately looks uncanny.

Sublime scene! The score, acting, directing, camera work, lighting, editing, choreography….all superb!

The movie Chicago, to me, is the best example of utilizing the medium to the fullest extent to tell a story. There's stuff in the movie you CAN'T do in the live show; cutting, editing, rapid visual juxtaposition. The fact that it keeps cutting back and forth to reality and the style of all these vaudeville showy numbers is narratively perfect for Roxie as character's perception of reality and interpretation of events. She wants nothing more than to be a stage presents so she copes and interprets everything as this whole show. This scene, Roxie's first night in jail (Cellblock Tango), and the execution of the innocent Hungarian woman (Hungarian Disappearing Act) are tremendous examples of the power of editing like this. But the first real example you see of the _effectiveness_ of the editing Chicago is going to utilize throughout the film is the ICONIC moment in All That Jazz when Roxie sees Velma perform and it cuts on the beat closer and closer between Roxie being engrossed in the show and Velma performing, until SHE is on stage singing the final "JAAAAAAAAaaaAAAAAAAAAZZ" note than being dragged away by her date. It PERFECTLY sets up who Roxie is, what her motivation is, how she isn't quite in touch with reality. All the styalization from here on isn't just "this is how Chicago/the director/the author tells a story" but "this is how ROXIE tells a story." And that's AWESOME.

This is how musicals and live action remakes should be redone. They have respect for the original material (you want to see what you love brought to life on the screen) and they build upon it with movie magic to make it better in ways that the original could not. And NOT completely changing the characters’ appearances and personalities or changing main plot points and adding weird backstories like about parents and such.

Christine Baranski is so underrated

He must have been in fantastic shape. He lifts Renee like she weighs nothing, and later does a full tapdance number.

Anyone criticising Richard Gere’s voice here hasn’t heard a single record from the 1920’s.

I've always loved hearing Richard Gere talk about how hard he worked on this picture. A true professional, he had the acting chops for it, but always said how hard he worked to get to the level of Rene, Catherine, and everyone else who came from a musical and dancing background. A true professional works at something until it looks easy, and Richard rehearsed again and again until it was perfect. And this is one of the toughest songs on Broadway, too - you gotta know it inside and out!

This was the last movie I saw physically in a theater with my Mother before she passed. She passed years later, but was in a nursing home for the last ten years of her life and never could physically get to a movie theater again. I’m glad it was a hell of a movie to end her movie theater going on. She loved it!

My favorite little bit is at 1:10 : the way Flynn just pulls her hand away from his face says so much about how they’re both there for their egos

This film could be released in 2024 and would still have won 6 Oscar’s. It’s a timeless masterpiece and arguably the greatest musical ever made.

Brilliant movie-making (without CGI) at its finest. I'd kill to see the behind-the-scenes for this scene. It has to be a nightmare with the puppet strings while trying to dance, act, sing. And there's Richard and Rene's incredible timing and sycnronicity.

I think Richard Gere did a great job in this movie. And I think he has a decent place as well he should have been included in getting an award. He did a phenomenal job as well as did the others

Just a small little part I like is when Roxy points her hand out like the gun and it blocks his face and he doesn’t like that because he wants to be the center of attention so he pushes it down. Very subtle but very good.

2:45 I like how the pronunciation is "It's so defensiBULL"

I'm not a fan of either Zellweger or Gere and they're both fabulous in the movie. And I think Fosse would have been thrilled with the final product.

this scene is a wonderful depiction of what the characters are going through. the way they tied in the reporters being puppets was literally perfection

I love this story because there's a moment as a kid when I realized that none of these people is a good person, they're all horrible, especially Roxy, but they're insanely entertaining characters and that's the magic of movies. Meeting people like that irl would have made me hurl, the movie though makes me grin ear to ear. What a feminist film too! Just outstanding (Probably because it's based on the play, and some people wouldn't compromise that vision). But yeah F word Harvey Weinstein, it's not like I am gonna forget that 😅 Aside from this number, Queen Latifa's song as mama, Roxy's song, and John C Riley's Mr. Cellophane were insanely memorable.

The background dancers reporters are phenomenal! 🤩😍

I’ll never forget being massively entertained with this movie until I saw what happened to the girl who was actually innocent. The tragedy mixed with the amazing vocals and choreography. This movie was soooo good.

Best scene ever very deserving of an award

21 years of 'oh yes oh yes oh yes they both oh yes they both oh yes they both reached for the gun the gun the gun the gun oh yes they both reached for the gun for the gun' in my mind every two days

What makes the movie adaptation of "Chicago" really cool is that the narrative proper actually went through VERY few changes. Not much got added and not much cut. All of the biggest changes were completely stylistic which creates completely new context for the musical numbers. This scene actually plays out pretty similarly in the stage production, with Billy Flynn puppeteering Roxie. The biggest difference is that the stage version has more of a satirical edge to it that the movie lacks, so the most logical thing to do was make the musical numbers into completely non-diegetic fantasy sequences. The narrative itself is actually pretty conventional if you cut the songs out, and it allows them to experiment with way more techniques for THIS movie than for other musicals. If the movie had just played the songs as traditional numbers that you usually see in a musical, it wouldn't have allowed for them to make as much of an impact.

the complexity of staging, choreographing, and directing this must have been absolutely insane. not to mention the editing. sublime craftsmanship

I have watched Chicago a million times. And this will never not be amazing.

Why Richard Gere was not nominated is just beyond me. Everyone in this was incredible.

I always thought Colleen Atwood did an outstanding job designing all the costumes. Nothing looks out of place for the 1920's but still has a theatrical flair to them.

The press and the law having a love affair is such a great subtext. Absolutely love the emphasis on "bull" in the last "defensible" too.

I saw this movie and immediately bought a ticket to see it again. Then, called a friend and said this is going to win Best Picture. It is so good

"Cellblock Tango" is my favorite.

Renee deserved an Oscar for this role.

All the different ways he tries to get sympathy for her are very interesting. She’s an orphan but a good catholic girl, he deliberately doesn’t answer the question about her age so they can pretend she’s younger (more innocent plus halo effect) She fell in love But he was abusive (describing him as a tiger to imply her weakness)

This is one of my favorite parts in this film. Done exactly like on a Broadway Stage and it works. Fantastic scene!

The actors were unbelievably good. What a film!!

I’m addicted to this number.‘it’s so perfect in so many ways.

In the stage play Mary Sunshine is played by a man (who's clothes are removed before the last scene) and is generally seen as a hopeless optimistic and really clueless (getting a solo called something like "A little bit of good in everyone"). Here there seems to be something calculating about her and she almost seems to have some sort of an 'agreement' with Billy Flynn. Either way, I love her performance as a puppet/conductor/magician's assistant here.

The video quality on this improved my eyesight by 100% and paid off my loans. It's like 3D. I've seen other clips of this video but never this clear- bless you

THIS SCENE IS AN ART WORK.

This movie truly does this musical justice. This is my favorite version of this song. ❤

One of Gere’s best roles

The best part of this scene is the 5 or more levels or meaning enhance the artistry instead of sounding preachy. But it is all there. 1 they are using the press as puppets to win the trial. 2. Roxy does not have a voice and when she speaks she is put in her place by the man. 3. Richard Gere uses Roxy as long as she doesnt overshadow him. 4. The press is a circus that will print anything without due investigation to sell papers. 5. Roxy has a serious mental problem when she retreats into musicals to avoid draling with reality. 6. Women should only be pure virgin nuns or whores. No grey area allowed.

I prefer this movie to the stage version, actually. I think the costumes and sets and staging really add something and I love that while they kept the spirit of Fosse's choreography, it's loosened up and bigger.

"This scene won an oscar" as it should have

the choreography is INSANE

I saw the stage show in Toronto and Billy was played by Alan Thicke, of all people (RIP). He was so good I could never get behind Gere's voice even though he did fine. He was just missing that low, smooth tone. But this scene is so well directed and edited together to provide the song more context. A well-deserved award.

I didn't know Richard Gere could sing until this movie!

2002 was such an amazing year for film, games, music, everything really

Every single time I watch this, I forget that Roxie is a person, not a puppet

....though my choo choo jumped the track I'd give my life to bring him back...😂

This movie is a masterpiece.

This movie is brilliant, the story, the casts, the set production, the choerography, the music. ❤❤❤

This scene scared the eff out of me as a kid. And i didnt realize until now ms sunshine is also tanya and mrs lovett

this is not just on Chicago. it's reality everywhere

Richard Gere has the perfect stereotypical slimy 1920s lawyer voice in this song

Every scene from this musical is absolutely marvelous!

How did they not get the puppet strings tangled with all the dancing?

Is it an unpopular opinion if I say the movie is better than the stage production? 😬 Granted, I’ve only seen it once and it was a college production. Also, Rob Marshall is brilliant! Along with the wonderful cast of the movie 👏👏

Loved the nudge at the age question

Literally the most perfect movie portrayal of a show that ever exists

I’ve always heard it as “it’s all defensy-Bull”

This entire movie was amazing, one of my top 10 of all time excluding, of course, anything animated or highly nostalgic (which messes with objectivity).

All the strings on the ‘puppets’ are post-production effects - doing the look practically was too cumbersome bc of all the dancing… a great example of subtle CGI that isn’t dinosaurs or intergalactic travel

Hands down best scene in the movie. I re-watch it all the time. Honestly it might be some of the best acting Renee Zellweger's ever done.

Having the musical numbers be on stage like thas was a genius idea. This scene here is amazing.

This song kept playing in my head, especially "the gun"

I read "this scene won an oscar" as sarcastic. But, yeah, it absolutely did.

Some of the best physical comedy I've ever seen

This is my favorite scene in any musical ever. It was AMAZING to see live

I remember me as a child loving this song with no context. I had never seen Chicago, and I didn't know why there was a random guy introducing the song. There were many lines in this song I couldn't understand at the time, but my dad and I would sing it in the car. I remember explicitly asking him one time "Play for fun? Why else would anyone play?" I don't remember if my dad answered me or just continued singing, but I wouldn't know how to answer that if my kid asked.

Brilliant satire. It's so relevant even now!

The part where he says “when we both reached for the gun” and drops her has such profound meaning to the plot I love it this scene is perfect!

Richard Gere should have received an Oscar nomination.

I love that he looks a bit offended when the announcer adds "almost"

Underrated performance by Richard Gere.

Sometimes as I'm just drifting off to sleep, this song starts playing over and over in my head 😆

Love the scene, but it's a shame we didn't get the fantastic stage version of the number

This scene pleases my senses in so many ways. Everything about it is absolutely superb. I watch it and laugh at the Gere naysayers from back when the film was released. His and Renee’s acting is absolutely pitch perfect.

great singing by Christine Baranski and flawless choreography.

This scene was spectacular!

Every performance in this movie is unique and memorable in itself.. but yes I remember this moment when first seeing it in the theater as the moment I knew this movie was going to be perfection.

"Almost" Billy: 😒

This was the only movie I saw in the theater three times. It came out about five months after I moved to Chicago as a 20-something and it was right in my wheelhouse. I still watch it at least once a year.

Seeing this onstage is a different experience. She really moves like a puppet, it’s incredible.

I miss films like this one that are stylized to the top.

This scene is everything. Absolute perfection.

great choreography and acting! love the puppets!

It just doesn't sound right, that Richard Gere was in one of the best *musicals* of all time. But there it is.

Somehow, I get the feeling they did NOT both reach for the gun.

One of my favorite musicals!!! It is unbelievable how this segment accurately captures the nature of our modern press. A bunch of "no minders."

My favorite song in this musical! Chicago is my favorite movie musical!

Good lord someone give that camera crew a raise! Fantastic work!

I don’t know that this scene won an Oscar, but the movie did.

The moment I saw him with his head above everyone else holding all the strings is the moment I knew something was a tad too strange.

Best part of the movie…loved it