AFI Top 25 Musicals

 

 

We've finished the Musicals category.  While I certainly can't dispute their top choice, I still consider The Sound of Music the most-loved musical of all time.  Fiddler on the Roof will always be my favorite.  And I really, really don't get the love affair AFI (or anyone, for that matter) has with Judy Garland.

 

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

On the Town

Stars - Gene Kelly (#15); Songs - New York, New York (#41); Musicals (#19)

The story was thin, but the movie starred Gene Kelly, so it's all good.  I just love watching him glide while he dances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7CIgWZTdgw

Show Boat

Stars - Ava Gardner (#25); Songs - Ol' Man River (#24); Musicals (#24)

I was actually supposed to watch the 1936 version of this movie, but I can't find it.  I ended up watching the 1951 version.  It worked out ok, because then I got to see an Ava Gardner movie, so it counts for that, too.

Well, what's there to say about it?  It started off with slaves smiling in the cotton field.  Somehow I don't think they actually smiled all that much.  And the Magnolia/Ravenal story wrapped up awfully quickly.  And we never did find out what happened to Julie.  And the Ravenal/Kim part at the end totally creeped me out.

But I liked "Ol' Man River" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkDU1ai5P1I

A Star is Born (1954)

Stars - Judy Garland (#8); Songs - The Man That Got Away (#11); Passions (#43); Musicals (#7)

Chorus girl Garland attracts the attention of big screen star (and drunk) Mason.  He makes her a star, and eventually they marry.  But her star rises as his fades and he doesn't deal with it very well.

It could have been an okay story, but Judy Garland can't act worth anything.  And since she knew he was a drunk when she married him, I didn't feel all that sorry for her.  And how does a song make #11 when I've never even heard of it?

Overall, I'd say you can skip this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1Ugqh471IE

Top Hat

Stars - Fred Astaire (#5), Ginger Rogers (#14); Songs - Cheek to Cheek (#15); Musicals (#15)

Great songs, great dancing - Top Hat is easily my favorite Astaire/Rogers musical.  Loved it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3dt0mUQoQg

The Band Wagon

Stars - Fred Astaire (#5); Songs - That's Entertainment (#45); Musicals (#17)

Washed-up movie star Fred Astaire tries to make a comeback on Broadway.

Cyd Charisse is beautiful (although her name is Cyd).  Astaire is funny looking.  But they definitely can dance.

One thing though - why do musicals of this era always have to have the big boring ballet number?

(start this clip at 0:45)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSksuNR7i9k


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

Funny Girl

Quotes - "Hello, gorgeous!" (#81); Songs - People (#13), Don't Rain on My Parade (#46); Passions (#41); Musicals (#16)

I don't like Barbra Streisand, but I have to admit she was well suited for this role. I liked this movie much better than I thought I would. And Omar Sharif was actually rather handsome, which was good, because I didn't care for him at all in Doctor Zhivago.

Then again, I just plain didn't care for Doctor Zhivago, and it's not really Omar Sharif's fault.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9i-nAiP5-M

Cabaret

Top 100 (#63 - Revised); Songs - Cabaret (#18); Musicals (#5)

Sigh...I don't even know where to begin. I just very disliked this movie. Liza Minelli can sing, I'll give it that. But the story line, the demeaning way it portrayed women, Joel Grey's creepy makeup...it was all just a big yuck for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmRsIp3XB1Q

The King and I

Songs - Shall We Dance? (#54); Passions (#31); Musicals (#11)

I love this movie. I love the songs. I love Deborah Kerr's dresses. And I love the ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGM-7hoNSWc

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Top 100 (#100/98); Stars - James Cagney (#8); Cheers (#88); Quotes - "My mother thanks you..." (#97); Songs - The Yankee Doodle Boy (#71); Musicals (#18)

I have to admit that, while I remember watching this, I don't recall much about this movie. One thing I do remember is that upon seeing it, I decided that I liked the name Mary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-x20vVneDg

All That Jazz

Stars - Jessica Lange (Current); Musicals (#14)

Ick. I fast-forwarded through huge chunks of this movie. How on earth is it the 14th best musical?

It's based on Bob Fosse's life, and the premise is that he's hovering near death after suffering a heart attack and is looking back on his life. His unappealing, sorry life. Maybe he was successful on stage, but his private life was just tasteless.

The movie had an artsy-fartsy uptown feel to it because of its dreamlike sequences. And that's about the most positive thing I can say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Vmsl_CuEg

Guys and Dolls

Stars - Marlon Brando (#4); Songs - Luck Be a Lady (#42); Musicals (#23)

Here is my testimony and confession - I believe I have developed a small crush on Marlon Brando (although it is the screen Brando to whom I am referring. Off-screen he was pretty messed up). Scout agrees.

Brando was wonderful as Sky Masterson. Frank Sinatra was scrawny and old-looking.

I liked this movie very much. How did I go this long without seeing it?

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

The Sound of Music

Top 100 (#55/40); Cheers (#41); Songs - The Sound of Music (#10), My Favorite Things (#64), Do Re Mi (#88); Passions (#27); Musicals (#4)

(Do me a favor - open another window and play this link while you read the rest of this post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7pxbCAHyi4 )

The Sound of Music may be #4 on the musical list, but I still say it's the most beloved musical of all time. Sure, Fiddler on the Roof is my personal favorite, but Sound of Music is number one in so many other ways.

The songs, the story, the scenery, Julie Andrews, and most definitely Christopher Plummer all contribute something good to this movie. It's absolutely magnificent.

I'm so glad Christopher Plummer finally saw and can appreciate what a wonderful movie this is. It's actually kind of sweet how he says it. He gives all the credit to "Julie". And she is indeed remarkable. But he gets some credit. After all, he's the one looking over the car at her.

I would love to continue to swoon about this movie, as it is truly one of my favorite things. But I'll leave you with this parting thought -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2PsNnj1ftQ

West Side Story

Top 100 (#41/51); Songs - Somewhere (#20), America (#35), Tonight (#59); Passions (#3); Musicals (#2)

On one hand, there's Maria's accent (both Natalie Wood and Marni Nixon), Tony's wussiness, and songs like "Who Knows" and "One Hand, One Heart". Plus also the fact that they 'fell in love' just like that.

On the other hand, there's Rita Moreno, wonderful dancing, and songs like "America", "I Feel Pretty", and "Officer Krupke".

In this case, the positives win out. Enjoy the great moments and laugh at the rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjy9acXwovE

Meet Me in St. Louis

Stars - Judy Garland (#8); Songs - The Trolley Song (#26), Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (#76); Musicals (#10)

A bit sappy, but sweet, Meet Me in St. Louis is the story of a family facing an unwanted job transfer. It has some fun songs and a few boring ones as well. It also has, in typical 1940s fashion, a child actor who thinks talking loudly is the same as acting.

I still don't like Judy Garland, but this movie is fine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0odXnKhKBxQ

Moulin Rouge!

Songs - Come What May (#85); Musicals (#25)

I know all of my readers feel differently about this movie than I do. I didn't like it. Sure, Ewan McGregor is, well, Ewan McGregor, and that's a happy thing. But I didn't care for the story, or the characters, or Nicole Kidman, or Baz Luhrmann's need to fill up every inch of the screen with busyness (which I know is his thing, and I know it works with this movie. I just didn't care for it).

Feel free to disagree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5p56hEK-1A&feature=related

The Wizard of Oz

Top 100 (#6/10); Thrills (#43); Stars - Judy Garland (#8); Cheers (#26); Quotes - "...We're not in Kansas anymore" (#4), "There's no place like home" (#23), "I'll get you, my pretty..." (#99); Songs - Over the Rainbow (#1), Ding Dong the Witch is Dead (#82); Villains - The Wicked Witch of the West (#4); Top Ten - Fantasy (#1); Musicals (#3)

This really is a good movie, one that deserves to be called a classic. And I think it was brilliant to do the Kansas scenes in black and white and the Oz scenes in color. Sure, we're all used to it. But imagine watching it in 1939 - color was a new thing. People went in and started watching a black and white movie and all of a sudden Dorothy steps out of her house into a magical colorful world. Wow!

Judy Garland has never been one of my favorites, and she's definitely too old for the part. I don't think it would have stood the test of time had Shirley Temple been Dorothy, though. People would still watch it, but it would be cutesy, not classic. Margaret Hamilton was wonderful as the witch. My favorite, though, is Ray Bolger. I love him!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOKK8mAkiUI

An American in Paris

Top 100 (#68); Stars - Gene Kelly (#15); Songs - I Got Rhythm (#32); Passions (#39); Musicals (#9)

Oh, Gene Kelly, how I love to watch you dance! Well, except for the long ballet sequences. Truth be told, I fast forward through them. And then there's Leslie Caron. Maybe she can dance, but she looks like she's 13 (I thought maybe it was the ugly haircut, but then I realized it's the same hair 40-year-old Stockard Channing has in Grease). And sorry, but she's not all that pretty. I'm not sure why Gene Kelly would be so entranced by her.

But anyways, this movie has Gene Kelly and great Gershwin songs and 's wonderful enough for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvglHa_P9BA

42nd Street

Stars - Ginger Rogers (#14); Quotes - "...You've got to come back a star!"; Songs - 42nd Street (#97); Musicals (#13)

It was a little bit confusing keeping the characters straight, and I have no idea what the 'asbestos' thing was at the end. But other than that, this Busby Berkley musical was fun, and very 1930s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuqJJMSK15U

Grease

Songs - Summer Nights (#70); Passions (#97); Musicals (#20)
Okay, so the cast is too old (who on earth thought Stockard Channing could play a teenager?), but I am still hopelessly devoted to Grease.
The songs are just about the best in any musical. Who doesn't love John Travolta crooning Oh, Sandy? Or the whole gang chiming in on Summer Nights? This movie is the one that I want to sing along with. Come on, join me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJUrt0O7uY
and Mel, this is just for you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNAPQKNAiC0