Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

This is How Movies Should Be Made

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

I am a native New Yorker and saw the Broadway production four times with the original and first replacement cast. This adaptation is so bad, that it is embarrassing. Avoid it at all cost. The person Who decided to hire Richard Attenbourogh (sic.) must have been the person decided to hire John Huston to direct the awful Annie and Albert Finney to play Daddy Arbucks.

Richard Attenborough DID direct a musical once before (Oh What a Lovely War) and was thus considered 'qualified' to adapt this wonderful stage production for the screen, but he really wasn't. The only film maker who could really have done it justice was Bob Fosse, and he was busy with other projects. Revealing the grunge behind the glamor and the heartbreak behind the stage smiles was what Fosse did better than anybody, and that is what is crucially missing here. The movie lacks the necessary sharp eye for backstage details, and as a result the world of the Broadway stage presented here winds up lacking that elusive component of dream stuff that resonates in our minds when we think 'Show Biz'. The resulting film of A Chorus Line is more like watching a bunch of people interview for a job than watching hopefuls seeking to make their dreams come true. The staging looks okay and the songs are still okay but the sawdust and the glitter are missing. And somebody should have taken Attenborough aside and reminded him that 'What I Did For Love' is the show-stopper, and could he please make it memorable. It isn't. A great stage musical has been turned into a merely okay movie experience. Pity. 5.5/10...

I first saw the live musical at the Denver Center For The Performing Arts and it was absolutely mind-blowing, Stunning and had such fantastic continuity of plot and dialogue that I liked it much more than most musicals that I have seen on the stage. The interesting thing is that you NEVER got to see Zach's face. He was always in the dark but his presence was powerful and guided the direction of entire production. Whe I heard they were making a movie from it, I waited with bated breath, but when I watched the movie version I was so bummed-out disappointed that I felt I was cheated. The movie lacks the captivating mood set in the live production and it never allows you to be completely in close touch with every character. Personally, I would like to see the live version again and if that should ever be revived, I would wholeheartedly recommend that you go out of your way to see it. It will be one of the most memorable experiences you will enjoy.

As many reviewers here have noted, the film version differs quite a bit from the stage version of the story. I have never seen the stage version of the story, and therefore I have a more favorable review of the film than many other reviewers. Perhaps Richard Attenborough was not the best choice for director of the film, but the film is still an entertaining account of several dancers trying to make the big time in choreographer Michael Douglas' show. The film does right by not selecting any famous actors or performers to wind up in the final try-out group. This way our attention is focused on the dancers' movements and individual stories and struggles as they unfold during a marathon day of try-outs. Douglas is also probably not the best choice for the part. Apparently some songs were cut out in favor of a new one, and the backstage cliché-ridden story of a romantic liaison between a dancer and the choreographer was added. I have to say in all fairness this was the weakest part of the film. The repeated intrusions Cassie made during try-outs appear to mirror the almost desperate pleas one often has to make when engaging in the artistic professions in the absence of talent and/or luck. However, this aspect of the film has been done to death in the past, and it's curious to see this tired old shoe kicking its heel up once again. The revelations of the dancers themselves began promisingly enough with the "I can do that" number, but then it plodded a little at various points while the dancers were telling their stories. Frankly, their stories differed little from real life folks who never get a chance like this. *** of 4 stars.