Musicals
As soon as sound was introduced to the movies, the movie musical was born. The musical was one of the most popular movie entertainments from the 1930s through to the 50s, before falling out of favour at the end of the 60s for audiences now being weened on Vietnam, race riots, political assassinations, flower power and psychedelia. The musical still continued onwards, albeit in a different form, with various efforts such as "Cabaret", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Grease", "Hair", "All That Jazz" and "The Blues Brothers" appearing over the next decade. More recently, "Moulin Rouge" and particularly "Chicago" hark back to the glory days of the musical.
Right: Liza Minnelli does "Cabaret"
Cabaret (1972)
7.8/10
Director: Bob Fosse
Starring: Michael York, Marisa Berenson, Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Helmut Griem
Winner of 8 Oscars, including Best Director (Bob Fosse), Best Actress (Lisa Minnelli) and Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey) and widely regarded as one... Read more
Funny Face (1956)
7.1/10
Director: Stanley Donen
Starring: Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, Kay Thomas
Fred Astaire is a fashion photographer, Audrey Hepburn the shy young girl he makes over into a top model in this lavish musical with a winning Gershwi... Read more
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
7.8/10
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: John Cameron Mitchell, Andrea Martin, Michael Pitt, Miriam Shor, Alberta Watson
Stepping back into the high-heeled shoes of his acclaimed off-Broadway play's title character, director/co-writer John Cameron Mitchell stars as the b... Read more
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
7.8/10
Director: Jacques Demy
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon
A beautifully restored version of Jacques Demy's classic, bittersweet musical of two young lovers (a luminous Catherine Deneuve and handsome Nino Cast... Read more
Cats (1998)
7.4/10
Director: David Mallet
Starring: Elaine Paige, John Mills
The longest running musical in Broadway and West End history and a worldwide phenomenon. Andrew Lloyd Webber has personally overseen and executively p... Read more
Moulin Rouge (2001)
7.6/10
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh
A phantasmagorical display of sight and sound, 'Moulin Rouge' is a musical-romance set circa 1900 in and around the famous Paris nightclub. Ewan McGre... Read more
Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
7/10
Director: George Roy Hill
Starring: Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing, James Fox, John Gavin, Beatrice...
The 'Roaring Twenties' live on in this Oscar-winning musical comedy of innocent girls, wild flappers, romance and crime. Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler-... Read more
La Vie en Rose (2007)
7.6/10
Director: Olivier Dahan
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean-Paul...
An epic portrait of iconic French singer, Edith Piaf, rooted in a maginificent performance from Marion Cotillard who channels the legendary performer... Read more
The King And I (1956)
7.5/10
Director: Walter Lang
Starring: Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno
Walter Lang's remake of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is thematically buttressed by the daring choreography of Jerome Robbins ('West Sid... Read more
Grease (1978)
7.2/10
Director: Randal Kleiser
Starring: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Jeff Conaway, Stockard Channing, Frankie Aval...
Get ready to rock 'n' roll with the hit screen rendition of the Broadway musical look at '50s teen life. Can greaser gang leader Danny Zuko (John Trav... Read more