Your Thoughts on Musicals

Some musicals that I love:

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Never been a fan of musicals as a genre but there are a few notable exceptions:

Rocky Horror (for the sheer kitch value)
Zefferelli's 'Otello' (does an opera adaptation count as a musical?)
Fiddler On The Roof (one of MGM's finest moments; not only an excellent musical, but an excellent film in its own right)

For the sake of this discussion filmed operas do count as musicals and Otello is probably the best one I've seen thus far. I'd go so far as to say it's the best film version of Othello I've seen.

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Ditto. Sort of. I can really enjoy the music within the confinement of the movie and even sing along like an idiot, but it's not something I could sit around and listen to. The music I like is much different.

I actually find the opposite. If I watch and enjoy a musical, I can usually also enjoy the music from the film on its own - because it reminds me of the movie- but I probably wouldn't enjoy it had I not seen the film beforehand. Same goes for movie scores in general - I can listen to and enjoy the classical pieces from the LotR score even though I'm not a fan of classical music.

Film music can be very powerful in that way, I think. Even a 3-ish minute song can instantly take you back to the feelings you had while watching the movie.

Another I'd recommend, if you like Othello/Otello, is Omkara:



Supposedly Bollywood, but with less of the over the top moments you'd expect - an excellent Indian re-telling.

^ That's on here in Britain next week on Channel 4, really early in the morning though.

Highly recommended - don't be put off by the Bollywood connection, this is a seriously good piece of contemporary Indian cinema

La la laaaa! I love a good musical -both onscreen and onstage. There's something so moving and powerful about them

I'll watch this

Yeah I guess there aren't that many musicals that I do find myself boppin to when I'm not watching the movie. Starstruck, Phantom of the Paradise, The Muppet Movie. Popeye.

Then there are the ones that are like you described. I like the music but don't listen to it on it's own. My Fair Lady, South Pacific. Some of the stuff in Singin' in the Rain is like that but there are also a couple bits that I even find annoying (mainly the ones with Don O'Connor). The sense of humor and the Broadway Melody ballet sequence make me forget the parts I don't care for pretty fast though.

Those early Busby Berkeley ones... I can never tell, my taste in music is very fickle, but it struck me as very bland, generic, forgettable tunes/lyrics. I would say I actually dislike it, while still liking the movies somehow. Moulin Rouge (I think also Across the Universe) I liked some of the original songs but disliked many of the cover versions they used, so it's sort of a wash.

There may have been a very few original bits of songs in Moulin Rouge!, but I don't think there are anything but Beatles songs in Across the Universe, not that the covers sound anything like the originals in either movie.

I meant that I liked (many of) the original, non-movie versions of songs, as opposed to (many of) the movie cover versions. Not sure if we're even disagreeing or if I just confused you further...

There are exceptions of course. I'm not a fan of "voodly doo crochet avec snarf" no matter who sings it.

I don't remember there being anything but covers of pop hits in Moulin Rouge but there was a lot happening in that movie and I probably didn't take it all in on one viewing.

"disagreeing"? Moi?

I work in musical theatre, so I watch stage musicals everyday. So I think it's in my blood somewhere. I can't not like movie musicals. I do of course like some more than others. I am in constant battle over loving the classic MGM musicals vs. modern rock musicals.

Though because I work in theatre, I do get rather huffy over adaptions of great stage musicals made into movies, if and when they are done badly.

I did not like the The new version of The Producers. I felt it didn't cross over enough into the movie world. Felt like a stage show being filmed so there were long pauses where it felt like I should be hearing clapping and laughing.

I thought Rent was pretty good. It's one of my faves and they adapted it fairly well. I loved how most of the cast was from the original stage production.

The latest Chicago is one of the best stage to movie adaptions I've ever seen. It really let it break free of the stage and enter into movie world, but didn't lose the magic in the process.

I am a bit scared to see the new Rock of Ages movie as the stage version is one of my new favourite musicals and the trailer scares me. I think Tom Cruise is actually perfect for the character he is playing, but I worry about Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin. They are very different from the original roles.

I do however have high hopes for Les Miserables. The trailer looks fantastic.

In other news. Rocky Horror is one of my all time favourite stage musicals and movie musicals. Both are AWESOME.

So in conclusion, I like movie musicals. Though mainly because I'm a really big fan of spontaneous group dancing.

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Everything was a cover or a medley of covers, except for Come What May, which ironically is probably the best one.

They weren't all pop hits. La Complainte de La Butte is a French waltz song.

Les Mis looks good. I felt Hugh Jackman's singing is a little weak and Amanda Seyfried is surprisingly good, as is Anne Hathaway. Russell Crowe's not bad and Eddie Redmayne sounded good but will he pull it off?

Best left in the past imo, unless it's by South Park creators.

Really?!

It's on a DVD, but Ben Vereen in Pippin directed by Bob Fosse just doesn't get any better.

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