Mel Brooks is a genius. That statement could literally be about any of his films, but in this case it is about the musical version of The Producers. First and foremost, using most of the original Broadway production cast in the film was smart, especially because most of them were also accomplished screen actors. Nathan Lane portrays Max Bialystock, an arrogant man whose main objective … Continue reading Movie Musical Monday: The Producers (2005)
If you look into movie musical history, you will notice one large thing. You will notice one large gap from, roughly, the mid 1980s until the early 2000s. You’ll see that Walt Disney animated films filled a gap that movie musicals were leaving. I suppose that you could qualify these films as “movie musicals”, but they weren’t movie musicals in the traditional sense. They were … Continue reading Movie Musical Monday: Chicago (2002)
When it was announced that Disney would be producing the screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods, fans of the stage musical were nervous as hell. They were excited. Well, excited and scared. You see, Into the Woods is a musical that is easily made for the screen. That was not the problem. The problem was how Disney, a company known for … Continue reading Movie Musical Mondays: Into the Woods (2014)
The 1973 film adaptation of Godspell is what I think a mild acid trip while reading the bible would be like. A retelling of the Gospel of St. Matthew, the film Godspell takes place in 1970s New York City. We start by watching John the Baptist walk across a bridge. We are then introduced to, who we will discover, are Jesus Christ’s disciples, going about … Continue reading Movie Musical Monday: Godspell (1973)
The Last Five Years is a movie musical based on the stage musical of the same name. In short, it is the story of a relationship, from just after meeting to the failed marriage, over, well, you guessed it, the last five years. The thing about this musical is that it is told in two different ways. One story line, Cathy’s, is told in reverse … Continue reading Movie Musical Monday: The Last Five Years (2014)
I have never once understood the dislike for this film. Maybe it’s because it’s a “Jukebox Musical”. Maybe it’s because of the differences the film has to the Broadway show. Maybe it’s the cast. Honestly, I don’t really know. Rock of Ages, in short, is a film about “a small town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset strip, while pursuing their Hollywood … Continue reading Movie Musical Mondays: Rock Of Ages
No joke. I think I have conditioned myself to fall asleep whenever I watch this film. Not because it’s bad or boring. Not at all. This just happens to be one of my “bedtime movies”. Whenever I want something to play on my television while I try to fall asleep, this is one of the films that I put on. And 9 times out of … Continue reading Movie Musical Mondays: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Real talk: this is one of my all-time favorite movie musicals. I find very few flaws within it (mind you, the version that I own is the director’s cut, as I do have trouble with the original theatrical ending. But, I’ll get into that in a little bit). So, for those of you who don’t know, Little Shop of Horrors is a movie musical that … Continue reading Movie Musical Mondays: Little Shop of Horrors
“Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd. He served a dark and a vengeful god. What happened then, well, that’s the play And he wouldn’t want us to give it away. Not Sweeney. Not Sweeney Todd. The demon barber of Fleet Street” These, my friends, are lyrics that you will not hear in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony award winning musical of the same … Continue reading Movie Musical Mondays: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Newsies is one of those films that, while it flopped in theaters upon its original release, came back with a vengeance when it was released on VHS. For those of you who don’t know, Newsies is a musical loosely based on the Newsboy’s Strike of 1899, when Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst hiked up the cost of papers for the young boys delivering those papers. … Continue reading Movie Musical Mondays: Newsies
