User Reviews

Twelve years after Rent debuted on Broadway and swept across the consciousness of multiple generations (I'm in X), the curtain closed a final time in the theater on 41st St. That night was a culmination of Larson's realized, unrealized dream, witnessed by his parents and sister, and celebrated by the lucky hundreds in attendance that night. After the disappointment of Christopher Columbus's noble attempt, we finally have a definitive version of the musical to remember it by. This is it. This is the one.

All I could think, through laughter and tears, was "How much money did they spend to make that Hollywood version when all they needed to do was THIS? Set up a camera crew in the Nederlander theater and capture the show as it was intended to be seen."

Roger never sings from atop a butte here. :)

I'm sure there will be a selection of fans who were never able to see the show on Broadway or on tour who first loved the Columbus film and it's soundtrack (it's a great soundtrack, after all) and won't understand this Filmed on Broadway version without the context of being there. But, if you've never seen either version I suggest starting here. And for those of us who have seen it live, once or many times, here it is in a time capsule.

I appreciate the closeups. In the movie theater today, I wanted the crew to pull back a bit and show us the entire stage and staging more often. That's my only gripe and why I rate it a 9 out of 10. Then, I think about it on the small screen in your living room and how tiny the stage would look at that size and understand. This version is meant to take the experience home.

The bricks of the wall at the back of the stage, up where Mimi comes out to play? You can see their texture. I imagined the hands of every girl who played Mimi caressing their surfaces and thought, "We've never seen that before, not so close." The overlapping chorus of Angel buying Collins his coat, Roger introducing Mimi to Mark, and Joanne talking to Maureen on the phone has never been clearer, thanks to the camera cuts. The close-up of Angel as she's leaving the stage in death was beautiful.

The best testament to how well this transported me came afterward. My girlfriend and I walked out of the local cineplex fully immersed in Manhattan. It was jarring to see the trees of the suburbs and not the towers, noise, people, and cabs of the Theatre District. I drove away expecting the City's traffic, maybe a bridge, but we suddenly found ourselves in our hometown. So sad. I was hoping to stop at Grimaldi's.

In a word, beautiful. Now, I must admit I'm biased, given that I've seen RENT on Broadway eight times and can pretty much recite it in my sleep, but by any standards, I think this film is pretty amazing. I came into the whole RENT world fairly late, first falling in love with the 2005 movie and then, after seeing the show, realizing how truly horrible the 2005 movie was. RENT filmed live on Broadway seemed to me like a 'haha, in your face' to Chris Columbus. The perfect simplicity of this movie overshadowed Columbus' mangled, depressing version that was just all wrong.

Although I still missed the thrill of seeing the show live, of applauding along with the rest of the theatre when Mimi begins 'Out Tonight' or when Angel enters for 'Today 4 U,' this movie is pretty much the best you can get without actually seeing the show on Broadway. You see things you might miss live, the faded 'Only the good die young' emblazoned on the back of Roger's jacket, or the look of peaceful satisfaction that crosses Angel's face when Mark finally refers to her as 'she.' All in all, the solos and duets were amazingly done and gave you a whole new perspective on the show.

The one thing I wished the movie had focused more on was the ensemble numbers. For big numbers like 'La Vie Boheme' or 'Christmas Bells,' seeing everyone doing everything at once is kind of the point. When the camera zoomed in on individuals during these scenes, they lost a bit of their impact for me. However, having seen those numbers live previously, it was nothing that bothered me too much.

Overall, though, it was fabulous. As long as RENT is closed and I can't see it at the Nederlander, I'm perfectly happy with watching this version at home.

It's kinda sad that my favorite theater production has closed on Broadway after a 12-year run, even if I would never have gone and watched it there anyway. This movie was the final performance, captured on film.

I think it's unavoidable that I would draw comparisons between this cast and the casts of the touring troupe I watched in Singapore and the original cast whose album I've played over and over. And also unavoidable that I would think this cast doesn't quite compare, simply because it's a much more spiritual experience to watch Rent live, and because I'm so familiar with the original cast recording.

Most of the cast I was fine with, but I thought Renee Goldsberry, who played Mimi, was a bit too feral and not vulnerable enough, and Justin Johnston, who played Angel, wasn't feminine enough. There was also a bit too much energy in the air, which is understandable, since it was the last performance, but while it worked for the faster numbers, it made the emotional scenes a bit too dramatic.

But I quibble, the actors perform well and the director knows the production intimately enough to have the cameras capture all the right angles to best highlight each scene. And this is Rent - I went through the same emotional roller-coaster as when I first watched it. And while this isn't quite the same as watching it live, it comes pretty darn close. Everyone should watch this.

I gave this a ten because of how important this play is to me. It's one of my favorite "movies", despite its flaws. I watched it for the first time almost ten years ago in school. I loved it since then and have watched it once or twice a year ever since.

This is my favorite version of Rent. While the original cast is OBJECTIVELY the best, since this was the first production I watched, this is my favorite cast. They all capture their characters so well. The movie is good too, but they cut a lot out of the play version, and this one has it all ("Goodbye Love", "Halloween", etc.)

Speaking of which, I LOVE THE SONGS!! Seriously, the lyrics and music are so so good. I love the rock vibe, they're all so catchy and fun, my favorites being "What You Own", "One Song Glory", and "Another Day".

The story is raw, gritty, and real. It is so sad and emotional, but uplifting at the end. It shows we have to live in the moment, and we have to live every moment like its our last. This play captures real life: poverty, illness, love, sex, addiction, depression, etc. It focuses on being an artist, either diving into work to block out the pain or, in contrast, doing NOTHING. Roger and Mark are two sides of the same coin and must learn to meet in the middle, to pursue their artistic work without "giving up" or "selling out."

Speaking of characters, Roger is my favorite. His depression is so real, after getting over his addiction, he now has aids, and knows he will die soon. A lot of the characters have aids, and they all have different perspectives in their illness (whether to give up or live it up). Roger and Mimi could be considered toxic, but to me, they are so REAL. They are my favorite couple, but let's also mention all the gay couples!! This was a big deal when this play came out in the 90s. While there are some stereotypes in here, the fact that there are openly queer characters in this is amazing. This was when I first learned about gay people (shocking, I know). Also, I am queer myself, so this movie was not only a wake-up call, but an awakening.

So, this play is NOT perfect at all. But it is so meaningful to me. The message is so important, the songs are all great, the acting in this version is AMAZING, the characters are all so REAL, and the story is what stands out. My favorite musical hands down, and one of my favorite "movies" (I'm so glad this was filmed!!)

Thank you, Jonathan Larson!

While I love Rent with a passion this "officially sanctioned" DVD is majorly lacking. The final cast was not it's best. and I really don't like how they claim its the "Final performance" this DVD was made over a course of three performances and only a small portion is from the final show on 7 September 2008. They lied.

I love Will Chase and he could not have been a finer Roger. Kantor was a horrible Mark but he did work well with Will in 'What You Own' and Renee probably was the most shining element of the show. Her 'Out Tonight' was majorly fierce which was a major lacking part of the 2005 film. Tracie Thoms; the one person everyone wanted to see in the final months. Her Joanne live wasn't that great but then again her Joanne in the film wasn't great either.

Gwen Stewart in her ensemble roles and the Seasons of Love Soloist was the greatest part like always.

The filming of this looks like Mtv butchered it by making it all music video like with sixteen different bad closeups and camera angles.

Go see the Tour or amateur productions. This is not worth it. Seeing it live with your own eyes in a theater is so much better.