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"
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
6.8/10
Director: Allan Arkush
Starring: P J Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young, Mary Woronov, Paul Barte...
"Hey, ho, let's go" with free-spirited Vince Lombardi High student P.J. Soles, as she literally blows the roof off the school and overthrows tyrannica... Read more
All That Jazz (1979)
7.8/10
Director: Bob Fosse
Starring: Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Roy Scheider, Leland Palmer, Ben Vereen, Cliff Gorm...
Bob Fosse casts Roy Scheider as basically himself in this semi-autobiographical musical extravaganza. He's a talented director/choreographer who loves... Read more
Hair (1979)
7.6/10
Director: Milos Forman
Starring: John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo
Exceptional adaptation of the musical stars Treat Williams as a hippie who meets John Savage, a youth from Oklahoma bound for Vietnam. Forman moves th... Read more
The Rose (1979)
7/10
Director: Mark Rydell
Starring: Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest
Bette Midler makes her starring debut an event as she lights up the screen in a familiar tale of an entertainer on her way down from the heights of st... Read more
A Little Night Music (1978)
5.7/10
Director: Harold Prince
Starring: Diana Rigg, Elizabeth Taylor, Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne Down, Hermione Gingold
Stephen Sondheim's musical, based on Ingmar Bergman's film "Smiles of a Summer Night," receives a lavish big-screen adaptation. The story concerns the... Read more
Grease ( Blu-ray ) (1978)
7.2/10
Director: Randal Kleiser
Starring: Frankie Avalon, Jeff Conaway, John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channi...
The movie version of a play that got it's start in a bus barn in Chicago stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as California high schoolers addic... Read more
Sextette (1978)
3.2/10
Director: Ken Hughes
Starring: Mae West, Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, George Hamilton...
Mae West's swansong is this bizarre musical comedy in which the bleach blonde diva puts her honeymoon (with Timothy Dalton) on hold while she goes off... 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
The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
7.3/10
Director: Steve Rash
Starring: Gary Busey, Charles Martin Smith, Don Stroud
Gary Busey's outstanding, Oscar-nominated (for Best Actor) performance as Buddy Holly makes this one of the great Rock 'N' Roll movies of all time. Ba... Read more
The Wiz (1978)
5.3/10
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor
A film based on the smash Broadway musical, which itself was based on L. Frank Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz'. Featuring Diana Ross as Dorothy, with Nipsey... Read more