What did Michael Bennett think of the “A Chorus Line” film?

[abcd12]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 3:59pm

I decided to revisit the 1985 movie adaptation of A Chorus Line, ahead of tonight’s gala. Sadly, it’s still as flat and ill-conceived as ever. Halfway through, I thought “thank God Michael Bennett wasn’t alive for this.” …and then I realized he was. The film was released in December of 1985 and Bennett passed in July of 1987.

I did some quick searching to see if he had any involvement whatsoever in the movie, but I really couldn’t find anything. Also couldn’t find any commentary or criticism from him (of which, I would imagine he had plenty).

What a shame he couldn’t have adapted the film - much like Fosse did with Cabaret. It really could’ve been something special. 

Anyway - does anyone know what he thought of the movie? Is there any recorded commentary anywhere from his POV?

[ER765]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 4:20pm

It’s a good question. Somewhat tangentially, I looooved this blurb on the movie’s Wikipedia page: 

Kelly Bishop, the original stage Sheila, noted "It was appalling when director Richard Attenborough went on a talk show and said 'this is a story about kids trying to break into show business.' I almost tossed my TV out the window; I mean what an idiot! It's about veteran dancers looking for one last job before it's too late for them to dance anymore. No wonder the film sucked!"

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 4:32pm

The film is unwatchable trash.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 4:33pm

What a shame he couldn’t have adapted the film - much like Fosse did with Cabaret. It really could’ve been something special. 

CABARET isn’t a Bob Fosse show. He only directed and choreographed the 1972 film adaptation. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 4:40pm

I enjoy seeing Terry Mann as Larry, and catching glimpses of the Hellinger where it was filmed, but that’s about it. 

This could have been incredible: “Bennett declined to participate when his proposal to present the film as an audition to cast the movie version of the stage play instead of a literal translation of the play was rejected.”

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 4:42pm

Bennett wanted to make a movie version but kept getting rejected by film studios. He then got sick and then this piece of garbage got put together. Oddly enough, like most people that couldn't get to see the Broadway production, the movie version was my first exposure to ACL. The opening is the only decent thing about the movie. It all goes downhill once Mike starts swinging from the ropes.

[abcd12]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 4:47pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "What a shame he couldn’t have adapted the film - much like Fosse did with Cabaret. It really could’ve been something special.

CABARET isn’t a Bob Fosse show. He only directed and choreographed the 1972 film adaptation."

My mistake! His attachment to Cabaret is so indelible and synonymous - I was under the impression he was involved with the original production somehow. Even more impressive to know he wasn’t. 

Updated On: 7/27/25 at 04:47 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 4:52pm

I was just a kid when it came out and I saw it for the first time and I loved it. It was my first exposure to “A Chorus Line” and I rented it all the time. It was only later on that I realized what a bad film it really is in relation to what “A Chorus Line” is. But we all have movies from when we were little that we loved that we now know are trash but we can still enjoy. “Mannequin”, anyone?

And while I do still watch this film every now and then, a lot of times it’s mainly so we can laugh at a lot of it (it’s so 80s it’s like a parody) I guess my “hot take” is there’s one or two things in there that are genuinely decent. 

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 5:12pm

I thought the movie was hideous. Such a wasted opportunity. It made me dislike Alyson Reed. If anything needs to be made again, it's this. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 5:22pm

DottieD'Luscia said: "I thought the movie was hideous. Such a wasted opportunity. It made me dislike Alyson Reed. If anything needs to be made again, it's this."

Oh, I’d LOVE for someone to do a true film of it. Get Lin on the phone. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 5:41pm

Jordan Catalano said: "DottieD'Luscia said: "I thought the movie was hideous. Such a wasted opportunity. It made me dislike Alyson Reed. If anything needs to be made again, it's this."

Oh, I’d LOVE for someone to do a true film of it. Get Lin on the phone."

I always thought that Rob Marshall would have tackled this after Chicago.

[Ke3]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 7:29pm

I can't remember where I read it (I think one of the Riedel books?) but Bennett apparently wanted to use a framing device of a bunch of dancers auditioning for a role in a film adaption of A Chorus Line. I think there was the usual studio discomfort with letting a stage director with no film experience leading a high budget adaption. Of course they still made absolutely no money on it so they wouldn't have lost much letting him try.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 7:40pm

Ke3 said: "I can't remember where I read it (I think one of the Riedel books?) but Bennett apparently wanted to use a framing device of a bunch of dancers auditioning for a role in a film adaption of A Chorus Line. I think there was the usual studio discomfort with letting a stage director with no film experience leading a high budget adaption. Of course they still made absolutely no money on it so they wouldn't have lost much letting him try."

That’s correct, I didn’t read it in a Riedel book but it’s likely in there. I cut and pasted the account from wiki a few posts up from here. 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 12:11am

Here is some background info from the AFI website on ‘A Chorus Line’s” journey to the silver screen:

A Chorus Line - American Film Institute

 

 

Updated On: 7/28/25 at 12:11 AM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 12:19am

it was mentioned during the 50th anniversary that Bennett went to Hollywood in 1979 to try and get the film put together. he hated California and movie studios and wanted it filmed in NY and he ditched the movie plans then.

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 2:14am

CarlosAlberto said: "Here is some background info from the AFI website on ‘A Chorus Line’s” journey to the silver screen:

A Chorus Line - American Film Institute



"

That's a fascinating read!!! The fact that John Travolta was attached -- to reprise his Saturday Night Fever role in one version, then be the male "Cassie" to Mikhail Baryshnikov's "Zach" in a "homosexual relationship" in another one... beyond wild. I'd see that movie. 

 

Updated On: 7/28/25 at 02:14 AM

[Dreamboy3]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 7:22am

Every Little Step is the A Chorus Line movie. I would have loved to see Bennet’s vision. 

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 7:30am

Dreamboy3 said: "Every Little Step is the A Chorus Line movie. I would have loved to see Bennet’s vision."

I 100% agree with this. If I'm in the mood to see A Chorus Line, I watch Every Little Step over the film version.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 8:51am

I actually rewatched it two years ago. As a movie, it’s really boring. Certain sections of some songs are done as voice overs (which one shouldn’t do in a musical). The characters’ transitions from talking to singing sounds awkward a lot of the time. The orchestrations are very much a product of the 1980s. As an adaptation of one of the greatest stage musicals ever created, this film just misses the mark entirely. Turning A Chorus Line into a movie was never going to be easy given the theatrical nature of the source material. Part of what makes the original stage version work so well is that the story takes place on a theatre stage in real time. It makes you feel like you're a part of the journey the characters take through an honest portrayal of what actors go through in the audition process for a Broadway musical. That aspect is nowhere to be found here.

Both of the new songs are so forgettable. The first of them, ‘Surprise, Surprise,’ just does not fit in with the rest of the score. While the second of them, ‘Let Me Dance for You,’ is well performed by Alyson Reed, it still does not hold a candle to ‘The Music and the Mirror.’ Speaking of which, beefing up the storyline with Zach and Cassie’s previous romantic relationship felt so pointless. It just takes the focus away from everyone else, which is what the musical is supposed to be focusing on. ‘What I Did for Love’ being sung by only Cassie instead of the entire cast was another big mistake.

Richard Attenborough was clearly the wrong director to bring A Chorus Line to the big screen. Watching this made me wish we got to see Michael Bennett’s pitch for the film by having actors audition for a movie adaptation of the musical. It sounded like a very clever idea and would’ve been much more interesting. Although the 2008 documentary, Every Little Step, which followed the casting of the first Broadway revival, did a better job of capturing the feel of the source material. I suggest seeking that out instead.

Click Here for My Full Review

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 9:01am

It’s a shame that Attenborough was so wrong for ACL, yet so right for Oh What a Lovely War. 

[BentleyB]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 12:11am

I remember when it came out and having seen ACL so many times before it did.  I after the opening I wanted to throw something at the screen.  When they decided to make “What I Did for Love” a love song I stood up and said to friends who went with me, “I will be in the car, this is trash” and left.  I eventually watched the end years later and still was appalled at what was put on film.  It should have been cut up for guitar picks.

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 12:08pm

Well, to be fair, "What I Did for Love" is clearly a song meant to sound like a love song. It was a push to get a hit (they got it), and it feels forced into its place onstage, so I'm not surprised they tried it as a love song in the move. Not to defend the movie (which is garbage) or criticize the stage show (which is genius), but that song is shoe-horned in, in a way none of the other numbers are.

Updated On: 7/30/25 at 12:08 PM

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 12:12pm

Ke3 said: "I think there was the usual studio discomfort with letting a stage director with no film experience leading a high budget adaption."

But in what reality would it have to be a high budget adaptation? It can be done on one set with a cast of unknowns (it would almost have to be unknowns, since the performers need to be amazing dancers, not movie stars trying to do a musical). I realize musicals cost money and time in a specific way that's unique to the genre--that's the name of the game--but there's no reason for a ACL movie to be blockbuster expensive. 

[ggersten]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 12:23pm

joevitus said: "Well, to be fair, "What I Did for Love" is clearly a song meant to sound like a love song. It was a push to get a hit (they got it), and it feels forced into its place onstage, so I'm not surprised they tried it as a love song in the move. Not to defend the movie (which is garbage) or criticize the stage show(which is genius), but that song is shoe-horned in,in a way none of the other numbers are."

Many years ago (like 1981 or so) I asked Hamlisch this exact question about the song feeling forced in. He said that he had to beg Bennett to leave "What I Did For Love" in the show for precisely the reason you stated. I recall he said that he told Bennett "You've got to let me have one hit". I may have the edited interview on a cassette tape somewhere. 

 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 3:38pm

BentleyB said: "I remember when it came out and having seen ACL so many times before it did. I after the opening I wanted to throw something at the screen. When they decided to make “What I Did for Love” a love song I stood up and said to friends who went with me, “I will be in the car, this is trash” and left. 

 

Oh, Mary!  This post is just begging for a Jesse Tyler Ferguson dramatic reading.