Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1907 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-05-28
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, Collector's Edition, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 125 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The spirit of Motown runs through the long-awaited film adaption of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, which centres around a young female singing trio who burst upon the music scene in the '60s, complete with bouffant hairdos, glitzy gowns, and a soul sound new to the white-bread American music charts. Sound familiar? You aren't the first one to draw comparisons to the meteoric rise of the Supremes, and despite any protests to the contrary, this is most definitely a thinly veiled reinterpretation of that success story. The Dreamettes--statuesque Deena (Beyonce Knowles), daffy Lorell (Anika Noni Rose) and brassy Effie (Jennifer Hudson)--are a girl group making the talent-show rounds when they're discovered by car salesman and aspiring music manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx). Sensing greatness (as well as a new marketing opportunity) Curtis signs the Dreamettes as backup singers for R&B star James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). But when Early's mercurial ways and singing style don't mesh with primarily white audiences, Curtis moves the newly-renamed Dreams to center stage--with Deena as lead singer in place of Effie. And that's not the only arena in which Effie is replaced, as Curtis abandons their love affair for a relationship with star-in-the-making Deena.

Besides the Supremes comparison, one can't talk about Dreamgirls now without revisiting its notorious Oscar snub; though it received eight nominations, the most for any film from 2006, it was shut out of the Best Picture and Director races entirely. Was the oversight justified? While Dreamgirls is certainly a handsomely mounted, lovingly executed and often vibrant film adaptation, it inspires more respect than passion, only getting under your skin during the musical numbers, which become more sporadic as the film goes on. Writer-director Bill Condon is definitely focused on recreating the Motown milieu (down to uncanny photographs of Knowles in full Diana Ross mode), he often forgets to flesh out his characters, who even on the Broadway stage were underwritten and relied on powerhouse performances to sell them to audiences. (Stage fans will also note that numerous songs are either truncated or dropped entirely from the film.) Condon has assembled a game cast, as Knowles does a canny riff on the essence of Diana Ross' glamour (as opposed to an all-out impersonation) and Rose makes a peripheral character surprisingly vibrant; only Foxx, who never gets to pour on the charisma, is miscast.

Still, there are two things even the most cranky viewers will warm to in Dreamgirls: the performances of veteran Eddie Murphy and newcomer Jennifer Hudson. Murphy is all sly charm and dazzling energy as the devilish Early, who's part James Brown, part Little Richard, and all showman. And Hudson, an American Idol contestant who didn't even make the top three, makes an impressive debut as the larger-than-life Effie, whose voice matches her passions and stubbornness. Though she sometimes may seem too young for the role, Hudson nails the movie's signature song, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," with a breathtaking power that must be seen and heard to believe. And for those five minutes, if not more, you will be in Dreamgirls' thrall. --Mark Englehart

Synopsis
Set in 1960s Detroit, DREAMGIRLS follows the commercial and cultural struggles of the R&B recording industry, through the rise of the Dreamettes (later shortened to just the Dreams) from backup singers to headlining international superstars. The trio--Deena (Beyonce Knowles), Effie (Jennifer Hudson), and Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose)--soon discover the harsh reality behind the glamour of fame and fortune, as the group's controlling and shady manager, Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx), uses them to help build his musical empire and capture his dream of crossing over from R&B to the pop charts. He sacrifices Effie's immense talent as lead singer for Deena's stunning, more mainstream look to sell the sound, pushing marketable appeal over musical artisanship--and compromising the ambitions of his proteges.

Since its Broadway debut, DREAMGIRLS has been widely rumoured to be inspired by the hugely successful girl-group the Supremes, as well as some of Motown's biggest players. Knowles's Deena portrays the Diana Ross character, radiant in miraculous recreations of the hairstyles and fashions that made Ross timeless, while Foxx's Taylor exemplifies influential Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. Former AMERICAN IDOL contestant Jennifer Hudson makes her feature-film debut delivering a knockout performance as the larger-than-life Effie, and Eddie Murphy is believable as the misunderstood James Brown-like character of Jimmy "Thunder" Early. Vibrant with colourful costumes and sleek backdrops, the film flows effortlessly from dialogue to musical numbers, each song capturing the richness of the talented cast and the essence of the era, endlessly soaring with fast-paced excitement and non-stop emotion.

Customer Reviews

This film's got Soul
This film is awesome. I can't compare it to seeing the broadway show as I've not been fortunate enough to see Dreamgirls on broadway. I would imagine that it loses a little something when converted to film, its usually the case. But You should never write a musical off, just because its on film. If this film taught me anything - it's that!
The songs are fantastic and I think do justice to the Motown sound they are there to imitate, every song is performed with a lot of care and attention and I was drawn into the story pretty early on.
Jennifer Hudson is definitely the star of the show, but the supporting cast are what makes this film great. Beyonce does a great job of underplaying her voice for the majority of the film, which not only helps serve the dynamic between her character and Jennifer Hudson's - but also makes her delivery of the song "Listen" much stronger and more relevant to the story. Eddie Murphy is outstanding throughout and he takes the character of Jimmy Early on an extremely convincing emotional ride through fame, fortune, women and the pitfalls that such a life can bring. He's got a pretty good soulful voice on him too!
Jamie Foxx is also very good - though its clear that his skills lie more in acting than in singing. His character sings less frequently than any other of the main parts and you can kind of hear why (sorry Mr. Foxx). He's by no means awful, just understandably underused.
For me this film earns a solid 4 stars out of five - however, today its getting a 5 out of 5 from me purely to bring up the average that the first reviewer has caused with his 1 star rating. I know reviews are essentially one person pushing their views onto others but they are also meant to provide a rounded view from like minded individuals - especially on a site like this!
Ignore his review. If you like musicals and are open minded enough to realise that musicals are a current medium for telling stories (and not some stone age concept as you may have been lead to believe) then see this film. You'll enjoy it!

Great adaptation but it's no Chicago,
I deliberately waited until all the hype was done; all the awards were won, and until I was no longer tired of Beyonce to view "Dreamgirls." It is indeed an excellent presentation.

This film is a roman à clef about the onset and heyday of Motown and in particular one of the most popular R&B groups, The Supremes. We witness their ascent to fame, the divisions between the manager's wants and public tastes and their struggle to remain in vogue in a changing world of popular music.

Director of Chicago, another fantastic musical, wheels in a star cast fully showcasing the razzle-dazzle and enchantment of the songs and glittery costumes and wigs by bringing in "Dreamgirls" to the screen. This excellent Broadway production of the 80s put Jennifer Holiday on the map. Apart from top-notch production standards, wonderful costumes, fantastic music, and excellent performances all around, "Dreamgirls" is indeed another wonderful presentation of a slice of African-American life/culture.

After watching this I didn't think it was much of a musical so I don't feel its right to compare this to `Chicago' excluding one major scene on stage. I thought all performances were equally fascinating. It's a shame Florence did not have the happy ending Effie did, but such is life. Jamie Foxx gave an understated performance which I found believable. Eddie Murphy also gave a great performance whose impact and appreciation may have been lost due to Eddie's past comedic roles where he basically did the same kind of voice and facial expressions he used here for the Character of Jimmy and I am so glad he got a chance to sing a few songs. I felt this was a strong performance by Eddie especially the scenes where he didn't say a word and his face said it all. It would have been nice to see him win the Academy Award. But there is no denying that Jennifer Hudson overshadows all these Hollywood heavies in this movie with her knockout performance as Effie White. She owns every scene she is in. The part given more meaning for those of us who saw her through the "Idol" drama where she was accused of not having the "Depth" to compete. Well, after I first heard her sing on Idol I too believed she did not belong there....She belonged in a higher place....her voice was a force of nature. Her talent was bigger than IDOL. The dream has really come true for this dreamgirl and I certainly understand the standing ovations it got in some theaters and friends of mine who went to see it in theaters I attest to that.

response
I have just read the previous review of dreamgirls and find it abhorrent that it was compared with Moulon Rouge.That film was the worst i have ever had the misfortune to experience,mainly as it murdered many of my favourite songs.
Dreamgirls however was a bit cheesy but if you have any soul in your heart whatsoever you will enjoy ,it is not for the faint hearted.