Diana Spiers

Having seen the stage show three times, the first being the original in the early 80s and the last at the London Palladium a couple of years ago , I was interested to see the film. I was disappointed. Grizabella was poorly cast and her memorable song so beautifully rendered by Elaine Paige lacked strength. Dame Judi Dench excels at everything she does but without being accused of gender discrimination, Old Deuteronomy is a part where a male should be cast. Brian Blessed is a hard act to follow. The choreography was brilliant and the stars from The Royal Ballet company were mesmerising. The CGI images created by "furring up" humans was brilliant. Twitching ears, flicking tails - perfect. The film was rather too protracted. One critic described the film as "sexually perverted". Should he have written "purrverted"?. His review was harsh. Some films I can watch twice, but not this one.