Dreamgirls [Blu-ray]

Overview

Director Bill Condon brings Tom Eyen's Tony award-winning Broadway musical to the big screen in a tale of dreams, stardom, and the high cost of success in the cutthroat recording industry. The time is the 1960s, and singers Effie (Jennifer Hudson), Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose), and Deena (Beyonc? Knowles) are about to find out just what it's like to have their wildest dreams come true. Discovered at a local talent show by ambitious manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx), the trio known as "the Dreamettes" is soon offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of opening for popular singer James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). Subsequently molded into an unstoppable hit machine by Taylor and propelled into the spotlight as "the Dreams," the girls quickly find their bid for the big time taking priority over personal friendship as Taylor edges out the ultra-talented Effie so that the more beautiful Deena can become the face of the group. Now, as the crossover act continues to dominate the airwaves, the small-town girls with big-city dreams slowly begin to realize that the true cost of fame may be higher than any of them ever anticipated.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/25/2023
UPC:	0191329249413
Original Release:	2006
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Dreamworks Video
Language:	English
Time:	2:20:00
Sales rank:	2,736

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jamie Foxx	Curtis Taylor Jr.
Beyoncé Knowles	Deena Jones
Eddie Murphy	James "Thunder" Early
Danny Glover	Marty Madison
Jennifer Hudson	Effie White
Anika Noni Rose	Lorrell Robinson
Keith D. Robinson	C.C. White
Sharon Leal	Michelle Morris
Hinton Battle	Wayne
Mariah I. Wilson	Magic,Bad Side Dancer,Disco Dancer
Yvette Cason	May
Ken Page	Max Washington
Ralph Harris	M.C.
Michael-Leon Wooley	Tiny Joe Dixon
Loretta Devine	Jazz Singer
John Lithgow	Jerry Harris
John Krasinski	Sam Walsh
Alexander Folk	Ronald White
Esther Scott	Aunt Ethel
Bobby Slayton	Miami Comic
Jordan Wright	Teddy Campbell,Bad Side Dancer
Dawnn Lewis	Melba Early
Jaleel White	Talent Booker
JoNell Kennedy	Joann
Sybyl Walker	Charlene
Lesley Nicole Lewis	Stepp Sister
Eboni Y. Nichols	Stepp Sister
Arike Rice	Stepp Sister
Fatima Robinson	Stepp Sister,C.C. White
Aakomon Jones	Little Albert
Bernard Fowler	Tru-Tone
Anwar Burton	Tru-Tone
Tyrell Washington	Tru-Tone
Rory O'Malley	Dave
Laura Bundy	Sweetheart
Anne Warren	Sweetheart
Ivar Brogger	David Bennett
Daren Herbert	Jimmy's Piano Player
Jocko Sims	Elvis Kelly
Pam Trotter	Rhonda
Cleo King	Janice
Eddie Mekka	Club Manager
Alejandro Furth	Case Worker
Dilva Henry	TV Reporter
Vincent Grant	American Bandstand Producer
Robert Cicchini	Nicky Cassaro
Thomas Crawford	TV Director
Robert Curtis Brown	Technical Director
Gilbert Glenn Brown	Man with Gun,Curtis' Secretary
Marty Ryan	Stagehand
Michael Villani	Detroit Reporter
Gregg Berger	Chicago Deejay
Daniel Riordan	L.A. Deejay
Paul Kirby	Promo Film Narrator
Nancy Anderson	Go-Go Dancer
Joelle Cosentino	Go-Go Dancer
Lisa Eaton	Go-Go Dancer
Clare Kutsko	Go-Go Dancer
Tracy Phillips	Go-Go Dancer
Kelleia Sheerin	Go-Go Dancer
Mykel Brooks	Campbell Connection Dancer
Johnny Erasme	Campbell Connection Dancer
Cory Graves	Campbell Connection Dancer
Corinthea Henderson	Bad Side Dancer
Craig Hollamon	Bad Side Dancer
Reginald Jackson	Bad Side Dancer
Chuck Maldonado	Bad Side Dancer
Anthony Rue II	Bad Side Dancer
John Silver	Bad Side Dancer
Black Thomas	Bad Side Dancer
Adrian Wiltshire	Bad Side Dancer
Dominic Chaiduang	Disco Dancer
Jose Cueva	Disco Dancer
Omhmar Griffin	Disco Dancer
Sky Hoffmann	Disco Dancer
Trevor Lopez-Daggett	Disco Dancer
Leo Moctezuma	Disco Dancer
Gabriel Paige	Disco Dancer
Terrance Spencer	Disco Dancer
Tony Testa	Disco Dancer
Quinton Weathers	Disco Dancer
Jull Weber	Disco Dancer
Stevie Ray Anthony	Jimmy's Band
Matthew Dickens	Jimmy's Band
Jerohn Garnett	Jimmy's Band
Mario Mosley	Jimmy's Band
Jimmy R.O. Smith	Jimmy's Band
Tom Eyen	Composer
Henry Krieger	Composer

Technical Credits

Bill Condon

Bill Condon	Director,Screenwriter
David Geffen	Producer
Laurence Mark	Producer
Patricia Whitcher	Executive Producer
Debra Zane	Casting
David Esparza	Sound Effects
Richard Yawn	Sound/Sound Designer
Donald Flick	Sound Effects
Willie Burton	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Bill Condon's Dreamgirls is a good entertainment. The flashy costumes and art direction humorously and quickly establish the various time periods, and the thinly veiled references to Motown history help make the film an enjoyable exercise. However, there is something off throughout the movie that keeps it from greatness. Some of the musical numbers occur while the performers are on-stage or in the recording booth, and these songs help express the characters' thoughts and feelings, but other times the characters break into song in everyday life, and these moments -- so natural in the best movie musicals -- feel forced in Dreamgirls. The problem first becomes apparent in the famous "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" sequence where Effie (Jennifer Hudson) pours her heart out both to her bandmates and to the man she loves after being kicked out of the band. The song requires a near-operatic expression of emotion and the movie grinds to a halt, visually as well as dramatically. It is quite literally a showstopper, but while Hudson gives a strong vocal performance, the sequence goes on for so long that the audience becomes aware she is lip-synching. The song is so personal, such an individual expression of anger, grief, and inner turmoil, that even though it plays so powerfully on the stage, it loses something vital in the translation to film, and this disconnect will take some viewers out of the moment. Hudson's hard work impresses, but that may be indicative of just what is off about the entire movie: the filmmakers never let you forget how hard everyone is working. This is underscored during the closing credits, where each craft is spotlighted just as it is during the annual Oscar telecast. The costume director's name appears alongside images of wardrobe sketches and the final costumes made from them. All this work is appreciated, and one is thankful that they cared so much, but the best musicals make all of that hard work seem effortless. The most memorable and evocative moments in movie musicals happen when song and dance are simply the only avenues by which the characters can express the scope of their emotions. There is a lightness to great musicals, and Dreamgirls is certainly not light. Dreamgirls is good, but it would impress more if it weren't so eager to impress.