Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Baz Luhrmann
9
Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
John Landis
8
Chicago (2002)
Rob Marshall
7
Dreamgirls (2006)
Bill Condon
6
Abuzer Kadayif (2000)
Tunc Basaran (Turkey)
5
The Lion King (1994)
Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff
4
Neredesin Firuze (2004)
Ezel Akay (Turkey)
3
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Lars von Trier (Denmark)
2
Nine (2009)
Rob Marshall
1
The Blues Brothers (1980)
John Landis
Description
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films (e.g. Down Argentine Way) simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" (also called "production numbers") — as with Carmen Miranda's set pieces. A subgenre of the musical film is the musical comedy, which includes a strong element of humor as well as the usual music, dancing and storyline.
Musical Films of the Classical Sound Era
The 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s are considered to be the golden age of the musical film, when the genre's popularity was at its highest in the Western world.
The First Musicals
Musical short films were made by Lee De Forest in 1923-24. After this, thousands of Vitaphone shorts (1926–30) were made, many featuring bands, vocalists and dancers, in which a musical soundtrack played while the actors portrayed their characters just as they did in silent films: without dialogue. The Jazz Singer, released in 1927 by Warner Brothers, was not only the first movie with synchronized dialogue, but the first feature film that was also a musical, featuring Al Jolson. Still, only Jolson's sequences had sound; most of the film was silent.
The first all-talking feature, Lights of New York, included a musical sequence in a night club.
The Broadway Melody (1929) had a show-biz plot about two sisters competing for a charming song and dance man. Advertised by MGM as the first "All-Talking, All-Singing, All-Dancing" feature film, it was a hit and won the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1929.
Warner Brothers produced the first screen operetta, The Desert Song in 1929.
This was followed by the first all color all talking musical feature which was entitled On with the Show (1929).
Hollywood released more than 100 musical films in 1930, but only 14 in 1931. By late 1930, audiences had been oversaturated with musicals and studios were forced to cut the music from films that were then being released.
Musical Stars
Musical stars such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were among the most popular and highly respected personalities in Hollywood during the classical era; the Fred and Ginger pairing was particularly successful, resulting in a number of classic films, such as Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936) and Shall We Dance (1937).
Vera-Ellen, considered being the best dancer among her colleagues and professionals in the half century.
Important Examples of the Genre in Chronological Order
The Jazz Singer
1927, featuring Al Jolson, was not only the first movie with synchronized dialogue, but the first feature film that was also a musical
Lights of New York
The first all-talking feature included a musical sequence in a night club.
The Broadway Melody (1929)
Advertised by MGM as the first "All-Talking, All-Singing, All-Dancing" feature film, it was a hit and won the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1929.
The Desert Song (1929)
Warner Brothers produced the first screen operetta.
On with the Show (1929)
This was followed by the first all color all talking musical feature
Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929)
The most popular film of 1929 was the second all-color all-talking feature. This film broke all box office records and remained the highest grossing film ever produced until 1939.
Top Hat (1935)
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers pairing was particularly successful, resulting in a number of classic films. This is one of them.
Swing Time (1936)
Another Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers pairing.
Shall We Dance (1937)
Another Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers pairing.
Love Happy (1949)
Marx Brothers' final film featured Vera-Ellen, considered to be the best dancer among her colleagues and professionals in the half century.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Starting in 1944 with Meet Me in St. Louis, the Freed Unit worked somewhat independently of its own studio to produce some of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
Easter Parade (1948)
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
On the Town (1949)
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
American in Paris (1951)
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
The Band Wagon (1953)
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
West Side Story
The 1960s the success of the films
The Music Man
The 1960s the success of the films
My Fair Lady
The 1960s the success of the films
Mary Poppins
The 1960s the success of the films
The Sound of Music
The 1960s the success of the films
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show was originally released in 1975 and was a critical failure until it started midnight screenings in the 80's where it achieved cult status.
Bugsy Malone
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
Lisztomania
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
New York, New York
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
Grease (1978)
It was considered a smash hit; its songs were original compositions done in a 1950s pop style.
Hair
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
Annie
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
Little Shop of Horrors
It was based on an off-Broadway musical adaptation of a 1960 Roger Corman film, a precursor of later film-to-stage-to-film adaptations.
Evita
One of the most popular and well-known examples of the genre.
The Little Mermaid
Starting with 1989's The Little Mermaid, the Disney Renaissance gave new life to the Film Musical
Other successful animated musicals included:
Aladdin
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Pocahontas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Prince of Egypt
Anastasia
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Beauty and the Beast
The Lion King
Moulin Rouge!
Across the Universe
Enchanted
Chicago
The Phantom of the Opera
Dreamgirls
Sweeney Todd
Mamma Mia!
Hairspray (?)
Nine
Under the mainstream radar, there have been acclaimed independent musical films, such as:
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Dancer in the Dark
And foreign musical films, such as:
8 Women
The Other Side of the Bed
Yes Nurse! No Nurse!
The Princess and the Frog
This 2009 The Princess and the Frog film was considered a throwback to the Disney musical style.
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
Burlesque
Tangled
Lagaan (2001)
A Bollywood movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Devdas (2002)
A Bollywood movie was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Rang De Basanti (2006)
A Bollywood movie was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
A Bollywood movie won Academy Award.
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