RENT: Live from Broadway (Film) - Thoughts

Will this be released on DVD?

according to Tracie Thoms some of the voices were tweaked to make them sound better. like riffs were put in and pitches were changed. they are not very happy about that......understandably.

it was so weird. I don't know if i liked it yet. I may see it again though in all honesty its not really worth forking out another $20, so i'll wait for the dvd (which i may be on since i was interviewed)

I guess I felt a bit of an emotional disconnect. One thing that I really did not like was that you HAD to look where the camera went, whereas when you see the show live you can pick where your eyes are in each scene i.e. Christmas Bells or Seasons of Love.

Contact was done REALLY well. I was amazed at the job they did for that scene. They have footage from like... the other side of the fense, it's really cool especially with the lighting and everything.

Over the moon was also great, and finale B was pretty decent as well.

But most importantly, the close ups on will chase's eyes never hurt anybody

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Wow, it really sounds like this is what the movie should have (but perhaps just simply never could have) been. I'm really looking forward to seeing it this weekend.

Do we know around when it will be released? Like January or February next year? Maybe before Christmas? (People were saying that would be a good idea... I agree).

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I saw it this evening and I was really impressed. I must say right away that the image and picture of it was just so amazing and stunning. All of the shots were simply wonderful and I picked up so much I missed when I saw it live. I must agree that CONTACT was done so well and was so interesting to watch!

Ordinary, I had some sound problems too. The sound went out during TAKE ME OR LEAVE ME and we missed all of SEASONS OF LOVE B but a girl in the audience actually finished singing TAKE ME OR LEAVE ME... it was kind of cool actually!

A really cool experience and has me pumped for the tour.

I really enjoyed it. I don't know how they did it, but somehow they really did capture the essence of a live performance. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's exactly the same, but it definitely felt like I had an intimate view of the show - and I saw a lot of details in the staging that you just don't see from the audience. And I definitely agree with the first poster about the high-definition thing. I would have liked maybe a few more zoomed-out shots, though I did enjoy seeing the actors' facial expressions. And there were a lot of really cool camera angles! Oh and I wish more of it had actually been of the final show as opposed to the other days they taped it, but I understand why they put more of the other performances instead. Overall, well done.

Saw it tonight and loved it. I agree with crushgroove that this wipes the bad taste of Columbus' movie out of my mouth. This is the Rent everyone should see.

The lighting and focus were beautiful. It looks and sounds wonderful and I wonder how well that will transfer to the DVD. I am trying to decide whether to fork over the $20 bucks to see it again in the theater. Sometimes the intimate close ups were too much. They rushed some of the iconic images from the show, like Roger lit on the wall during Glory and Angel first rising from the white table. The tight shots during La vie Boheme made me feel I was missing a lot of goings on. I was surprised to actually catch new things/lyrics I had never before and I've seen the show 7 or 8 times on stage. Things that had blended in before but stood out when shown so up close.

The biggest disappointment is this is not quite the piece of documentation of the "last show ever" that I think they were advertising and I was hoping for. I know it would not have been so clean, immediate, and clear. But I wouldn't have minded the messy to see the actual last show and heard the audience lose their **** and the actors maybe fall a little out of character as they took in the moment. Can we hope for more live stuff on the DVD?

I'm going to be honest and I didn't enjoy the movie as much the rest of this thread. I thought the cuts were too jumpy, shaky, and quick. I understand why the shots were like this, as it catches the feel and mood of the show, but I still couldn't quite appreciate it as they made me dizzy. I felt they used too many close-up shots; I want to be able to see Mimi's Out Tonight dancing, not just her face, and preferably from head on, as I would see it in the theatre instead of from the side, like many shots were. I'm also baffled as to why they cut Renee and Adam's solos during the extended Seasons of Love at curtain call. I also wished they used more footage from closing night, although I was expecting most of it to be from the August shoot. I had absolutely no problems with the cast itself, and thought they did a great job. I enjoyed Act 2 more than Act 1, and thought they did Contact and What You Own beautifully.

For the record, my last experience with the show was closing night (you can actually see me during intermission, lol.), so perhaps I've just been spoiled or something since it would be very hard to top that night. I'm very happy that everyone else is thoroughly enjoying it.

And since someone mentioned Rodney seeing it, my friends saw Will Chase at the Lowes on 84th Street.

I thought, overall, it was pretty lovely. My parents thought it was wonderful. My dad is pretty vehemently insistent on Will Chase > Adam Pascal, though I explained that basing that off the movie alone isn't entirely fair.

For a couple minutes it was like watching a bootleg, because the sound didn't come in til the first voice mail. Annoyed. I was too happy after the whole thing to go with my first instinct of demanding a refund or comps. I probably would have if I hadn't heard it was going to be released on DVD, so...that better happen.

I thought the cast was solid. Obviously not perfect, but when you've seen the show a handful of times you're always going to have different preferences for different moments.

Thought the filming was wonderful. There were moments that were closeups that I would have preferred wider shots of (specifically during Out Tonight), but I understand that not everyone's preference is going to be served when editing and cutting a legitimate live performance. Sometimes it's frustrating to not be able to choose where to train your eyes, but I was pleased more often than annoyed. They did a great job of focusing on the small details that inform the plot, that people often miss.

I'd see it again, if I could do it in two weeks or something. Since that's unfortunately not an option, I won't choose to go again in the next few days.

Ok, I just posted this on another message board, but I'll just post it here too :)

My thoughts:

"The cinecast is freaking, FREAKING incredible. Like just... gahhhhhh.

Maybe it's just because I've only seen the live show 2 times and I've kind of gotten more used to the movie than the show at this point, so seeing the live show again- even if in movie form- was the most incredible thing. It made me realize that, much as I love and appreciate the movie, this is a story MADE for stage. It is magical in movie form, but in STAGE form? It's.. beyond magical.


A few notes:

The final cast= AMAAAAZING beyond belief. And honestly, I am VERY biased toward the OBC, but... they ROCKED that thing so beyond hardcore. I am not even going to lie: Eden PWNS Idina in this specific role. I swear that you'd think the woman has been doing this role for YEARS, she has the comedic timing down THAT perfectly. Her Over The Moon is... probably the best I have ever seen. She's BRILLIANT, AND so freaking gorgeous it's not even fair. And that VOICE of hers oooomg. And obviously there is no need to explain Tracie's brilliance- she just IS And Will and Adam were sooooo fantastic. Anthony will always be my #1 Mark, but Will actually tops Adam as Roger by quite a bit in my book. Cary Sheilds is stiiil my fav I think, but Will's just below that. He really is SO good. Based on the audio I was not expecting to toootally love Renee as Mimi, but she was actually FANTASTIC. She's stunning (doesn't look 19 but very very few Mimis ever do), and fierce too. Her Out Tonight was DANG fierce, I must say Plus she's like... a reeally crazy good actress. She reminded me lots of Rosario!Mimi in her acting and, so it was wonderful to see a Rosario-esque Mimi who could actually stand up to the vocal demands of doing the role on Broadway!

Basically the ONLY thing I missed while watching the cinecast was Jesse and Wilson. And it's NOT because Justin and Michael weren't awesome, because they were. Justin was my first Angel and I love him dearly, and Michael actually sounds a ton LIKE Jesse. But... there is just SOMETHING about Jesse and Wilson themselves. Especially when they're together, they just like... GLOW. And Justin and Michael had really GOOD chemistry, but Wilson and Jesse just have something really really magical. Nevertheless, Justin and Michael were certainly VERY good, and the Angel/Collins relationship was STILL one of my top fav things in the show


Ummm what else is there? OH! The actual production quality of the cinecast ITSELF is SOOOOOO over the top perfect. It's GORGEOUS, but even more than that, it really contributes to the TELLING of the story. A few things, mostly having to do with Angel, that really stood out to me: during La Vie Boheme, with the "not dying from disease" like, guess who they zoom in for a close up of? OH YES. That's right. Angel. RIGHT there. And it's like... kill me much?? Also, during Angel's eulogies, they actually FOCUS IN on Justin!Angel as he's walking off the stage slowly. So like.. as Adam!Mark talks about him helping the tourists find the circle line, it's a close up of Justin REACTING and making this really heartwrenching little grin. I just absolutely NEVER even would have thought to fucus in on that! And it really got me.And on a not-so-specific, non-spoiler note: they shot it so that it really focuses on peoples' REACTIONS a lot of times, rather than necessarily on the people saying the lines. And they're all REALLY great actors who are wonderful about being in the moment every single second of the show, so... it's pretty special. The acting comes across much stronger than if they just shot it focusing only on the people saying the lines.


I'm completely rambling and writing a novel here, but yeah. Basically it is SOOOOO so brilliant and I cannot even put into words how happy and content I am now, knowing that this will be documented forever, for everyone to see. We needed widely released documentation of the STAGE show, and now we have it in the highest calibre. I cannot wait for you guys who are seeing it over the weekend to see it!!!"

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Updated On: 9/25/08 at 12:10 AM

I saw it tonight and enjoyed everything, for the most part. I especially liked the editing for "Christmas Bells," as it was a perfect balance of all the frantic action. The only complaint I have is that so many songs seemed rushed and some cast members were struggling to keep up. Especially whoever it was that played Benny, who did the Idina gasp whenever he took a breath. Everyone else was very impressive. I agree that Adam Kantor was fantastic, and Eden Espinosa had a fierce "Over the Moon." I don't know if it was worth $20, but it was certainly a great way to experience the show on the big screen and partially erase the memory of the horrendous 2005 film.