Dressing The Dreams: Costume Designs delves into how the costume designs were put together. It features interviews with costume designer Sharen Davis and others who discuss how the glamorous costumes for the film were made and where the inspiration for them came from.

Center Stage: Theatrical Lighting delves into how the lighting was done for the stage numbers Interviewed here are theatrical lighting designers Jules Fischer and Peggy Eisenhauer, who discuss how they attempted to capture the essence of the live stage on film.

Also featured are various auditions and screen tests, which are a real treat to see how some of the performers came on board for the film. Beyonce Knowles’s screen test is by far the most elaborate and the most ambitious of any ever publicly seen.

Anika Noni Rose’s audition is noteworthy for displaying her power as a performer to adequately equal Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson. Also, Fatima Robinson provides her choreography audition with her energetic team of performers demonstrating her skills to the number “Steppin’ To The Bad Side”.

The Previsualization Sequences show each musical number set to montages of the rough sketches for each part of the scene. Rounding out the special features on the second disc is an extensive image gallery.

The Storyboards section show each musical number set to montages of the storyboards for each part of the scene. The Costume Design, Production Design, and Art Department Archive allow you to personally scroll through each department’s conception sketches.

While the film’s lofty ambitions often feels very heavy-handed and not every move transcends well from stage to screen, Dreamgirls is a fantastically entertaining and ingeniously-conceived fictional reverence to the peaks and pitfalls of the era of Motown.

The story is buoyed by a dazzling production and a phenomenal cast that all perform beautifully. The DVD is a must-own for the film’s hardcore fans, as it’s provided with an abundance of special features that will keep you engaged long after multiple viewings of the film itself.

Movie Grade: A
DVD Features Grade: A+
Overall Grade: A+