Dreamgirls

Theatrical Release Date: 2006 12 15 (USA - Limited) / 2006 12 25 (USA)

UPC: 097363478249

Studio: Dreamworks Video

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Adult Situations, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content]

Summary: 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. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Best Song – Black Reel Awards Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Song – Satellite Awards Best Original Song – Satellite Awards Breakthrough Performance by an Actress – National Board of Review Best Picture – American Film Institute Best Supporting Actress – New York Film Critics Online Best Breakthrough Performance – New York Film Critics Online Best Supporting Actress (Runner-up) – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Washington D.C. Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor (Runner-up) – New York Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actress – New York Film Critics Society Best Ensemble Acting – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Song – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Soundtrack – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Supporting Actress – null Best Original Song – null Best Original Song – null Best Original Song – null Best Original Song – null Best Supporting Actress – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Satellite Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actress – Satellite Awards Best Director – Satellite Awards Best Adapted Screenplay – Satellite Awards Best Editing – Satellite Awards Best Sound – Satellite Awards Best Sound – Satellite Awards Best Sound – Satellite Awards Best Sound – Satellite Awards Best Art Direction/Production Design – Satellite Awards Best Art Direction/Production Design – Satellite Awards Best Art Direction/Production Design – Satellite Awards Best Costume Design – Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actress – Las Vegas Film Critics Association Best Picture – Las Vegas Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Use of Music – Phoenix Film Critics Association Breakout Performance of the Year - On Screen – Phoenix Film Critics Association Producer of the Year – Producers Guild of America Best Ensemble Acting – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actress – Screen Actors Guild Breakout Performance – Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Best Picture – Dallas/Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – National Society of Film Critics Breakthrough Artist – Austin Film Critics Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Online Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Online Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Black Reel Awards Best Supporting Actress – Black Reel Awards Best Picture – Black Reel Awards Best Breakthrough Performance – Black Reel Awards Breakthrough Performer – Online Film Critics Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Actor – Black Reel Awards Best Actress – Black Reel Awards Best Music – Women Film Critics Circle Best Original Score – Black Reel Awards Best Original Score – Black Reel Awards Best Original Soundtrack – Black Reel Awards Best Original Song – Satellite Awards Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Edited Comedy or Musical Feature – American Cinema Editors Guild Best Supporting Actress – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Film Music – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Art Direction in a Period Film – Art Directors Guild Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costumes in a Period Film – Costume Guild Awards Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actor – Black Reel Awards Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor – Online Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Song – Satellite Awards Best Original Song – Satellite Awards Best Song – Black Reel Awards Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: 12 never-before-seen extended musical numbers including a Jennifer Hudson performance not seen in theaters
Beyonc? music video "Listen"

Dreamgirls

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/01/2007

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 130 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Dreamgirls
1. Talent Contest
2. Move
3. Fake Your Way to the Top
4. Cadillac Car
5. Steppin' to the Bad Side
6. Love You I Do
7. I Want You Baby
8. Family
9. Dreamgirls
10. Heavy
11. It's All OVer
12. And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going
13. I'm Somebody
14. When I First Saw You
15. Patience
16. I Am Changing
17. I Meant You Harm/Jimmy's Rap
18. Lorrell Loves Jimmy
19. I Miss You Old Friend
20. One Night Only
21. Listen
22. Effie White Wins
23. Hard to Say Goodbye
24. Curtain Call

Perry Seibert

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. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Jocko Sims  Actor 
Laura Bell Bundy  Actor 
Bill Condon  Director 
Bill Condon  Screenwriter 
Laurence Mark  Producer 
Patricia Witcher  Executive Producer 
Henry Krieger  Composer (Music Score) 
Jamie Foxx  Actor 
Beyoncé Knowles  Actor 
Eddie Murphy  Actor 
Jennifer Hudson  Actor 
Danny Glover  Actor 
Anika Noni Rose  Actor 
Keith Robinson  Actor 
Sharon Leal  Actor 
Hinton Battle  Actor 
John Lithgow  Actor 
John Krasinski  Actor 
Loretta Devine  Actor 

Country: USA