Musical Films they are tacky. This is a fact! Who, in real life, needs to demonstrate a feeling using a song or dance? If that wasn’t enough, to guarantee more emotion, the musical number needs to be colorful, exuberant and grand. Who will forget Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) twirling through the snow singing ‘Let it Go’ in “Frozen”? Subtlety goes a long way… But think quickly: whoever doesn’t like tacky should cast the first stone?
In American cinema, musical is a genre, just like Drama, Comedy, Action, War, Horror, Adventure, Fantasy or Science Fiction. However, he is one of the few who moves so easily between Love and Hate. When information comes that the film’s genre is musical, the reaction is quick! And the reactions are jubilant! Those who defend it arm themselves with passionate arguments that would scare even the most fanatical. And those who hate use similar justifications.
Whether you like the genre or not, it is impossible to admit that every now and then Hollywood hits the target.
MONDO MODA selected the Ten Musical Films preferred by editor Jorge Marcelo Oliveira.
What is the selection criteria? The musical numbers are diegetic, that is, they are linked to the plot, but do not replace the dialogue.
It is not enough to bring to the screen a Broadway musical, such as “Les Misarables”, “The Phantom of the Opera”, “Dreamgirls”, in which the script is a piece of cake to the detriment of the grandeur of the production. Script, my friends, is still the fundamental point for a good film.
Cinema is, before anything else, the telling of a story. It does not need to be the classic format – beginning, middle and end, however, there must be a plot, in which the hero (or heroine), their journey and its conclusion will be introduced.
Victor/Victoria (1982 – Prime Video)
Director: Blake Edwards
Elenco: Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston e Leslie Ann-Warren
Cabaret (1972)
Director: Bob Fosse
Cast: Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Michael York, Helmut Grein and Marisa Berenson
Chicago (2002 – Prime Video)
Directed by Rob Marshall
Elenco: Renée Zellweggar, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly e Queen Latifah
Singing in the Rain (1952 – MAX)
Directed by Stanley Donner and Gene Kelly
Elenco: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen e Donald O’Connor
The Sound of Music (1965 – Disney Plus)
Director: Robert Wise
Elenco: Julie Andrews e Christopher Plummer
Grease – Nos Tempos da Brilhantina (1978 – Prime Video)
Directed by: Randal Kleiser
Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton John and Stockard Channing
To Pink (1979)
Director: Mark Rydell
Elenco: Bette Midler, Alan Bates e Frederic Forrest e Harry Dean Stanton
Hairpray (2007 – MAX)
Director: Adam Shankman
Elenco: John Travolta, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfeiffer e Christopher Walker
My Fair Lady (1964 – Prime Video)
Director: George Cuckor
Elenco: Audrey Hepburn e Rex Harrison
Yentl (1983 – Prime Video)
Directed by: Barbra Streisand
Elenco: Barbra Streisand, Amy Irving e Mandy Patinkin