Movie Musicals

[ILove]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 2:41pm

For a Film and Literature class, I have to watch two movies from the same genre, made at least 20 years appart, and compare them. Of course, Im doing musicals, and although I know of a bunch, I was wondering if you guys could suggest some? I was going to do Rent and something else, but Im not sure. I also kinda wanna do Cabaret; any suggestions?

[Holly Therese]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 2:46pm

I would personally do an older one with Howard Keil (spelling?) or Judy Garland, then compare it to a more modern one. (Rent, Phantom, etc.)

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 2:54pm

Do A Star Is Born (1954) and Cabaret. We just watched them in sequence for our musicals class, and the similarities/differences are astounding. Especially the parallels between Judy singing "Lose that Long Face" and Liza singing "Cabaret".

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 2:55pm

Maybe CABARET and CHICAGO?

[tz0o]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:11pm

I second "A Star Is Born" and "Cabaret"

[landryjames]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:53pm

I like the Star is Born and Cabaret idea, but they are not 20 years apart.

The possibilities of this project are endless. I kind of wish I had to do it....

[mikeyb16]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:55pm

my suggestion 2 u is PRODUCERS AND MARY POPPINS. But those 2 mite be a bit far than 20 soz

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 4:41pm

WEST SIDE STORY or OLIVER! and CHICAGO

[philcrosby]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:05pm

A STAR IS BORN and CABARET is also a good combination because they are both "diagetic" musicals -- the songs in both are always clearly songs, often performance pieces, not stylized elevated dialogue.

For example, all of Judy's songs in STAR are either musical numbers sung with a band or while filmiing a movie she is in, the one exception the number she "performs" for her husband at home ("Someone at Last") to show what she did all day at work. There are never any "book" numbers.

Same with CABARET. With the exception of one song ("Tomorrow Belongs to Me") all the songs are performances at the Kit Kat Club. The intercutting Fosse does enables them to be used as commentary on the action, but again, they are not "book" numbers. ("Tomorrow Belongs to Me" in the film is used as if it were a pre-existing Nazi rally song.)

The film of CHICAGO is similar to CABARET in that all the songs are either live performance numbers or in Roxie's imagination (which is why cutting "Class" was exactly the right thing to do).

[AHedley]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:42pm

Well Oklahoma has always been my favourite musical but when I saw it on the London Stage with Hugh Jackman as Curley it was awesome. He is a multi talented actor, has a superb voice and when he dances - well no wonder he won the Fred Astaire Award for Dancing on Broadway.

It is a rip roaring musical "with plenty of heart and plenty of hope" it is a lively, happy, very dramatic and of course romanticpeppered with comedy with some of the most famous songs in the musical world. He has a wonderful charamatic personality which leaps out at you from the stage.
Updated On: 4/21/06 at 05:42 PM

[AHedley]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:43pm

Well Oklahoma has always been my favourite musical but when I saw it on the London Stage with Hugh Jackman as Curley it was awesome. He is a multi talented actor, has a superb voice and when he dances - well no wonder he won the Fred Astaire Award for Dancing on Broadway.

It is a rip roaring musical "with plenty of heart and plenty of hope" it is a lively, happy, very dramatic and of course romanticpeppered with comedy with some of the most famous songs in the musical world. He has a wonderful charamatic personality which leaps out at you from the stage./

[AHedley]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 5:43pm

Well Oklahoma has always been my favourite musical but when I saw it on the London Stage with Hugh Jackman as Curley it was awesome. He is a multi talented actor, has a superb voice and when he dances - well no wonder he won the Fred Astaire Award for Dancing on Broadway.

It is a rip roaring musical "with plenty of heart and plenty of hope" it is a lively, happy, very dramatic and of course romanticpeppered with comedy with some of the most famous songs in the musical world. He has a wonderful charamatic personality which leaps out at you from the stage./

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 6:02pm

If you're set on doing RENT, you might also want to look at a couple of the Fred & Ginger movies (specifically Top Hat) and compare the lifestyles and set design, and how each is unique to its time period.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 6:07pm

If you are going to do Rent, think of comparing with the 1933 Busby Berklel film "Goldiggers of 1933" because, in a strange way, they have parallels. Both are about the lengths the poor of n=New York go to survive. In one, they are starving artists. In the other, starving chorus girls.

[pemberlee]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 7:13pm

If you want to do Rent I would pick West Side Story because both are set in New York and of course both have awesome music.

[spellingbee_ROCKS007]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 7:28pm

ummm....Sound of Music??

[jaesdare]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 8:16pm

Summerstock is great it's with judy garland and gene kelly it's slightly reminiscent of Babes in Arms but with older people.

[ILove]

Posted: 4/22/06 at 1:57pm

Thank you very much!

Cabaret and Chicago
West Side Story and Rent
A Star is Born and Cabaret
Oliver and Chicago
Gold Diggers of 1933 and Rent
Top Hat and Rent

Now I just have to narrow it down...