There is something piercingly affecting about this film and it’s mainly to do with how much this particular musical means to the dancers and singers whose lives it represents.
Every Little Step (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:88
Fresh:80
Rotten:8
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: Fascinating and insightful, Every Little Step is a thoroughly engrossing behind the scenes look at Broadway performers.
Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Coarse language
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jul 2, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $1,528,106
Synopsis: After raking in awards at several major film festivals, EVERY LITTLE STEP reaches movie audiences and Broadway fans alike. A film about a musical that is itself about the casting of a musical, the... After raking in awards at several major film festivals, EVERY LITTLE STEP reaches movie audiences and Broadway fans alike. A film about a musical that is itself about the casting of a musical, the documentary takes fans inside the makings of A CHORUS LINE. Much of it focuses on the casting process for the musical’s 2005 revival, though it also takes fans through the show’s many incarnations and to its original inspiration. Back in 1974, choreographer Michael Bennett saw the potential for a spectacular show in the recorded late-night conversations of several stage performers. One year--and a lot of labor--later, A CHORUS LINE premiered to high acclaim, introducing the world to what would turn out to be a timeless work. EVERY LITTLE STEP takes viewers through the next few decades with rare footage and fresh interviews, showing the show’s history unfold in a world filled with war, anxiety, and political change. As casting is done is for the 2005 revival, audiences see how much the times have changed in the light of media outlets like MySpace and AMERICAN IDOL. As viewers get to know the actors behind the production, the realms of theater and reality blur. With its underdog heroes and self-reflexive narrative, A CHORUS LINE is understandably appealing to today’s reality-show audiences. The film is the joint effort of directors James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, whose backgrounds as theatre producers, filmmakers, and documentarians combine well to create a film that manages to be not only educational but as entertaining as its subject. [More]
Director: James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo
Director: James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo
Producer: James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo
Composer: Jane Antonia Cornish
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Reviews for Every Little Step
Just as powerful as the original musical -- keeps you glued to the fascinating and heartbreaking audition process.
This fascinating American made documentary tracks a disparate group of dancers trying out for a range of roles in a Broadway revival of the iconic stage musical A Chorus Line.
A rousing glimpse into the life of a dancer, this involving, moving and thrilling documentary revisits choreographer Michael Bennett's multi-award winning stage show by brilliantly cross-linking it with auditions for its 2006 New York revival
We're left with a deep sense of admiration for those who are prepared to face rejection routinely in pursuit of a dream.
There are still plenty of engrossing aspects to the film, moments in the audition process that demonstrate the complexity of performance.
All the dancers who move towards the final cut are so good that the line between success and failure seems cruelly arbitrary and the disappointment of those who don't make it is acute. But nobody's giving up.
Fantastic behind-the-scenes sing/dance documentary which gives much more insight into the audition process than all those TV shows.
In Every Little Step, life imitates art, art reflects life, and the distinctions threaten, quite pleasantly, to blur altogether.
Like show-business culture itself, A Chorus Line traffics in both cloying sentimentality and Darwinian ruthlessness, qualities that James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo's highly addictive behind-the-scenes documentary Every Little Step captures in abundance.
An entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the casting process of the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, Every Little Step turns on two perfectly-executed narrative strategies.
A briskly self-aware, thoroughly stage-struck portrait ... of a show that itself is a stage-struck theatrical portrait.
A fast-paced documentary that captures the angst, joys, and disappointments of the young hopefuls as they try out for a show that mirrors their pursuits.
Every Little Step never rises above being a very good showbiz documentary. But it's an engaging tribute to a groundbreaking musical.
The exuberant documentary Every Little Step revisits the genesis of the landmark show about the gestation and delivery of a Broadway musical.
essentially the story of people auditioning for a show about auditions
Timeless truths about the lives and personalities of dancers, that dancer/choreographer/director Michael Bennett captured in his hugely successful musical "A Chorus Line," comes across with vibrant energy in an entertaining documentary that follows the au
Latest News for Every Little Step
November 19, 2009:
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