There are plenty of musicals that stand out as among the upper tier of the genre, but few are as easily recognized as both defining and reinventing it at the same time. Cabaret, winner of 8 Oscars, and only missing Best Picture on the technicality of releasing in 1972, pushed the boundaries of the possible abilities and sensibilities available to a musical feature film, and the effects of the new stage it built can be felt all the way to last year’s Les Miserables, which brings forward the surprising power inherent in a showcase of song that is not only not happy, but delivers a variety of emotion based on a solid exposition of the singer’s circumstance. The following of Jean Valjean’s musical efforts closely resembles the now iconic shift in the performance of Cabaret‘s theme song as we work our way to the end of the film.
- 2/13/2013
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Chicago – It’s easy to see why “Cabaret” was such a phenomenon when it was released in 1972. The film not only tackles issues of sexuality that the musical genre had largely ignored up to that point, it features the kind of evocative visual compositions and performances not often seen in the genre. It is a “serious musical.” And audiences and critics embraced it by bringing respect to a genre not known to have much, awarding the film eight Oscars, more than any movie that did not win Best Picture (“The Godfather” happened to come out the same year). Recently released in a restored WB digibook edition, it’s a great film for the musical collector to own on Blu-ray.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
With that praise out of the way, let me say something kind of blasphemous, and this is coming from a gigantic fan of the musical genre, I don’t think...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
With that praise out of the way, let me say something kind of blasphemous, and this is coming from a gigantic fan of the musical genre, I don’t think...
- 2/11/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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