Saturday, December 05, 2015

Cabaret

The Younger Son hadn't seen this, so we took some time to rectify that. Cabaret is a 1972 musical directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. My favorite part of this is actually the sub-plot with Fritz and Natalia, which doesn't even get mentioned in most of the plot summaries.

trailer:



Here's If You Could See Her From My Eyes:



FilmReference.com closes with this:
Cabaret is an incredibly innovative film. Now regarded as a classic, the film's use of colour, the garishness of the costumes, the smokiness of the club, the brightness and exaggeration of the makeup emphasize the decadence of the time. The musical score and choreography are well crafted and performed, and are deliberately kept to the stage of the Kit Kat Klub ("Tomorrow Belongs to Me" is the only exception to this). Minnelli performs her songs emotively and convincingly, if anything she is too good for the small, decadent atmosphere of the Klub.
Slant Magazine gives it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. The BBC opens by saying "The first musical ever to be given an X certificate, Bob Fosse's "Cabaret" launched Liza Minnelli into Hollywood superstardom and reinvented the musical for the Age of Aquarius." FilmSite has some background and a detailed plot summary.

Empire Online concludes: "Winner of eight Academy Awards, this holds up as a great musical of style and sleaze. Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey are electrifying; director Bob Fosse's choreography and the camera work are scintillating." NPR has an interview with Joel Grey in which he talks about the effect the movie had on the entertainment industry.

It's listed in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Roger Ebert gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and focuses on Liza Minnelli's stellar performance. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 97%.

4 comments:

  1. I remember seeing it on network TV years ago, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I'm glad you shared this, because it brought back memories of how much I enjoyed the film AND how much I like Bob Fosse's work. He was a stellar choreographer and director.

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    1. Fosse played the Snake in The Little Prince film from 1974. Priceless.

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  2. Oh, this is a great film! I also liked "All that jazz".

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