Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway

Rent: Filmed Live On Broadway
Advertising poster for RENT: Filmed Live On Broadway
Directed by	Michael John Warren
Produced by	Justin Wilkes Jon Kamen
Starring	Will Chase Eden Espinosa Michael McElroy Gwen Stewart Tracie Thoms Jay Wilkison
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing The Hot Ticket
Release date	September 24 2008
Running time	165 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

RENT: Filmed Live On Broadway is a 2008 Sony Pictures Entertainment film release of the complete Broadway musical RENT.

As the musical Rent neared the completion of its 12-year run on Broadway, Sony Pictures created the film to document the occasion. Using footage shot at a live performance in August and footage of the September 7 closing night show, they included the closing festivities which featured original cast members of the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical who had joined in to celebrate the farewell. Initially released for only a few days, this became the first time an actual Broadway show has been available in movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada.

Critical reception

• Vince Leo of Qwipster: "there's just no perfect way to capture the contagious energy and bristling thrills of a live performance in Manhattan's Nederlander Theatre on film", "...you're not going to get the same experience as seeing the play. In some ways that can be better, and in some ways worse.", "It's hard to imagine that being able to see players up close can be distancing, but that's exactly the result.", "Luckily for everyone witnessing the play-on-film, the performances, music and writing shine through enough to make it worthwhile."
• Broadway World: "the film is a dynamic way to bring the show to audiences across the country one last time", "This memorable presentation will feature special closing night extras, with original cast members of the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical joining in to celebrate in the farewell festivities"
• Times Record News, reporting Rory Bruer, president of Sony Pictures Releasing: "This is the first time that a Broadway show has been available in movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada, and I can’t think of a better occasion than the closing of ‘Rent’...", "It’s the show that defined Broadway for a generation..."
• CinemaBlend: "Filmed during several live performances of the Broadway show, the movie version of Rent contains extreme close-ups and angles no theater audience could have seen-- you see everything from Maureen's butt when she moons Benny to the sweat on Angel's brow. The sound is perfect, the images are crisp-- all in all, it was way more than I saw from the upper balcony at the Peace Center back in Greenville."
• FireFox: "Fans who think they have seen it all might find a few surprises thanks to those incredible camera angles. Small details like Roger’s tattoo of his dead girlfriend on his hand are quite vivid thanks, I suppose, to the HD tech. There was something really brilliant about seeing the actors perform"
• Cinematical: "But this isn't just the taping of some random performance -- oh no, cameras were allowed into the theater to record two special performances (one at the end of August and the final night), and it's a combo of these which will take theaters by storm"
• Christian Saint-Pierre of Voir: (French translation): "...the musical Rent left the poster Nederlander Theater Broadway after 12 years... For aficionados of the masterpiece... this is undoubtedly a mourning. To console some of these people, The Hot Ticket (a division of Sony Pictures Releasing's) proposes to attend the last performance of Rent in high definition, in a cinema across Canada and the United States. For this entire generation that has seen her life transformed by the credo 'No Day But Today', it is never celebrated."
• Chris Caggiano: "If you were, like me, deeply disappointed in the 2005 movie version of 'Rent', then you'll be very happy to learn that the new filmed version, called 'Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway,' is infinitely better. It has its quirks and flaws, but on the whole, it's a thrilling document of a landmark show."
• Jeff and Will: "It was stunning! After seeing the show a dozen times, I didn’t expect new nuances, but some of the camera perspectives really brought out some nice new things about the performance."

Soundtrack

Main Article: Rent (Movie soundtrack)

Cast

• Will Chase as Roger Davis
• Eden Espinosa as Maureen Johnson
• Michael McElroy as Tom Collins
• Gwen Stewart as Mrs. Jefferson
• Tracie Thoms as Joanne Jefferson
• Jay Wilkison as Gordon
• Shaun Earl as Paul
• Andrea Goss as Alexi Darling
• Rodney Hicks as Benjamin Coffin III
• Marcus Paul James as Mr. Jefferson
• Justin Johnston as Angel Schunard
• Adam Kantor as Mark Cohen
• Telly Leung as Steve
• Tracy McDowell as Mark's Mom

References

• Ward III, Aubrey (Sept. 26, 2008). "Movie Review: RENT - Filmed Live On Broadway (2008)". Firefox News. Retrieved 2008-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway at IMDb
• Official site for RENT: Filmed Live On Broadway at Sony Pictures Releasing
• CimamaRX.ro (Romania)