Musicals

[Chris B]

I've always been biased against musicals for some reason. I love classic films, but I just won't watch a musical. The only one I saw growing up was Funny Face (is that the name? With Barbara Streisand as Fanny) and it was because I was forced for school. I watched Refer Madness due to my love for the original film, but it didn't inspire me to seek out others in the genre. Recently I've been watching more older films and am thinking of watching some musicals. So far I've seen Gentlemen Prefer Blondes which I loved. Next I have Bye Bye Birdie, Sound of Music, West Side Story and South Pacific that I plan on watching. I'm also considering Carousal which sounds interesting.

Any musical fans out there? If so, what are your favorites? Any ones I should stay away from? Now that I think about it, I have seen Rent and thought that was terrible. I find I'm more afraid to watch modern musicals more than anything. I hear Chicago is great, but some of the cast members annoy me so I haven't given it a chance yet.

[EricMontreal22]

Haha I'm a HUGE musical theatre/theatre in general fag--have performed and seen a ton of musicals and help mod two forums about them (well one's specifically a Sondheim forum--Stephen Sondheim being hands down my fave theatre writer ever...)

Umm where to start. Well, for a variety of reasons, it's a sad but true fact that musicals almost always work much better on stage than on screen--and many of my fave musicals (like Sondheim's entire ouevre except for the so so screen version of Sweeney Todd) have never even been made into movies. Or you have ones, an infamous example being a Chorus Line, that are brilliant on stage but when adapted to movies nearly every possible bad choice is made. Chicago is good but I think overated--it works much better in the Fosse original than in Rob Marshall's watered down film version. I'm interested to see what he does with another stage musical I love, Nine, though I know he's already cut half the songs. (I'd love to see Rob Marshall film the Bacharach musical Promises Promises though)

West Side Story is a good movie adaptation (even with some poor casting) partly because Jerome Robbins from the stage version was allowed to direct and choreograph it. Carousel is one of my fave "old" musicals--a surprisingly serious musical from the 40s but the movie watered down some elements (due to censorship they couldn't show one character commiting suicide) and it's poorly filmed. I'm nto a huge Rent fan but the movie is awful--another example of taking a good stage musical and making a mess of it (whoever thought the hack Chris Olumbus was a good choice to direct it should be shot) you can get on DVD a filmed version of the stage show though which is much better

Cabaret is perfect ofcourse but is also VERY different from the stage version (many diff songs, a different plotline). Fosse's movie version of his own Sweet Charity is another fave of mine largely cuz of the brilliant dance numbers. ]

It's hard to recommend titles because musicals can be so different--it's a medium to tell a story more than a genre...

Oh and Funny Face is an Astaire/Hepburn musical--the Barbra Streisand one is Funny Girl

[KSlater]

I'm probably your worst nightmare because I love musicals.

My top musicals are:

- The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

- West Side Story

- An American in Paris

- Singing in the Rain

- Gigi

- Funny Girl

- The Young Girls of Rochefort

- Chicago

- Sweeney Todd

- Carmen Jones

- Everyone Says I Love You

- Hairspray

Sort of musicals:

- Fame (Alan Parker version 1980)

- Sparkle (1976)

There are others, but that's probably enough to list. LOL. Umbrellas is my favorite. People either love it or hate it. It's in French and is entirely in song and it's a bittersweet story. I think it's Catherine Deneuve's first film -- she's about 16 or 17 in it.

Rochefort is another French musical with Deneuve and her sister. Gene Kelly also stars in it (and speaks french -- he's very sexy in that film).

Umbrellas is well known for its score by French composer Michel Legrand and for its use of brilliant color throughout the film. The color of sets is equally as important as the story and music. The film was restored after years of neglect and looks great.

Everyone Says I Love You is an odd musical by Woody Allen. If you want to try something different, that might be the one. People who should never sing do sing in this movie. LOL

Anyway, enough from me.

[P.J.]

I love Gigi, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, White Christmas, and High Society. Hairspray is good---and not only because my two year old nephews were hooked on it.

I personally stay away from Grease---but I think that's about Olivia Newton John.

[All My Shadows]

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, plz.

[DRW50]

Musicals work for me when they manage to tell good story as well as singing and dancing, or if the actors have such chemistry together, nothing else matters/there are some dazzling numbers that get you through some of the dead spots.

The former:

Footlight Parade

Swing Time

Meet Me in St. Louis

The latter:

In the Good Old Summertime

Summer Stock *

Kiss Me Kate

* This has a gorgeous scene where Judy, who is falling in love with her sister's fiance (Gene Kelly), goes to the front porch and sings "Friendly Star", pouring her heart out into each word. Then as she finishes ("there you are...there you are..."), she turns, viewers see that Gene has been outside the entire time, as confused as she is. And rarely will you see such a look of pure love and adoration as you will see there.

I also have a space in my heart for Fame, although the movie sort of falls apart. "Out Here On My Own", "Hot Lunch" and "Fame" and even "I Sing the Body Electric" are classics.

I don't care that much for the "big" musicals that were so overproduced and taken so seriously. I would love to just see some "the hell with it" type of stuff. The Astaire and Rogers musicals, at their best, managed to convey this. Swing Time, most of the numbers start off so casually, you really almost believe this is happening. There is no OMG THIS IS WHERE THEY DANCE AND SING!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Even though I don't speak the language, and the actors don't actually sing the songs themselves, I think Bollywood does a much better job with their musicals and the musical sequences. There's some really good subtitled Bollywood flicks out there, and if you can stand Hindi-pop music, you might want to check them out. Musicals seem to be embedded into the Indian culture.

Their movies are sooooo soapy and melodramatic too...

[alphanguy74]

Well well well.... MUSICALS. I like a few, and most consider them all cheesy! But Im good, I own it! I was also lucky enough to see Michele Lee do "Hello, Dolly", I LOVE her, and she's really made for musical theatre, I still can't resist singing "Nobody Does It Like Me" (She sang this in "Seesaw") whenever I walk into hobby lobby and see the feather boas hanging there. As a boy, I used to ask for one for christmas every year. Now, here are some of my favorites :

Pufnstuf (Who could resist Mama Cass with a plastic rat on her head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZzfM05tSfM

Beach Blanket Bingo (My favorite song Annette ever sang) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4ziPPFs8Uw

And Linda Evans miming to another woman's voice in Beach Blanket Bingo:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1n6qy_fly-boy_fun

Another musical/trash/camp classic Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpe6f_in-the-long-run_music

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[DRW50]

Here's the "Friendly Star" number.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhOapiNETgs&feature=related

[Toups]

I don't watch a lot of musicals but "Moulin Rouge" is my favorite - Nicole Kidman still looked hot (before the botox happened) and I love the songs that she and Ewan McGregor sing. If Nicole wasn't in it I probably would never be interested in seeing it - same thing with the upcoming "Nine".

[EricMontreal22]

Alphanguy I usually love your taste but you have crap taste in musicals (Valley of the Dolls is NOT a musical by any definition anyway )

I assumed cuz he had Kylie in his avatar that Chris would know Moulin Rouge (though she just has a cameo)

I admit it's partly that I'm a theatre freak, but I do think musicals are one genre that just work somuch better on stage than on movie screens--hard to know quite why (I suppose one reason is theatre looks more artificial or stylized anyway so it's less odd when people sing and dance--plus it's alwasy more impressive seeing a liveperformer do those things). But there definitely are a lot worth checking out...

[EricMontreal22]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the three musicals director Demy did with Deneuve and Legrand--Peau D'Ane (Donkey Skin), an anachrnoistic fairy tale is the third, and was the first one I discovered as we had to watch it in grade 1 (I was in French Immersion). Really at the top of my movies of all time but I admit they're an acquired taste.

[DRW50]

"I'll Plant My Own Tree" is a masterpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P-iKbFD3fU&feature=related

And how can you forget this slightly seasick showstopper?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJTj5BHivFM&feature=video_response

Those lyrics are all so hilariously terrible, especially on "Tree." I guess they used up all their money on that gorgeous song Dionne Warwick ushers the movie in with. I still think that is one of the biggest jolts to go from that quiet, sedate opener to the forced camp that is the rest of the film.

[EricMontreal22]

HAH I couldn't believe it that the famous Andre Previn song (which Bacharach so expertly arranged and produced) was done for such a junky picture...

[KSlater]

OMG! I can't believe there's someone else who loves Demy musicals!!! I had read a review about the restoration of "Umbrellas" and went to see the premiere in SF. The filmmaker's widow was there and she spoke about the film and the painstaking process of restoring the movie. Seeing it on the big screen was such a treat.

You're right that they are an acquired taste. I have driven my family insane with my love for those movies. I have the soundtracks to Umbrellas and Rochefort, know every word by heart. I haven't seen Peau D'Ane (Donkey Skin) though.