Musicals. They are a bit rubbish, aren’t they? They are certainly the most divisive of film genres, with people split into factions of love and hate. Those who love them, really love them. Everyone else is… lets just say “suspicious” at best.

But alas! There are plenty of examples of film musicals that even the most hard headed hater could raise a smile at. As ever, we first need the rules of the game.

1. I’ve ignored cartoons. The animated musical is a genre all on its own, and Disney probably produced all of them. We could easily fill a list with The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Fantasia, The Lion King, The Lady and the Tramp… So I have left them out completely.

2. Films that have a musical element don’t count either. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert has as much music as your average musical, and it is sung by the cast. Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet has cast members singing, and the music is as important to the story as anything else. Again, The Blues Brothers has characters bursting into song at every turn, just like a musical. See also, 8 Mile. In all four examples the music is vital, but in all three examples the music highlights the story, rather than tells it. A good rule of thumb is that if the music isn’t diegetic, it can’t be a musical.

3. This list obviously isn’t for anyone who is a massive fan of the genre. This was compiled by someone who loves films, and loves music, and loves theatre, but for whatever reason gets worried when the three are mixed. This isn’t a list of the greatest musicals of all time. I accept that Grease, The Sound of Music or Carousel are better musicals than some of the ones featured here- but that is missing the point. These are films which your average musical-hating film fan could watch and enjoy without thinking they were actually, you know, A Musical.

Bugsy Malone - Alan Parker (1976)

Fans of the classics can rest easily, knowing that there is no way that this film will ever be allowed to be remade. In theory this should have been unwatchable- an all singing, all dancing, all child cast? Urgh. In actual fact, it works fantastically well. So well infact, that you believe you are watching a cast of actors rather than a cast of kids. The undoubted star of the show is Jodie Foster, as Tallulah, who had appeared in Taxi Driver six months earlier.

The Wizard of Oz- Victor Fleming (1939)

It would take a very hard hearted individual to dislike this classic. Yes, you might have seen it every Christmas since you were born. Yes it is saccharine. But in terms of storytelling and visual impact, it is as good an example as you will ever find. With that in mind it is also worth remembering that this film was released in 1939, the same year as Gone With The Wind, and only 12 years after the very first full length motion picture with sound.

Little Shop of Horrors - Frank Oz (1986)

If, like me, you are wary of the musical, then this is as good a place to start as any. Featuring all the great Saturday Night Live comedians of the day; Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, John Candy, Christopher Guest and…eh… James Belushi, LSoH was like a musical version of Ghostbusters. Bill Murray ad-libbed all his parts, the puppeteers were veterans of the Jim Henson Workshop -indeed one of whom was Brian Henson, Jim’s son- and the Greek chorus are all named after great Motown girl bands. What other boxes do you need ticked?

Sweeney Todd - Tim Burton (2007)

Burton had already dabbled with the musical genre in The Nightmare Before Christmas (excluded from the list on account of rule 1). He revisited the genre in 2007 with Johnny Depp in as the eponymous demon barber. The film is everything you would expect from Burton- dark, violent, funny, gothic and featuring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Burton’s style is perfect for adapting Sondheim’s musical, especially if you aren’t a fan of musicals. There is more blood in this film than your average Tarantino film, so any images of twee musical numbers are killed off with the first victim.

Moulin Rouge - Baz Luhrmann (2001)

Baz Luhrmann knows his pop music. I have to admit that it took the somewhat restrictive choice of films offered on a long haul flight to get me to watch this one, but it was well worth it. The dialogue, and songs used in the film are taken from classic love songs from the past 50 years, which is great. What really raises this film above the level of most musicals is the way the music and the visuals work together. There can be few film-makers in the world who have as distinctive a style as Luhrmann, and who can mix tragedy and comedy so readily.

Dancer In The Dark - Lars Von Trier (2000)

Nothing could be more at odds with the ethos of Dogme 95 than a musical, yet Von Trier manages to make this as “real” as either of the other films in his Golden Heart Trilogy. Bjork plays Selma, a Czech immigrant to the USA, who is slowly going blind and does all she can to stop the same fate befalling her son. Bjork won the best actress award at the Cannes film festival for her performance, and more than any other film on this list, it represents a true collaboration between the filmmaker and his star, as it could easily have become an over long music video. The voice of the film is Bjork’s, while the look is all Von Trier.

Rock ‘N’ Roll High School - Allan Arkush (1979)

It’s a musical featuring The Ramones taking over a high school. Do you need any more reasons?

The Producers- Mel Brooks (1968)

Although Mel Brooks’ masterpiece has now become a bona fide Broadway play, and has been remade (a remake of a play about a film about a play?), the original will always be the best. Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel play men with an elaborate plan to make money by creating a musical that is sure to lose money. The real joke of the film is that Brooks managed to get around being labelled a musical, by making a film about making a musical. Could any other director but Mel Brooks have made a film with a song like “Springtime for Hitler” in 1968? Just as important as A Star Is Born or The Player, The Producers is as good as comedy musicals get.

Jailhouse Rock - Richard Thorpe (1957)

Although music videos weren’t popularised for another 25 years, Jailhouse Rock was effectively just that. Lots of shots of Elvis looking effortlessly cool. Lots of opportunity for the hips to get swinging. Lots of opportunities for him to corrupt another Youth of America with a curl of the lip. Is it a great film? Not especially. But if you want an example of why Elvis was The King…

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Howard Hawkes (1953)

Howard Hawkes was one of the great auteur’s of the classic Hollywood period, and could turn his hand to any genre he wanted to make a classic film in. He was as able in Film Noir (The Big Sleep) as he was in the gangster film (the original Scarface), and as capable of delivering a classic Western (Rio Bravo) or a war film (To Have or Have Not) as he was delivering a classic comedy (His Girl Friday). With Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Hawkes was ably assisted by two of the most iconic actresses of the comedy musical- Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe. Not only is this film fun, it is funny, and is a great example of the comedy timing of the two leads.

Tommy - Ken Russell (1975)

It is a musical (boo), set to the music of The Who (yay!). And it features Oliver Reed (YAY!!!!). And Jack Nicholson. And Keith Moon. And one of the best soundtracks (and theme songs) ever. Another one that is almost too good to be considered a musical.

Anything we have missed? Let us know…

This entry was posted on Friday, September 26th, 2008 by Thom Watt and is filed under Community, Film Texpertise. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.