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Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway

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RENT: Filmed Live On Broadway
Advertising poster for RENT: Filmed Live On Broadway
Directed byMichael John Warren
Produced byJustin Wilkes
Jon Kamen
StarringAdam Kantor
Will Chase
Renee Elise Goldsberry
Michael McElroy
Justin Johnston
Eden Espinosa
Tracie Thoms
Rodney Hicks
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
The Hot Ticket
Release date
September 24 2008
Running time
150 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

RENT: Filmed Live On Broadway is a 2008 Sony Pictures Entertainment film release of the complete Broadway musical Rent, incorporating the September 7, 2008 final performance and the closing night celebration. The film had a limited theatrical release between September 24 and 28, 2008 in more than 500 theaters with high definition digital projection systems in the U.S. and Canada. According to Sony Pictures Releasing President Rory Bruer, it was the first live Broadway show to be available in major North American movie theaters.[1] The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 3, 2009.

As Rent neared the completion of its 12-year run on Broadway, Sony Pictures Releasing decided to film the occasion of the final performance. The film is edited from footage shot at the September 7 final show as well as a day of shooting on August 20th. It includes a reprise of "Seasons of Love" featuring both the final cast and cast members from past productions, including the original Broadway cast following the finale of the show proper.[2][3][4]

Reception

In comparing the film with the stageplay, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "Nothing can compare with seeing a show conceived for the stage in an actual performance. But the cinecast of Rent, staged directed by the original's Michael Grief and for the camera by Michael Warren, comes close. It's electrifying. Jon Kamen and the wizards at radical.media have utilized state-of-the-art high-definition video and digital audio technology to make the show come alive. Thanks to the gifted cinematographer Declan Quinn (Leaving Las Vegas, Monsoon Wedding), it practically jumps off the screen... ...For the first time ever, audiences across the country who couldn't see Rent and watch members of the original cast join the new cast onstage for the final curtain reprise of 'Seasons of Love', can share the experience".[3] Of the film itself, Broadway World wrote, "the film is a dynamic way to bring the show to audiences across the country one last time"[5]

Release

Rent was released on DVD & Blu-Ray, in Region 1, on February 3, 2009 and on 21st September 2009 on Region 2.[6][7] Both releases include featurettes on the ending of the show: "RENT: The Final Days on Broadway" looks at the cast and crew's final days as well as the filming; "The Final Curtain Call" looks at the final reprise of "Seasons of Love"; "The Wall" looks at the famous backstage wall on which hundreds of messages have been written; and "The Final Lottery" which documents the final lottery for tickets. There will also be a PSA for the National Marfan Foundation.

The Blu-ray disc will also have some exclusive special features including two more featurettes, a PSA for the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation, and BD-Live functionality. The featurettes are to be entitled "Home" - A Behind-the-Scenes look at the theater that was transformed into the home for RENT, and "Casting" - Bernard Telsey talks about casting the show for the last 12 years.[7]

Cast

(In order of appearance, starting with the eight major characters)

Rodney Hicks and Gwen Stewart are the only cast members who appeared in the original Broadway cast version, and Stewart is the only one to reprise her roles (although Hicks was also a Benny understudy in the original). Tracie Thoms, who played the role of Joanne in the film version, and Shaun Earl were the only cast members featured in the film. The character "Sue", a member of the Life Support group, was re-named "Lisa" in this version.

References

  1. ^ "Carmike ups the 'Rent'; Cinemark sings opera". timesrecordnews.com. Retrieved 06 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Isherwood, Charles (September 17 2008). "525,600 Minutes to Preserve". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b Peter Travers (September 12 2008). "Hot Ticket: 'RENT,' Live On Stage, Comes to a Multiplex Near You". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "BWW TV EXCLUSIVE: 'RENT:Filmed Live On Broadway' Teaser!". Broadway World. September 22, 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  5. ^ Varley, Eddie. "BWW TV:'Rent: Filmed Live On Broadway' Star Justin Johnston's 'Musings of an Angel'". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 08 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ Broadway World, DVD release date, Retrieved 12-20-2008
  7. ^ a b Home Theater Forum, DVD / Bluerau release date, Retrieved 12-20-2008
Quotes
  • Qwipster: "...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... ...Luckily for everyone witnessing the play-on-film, the performances, music and writing shine through enough to make it worthwhile."
  • 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: (google 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."
  • 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."
  • CinemaBlend: "...the movie version of Rent contains extreme close-ups and angles no theater audience could have seen... ...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... ...There was something really brilliant about seeing the actors perform."[unreliable source?]
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