Cabaret (1972)

#63, added in 2007 replacing Stagecoach

My insomnia is in full swing so I thought I'd take a break from staring at my ceiling and kick this off! I just finished watching Cabaret (again), thanks to "Watch Instantly" from Netflix (I promise they're not sponsoring this blog, but it's seriously the best deal on movie rentals). I've seen Cabaret several times before and it's one of my favorites. It's one of the last good movie-musicals in my opinion. For a while after, it seems, there weren't many "legit" musicals being made. There were several pop/rock musicals (Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair) and lots of indie/shticky/animated musicals (Rocky Horror, The Muppet Movie, several Disney movies, etc.) Grease was in '78 and Victor/Victoria in '82 and, of course, all the 80s musicals (Footloose, Flashdance, Xanadu, even Labrynth). I'm clearly oversimplifying, but I'd say Cabaret was one of the last of "that era". I'd say the reason more recent musicals have failed is because the music is so awkward cutting into "realistic" dramatic scenes (Rent, The Producers, Across the Universe,). Classic musicals (The Wizard of Oz, Guys and Dolls, all of the Rodgers and Hammersteins) never had that problem. The songs somehow worked perfectly in context so neither the music nor the dialogue felt out of place. Cabaret is the same.

Most remarkable to me, is the juxtaposition of the chaotic, boisterous life inside the cabaret and the impending war in the country. This is obviously the point of the movie but the skill with which the stage performances and outside violence are cut together is truly masterful (this is most clear during the mud fight on stage and the first Nazi beating on the steps outside). I also particularly liked the faith the film has in its audience. No one likes watching a movie where every minute detail is spelled out. It's much more effective when we can put some pieces together ourselves and figure out that every number we see in the cabaret is a commentary on the state of Germany at the time.

Lastly, I have to mention that Joel Grey is unbelievable in the role. It's no wonder he won both an Oscar and Tony for the part because he literally becomes someone else. I've seen the show on stage a couple times and every production seems to feel the need to have the Emcee drop the comic act at some point to really force the impact of the statements he's making. Joel Grey keeps it light and ironic the whole time which is so much more devastating ("if you could see her through my eyes, she wouldn't look Jewish at all.") Liza Minelli is great too (I realized I've only ever seen her in this movie and Arrested Development and I know next-to-nothing about her as a person or performer) but it seems very similar to what's always portrayed as her own personality and therefore slightly less impressive. The choreography is incredible and I don't think I ever realized that Bob Fosse directed (hence the brilliant choreography).

Overall, I saw A+ to Cabaret which is powerful and moving three decades later.


Props to Wikipedia for "musical film" listings by year.