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Do Movie Musicals Give Musicals a Bad Name?

Posted by: DCollingwood 09:20 pm EST 11/02/15

I was having a discussion with a friend earlier (one I've had a million times before it seems with so many others) trying to defend musicals. I get so annoyed with people when they say, "Oh, I don't really like musicals. I saw _______ or __________ and just thought it was silly. I don't like people breaking into song." I always reply, "Have you ever seen a bad movie? Did it turn you off to movies altogether? How about music? Did The Macarena ruin music and dancing?" Not to mention the lecture that follows about singing due to heightened emotional points in the story, yadda yadda yadda....

I digress. A lot of people have only had exposure to musicals through film and I argue that film just really cannot do justice to the Broadway Musical. I LOVE musicals, I studied them in college, but I really just feel that to get the intended effect you must see a good production on stage. That energy from the stage and from the audience cannot be replicated.

I was originally going to bash movie musicals in this post but then I started to revisit some titles and realized there are actually a lot of truly great ones out there! Some are just plain fun and enjoyable and some of them can give you that same magic feeling of being there live and in person. So I ask you folks, and let's focus on what does work and not what doesn't...what are some of your favorite movie musicals that really shine as examples of the art form and don't tarnish it's reputation?

Some of mine (I'm not counting Disney animated because they are mostly magical and that's not fair):

The Sound of Music
Chicago
Cabaret
The Great Muppet Caper
Mary Poppins
Grease
Funny Girl
Hedwig and the Angry Inch


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Let It Go...

Posted by: garyd 09:39 pm EST 11/02/15
In reply to: Do Movie Musicals Give Musicals a Bad Name? - DCollingwood 09:20 pm EST 11/02/15

One can not make someone "like" musicals be they stage or film. I don't understand why some do not care for the genre but they simply do not. "It's a mystery".


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re: Let It Go...

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 11:31 pm EST 11/02/15
In reply to: Let It Go... - garyd 09:39 pm EST 11/02/15

I always find it interesting when some people say they hate musicals but they make a few exceptions, like WEST SIDE STORY or GUYS AND DOLLS or whatever. That always makes me think, "Well, if you like even one musical, there are probably at least a few others you would like if you gave them a chance."


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re: Let It Go...

Posted by: garyd 11:44 pm EST 11/02/15
In reply to: re: Let It Go... - Michael_Portantiere 11:31 pm EST 11/02/15

lol, true. However, more often than not, at least in my experience, when pushed on why they like the exceptions, my momentary optimism is quickly deflated.


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re: Do Movie Musicals Give Musicals a Bad Name?

Posted by: richmurphy 09:39 pm EST 11/02/15
In reply to: Do Movie Musicals Give Musicals a Bad Name? - DCollingwood 09:20 pm EST 11/02/15

This might make the oddest double feature of all time, but two movies not on your list come to mind:

MY FAIR LADY - The new Blu-ray that just came out last week, with its restored image and especially its awesome soundtrack, is a revelation. Watching the film for the umpteenth time, I had more appreciation for some of director George Cukor's choices. In hindsight, keeping the musical "indoors" (even for the abstract Ascot race scene) was brilliant. The show didn't need "opening up", as movie musicals often try to do. Audrey Hepburn didn't do her own singing, true, but she acted the hell out of the part. Who WOULDN'T think that she was a princess at the ball? (Rex Harrison, of course, was peerless as Higgins).

SOUTH PARK: BIGGER LONGER AND UNCUT - Without its songs, you have a hilarious if profane comedy. With them, you have an early example of the meta-musical, with references from OKLAHOMA! to LES MIZ. And the songs are catchy, witty, and fit into the plot.


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re: Do Movie Musicals Give Musicals a Bad Name?

Posted by: lordofspeech 12:45 am EST 11/03/15
In reply to: re: Do Movie Musicals Give Musicals a Bad Name? - richmurphy 09:39 pm EST 11/02/15

Just re-read the second Josh Logan bio. It seems shooting MY FAIR LADY on the back-lot was an imperative for Jack Warner when he chose a director. (Logan wanted to shoot on location in England and was nixed. So, when he pitched himself for CAMELOT, he agreed to shoot it on the back lot. There was a financial kerfluffle, combined with Vanessa's not being available till the fiscal year was up, which made Jack Warner concede shooting locations in Spain with Franco Nero before the fiscal year was up, but the initial choices for directors of both these Lerner-Loewe works hinged on shooting them on the back-lot.)


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re: Do Movie Musicals Give Musicals a Bad Name?

Posted by: KingSpeed 12:37 am EST 11/03/15
In reply to: re: Do Movie Musicals Give Musicals a Bad Name? - richmurphy 09:39 pm EST 11/02/15

South Park movie is a top 20 movie all time


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