Miramax Films
Ah , movie musicals . Not everyone loves them — in fact , some people outright detest them . However , their impact on cinema , particularly American cinema , is undeniable . From the genre ’s halo days during the Golden Age of Hollywood , when stars like Garland and Berlin dominated the liberal silver screen , to explosive and colourful innovative sweat that prove it is far from bushed , the movie musical has prevail against all odds .
Unlike other film musical genre , deciding which flick melodic is the best is n’t as hard as you ’d trust . Perhaps it ’s because there ’s probably one musical per play orcrime movie out there , or perhaps it ’s because the out-and-out best entries into the genre truly tower above the residuum . Whatever the reason , the practiced motion picture musical comedy are timeless and revere , recognized by even the most casual filmgoer , and pretty dear by pretty much everyone — even those who would n’t be caught dead singing in the rain .
Miramax Films
10. West Side Story (2021)
“ Sacrilege ! ” you might be shouting at the belief that Steven Spielberg ’s 2021 remake ofWest Side Storyis better than Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise ’s 1961 classic , but it ’s the the true . Deal with it . Spielberg ’s interpretation is as vibrant and electrifying as the 1961 original , full of energizing melodious numbers that actually enhance rather than merely grace the plot .
A product of their time , both moving-picture show reflect the conditions under which they were made . The 1961 variation , like the melodic itself , is a complicated examination of the American ambition that tries to have its bar and eat it too . However , the 2021 update feels more sensitive and devout , and while it still commits to the baffling and honestly dissatisfactory tropes about what it entail to be Latino , it at least tries to find a middle priming coat between what should be and what actually is . However , its visual bravado and heartfelt sentiment are irresistible . Steven Spielberg has conquered sci - fi , diachronic dramas , biopics , and adventure movie ; withWest Side Story , he definitively prove there ’s no genre he ca n’t pull out off .
West Side Storyis uncommitted tostream on Disney+ .
9. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Baz Luhrmann is a divisive movie maker ; chances are you are either really into his maximalist stylus or entirely appalled by it . No movie constitute his trademark large - than - sprightliness , absurdist overture comfortably than the 2001 jukebox musicalMoulin Rouge!In her first Oscar - nominate bend , Nicole Kidman stars as the courtesan Satine , who start a dearest affair with the charming but penniless writer Christian , played by a dashing Ewan McGregor , while they attempt to mount an challenging play at the titular ball club .
Moulin Rouge!is the pure combination between style and substance . Yes , the bombastic tone pretty much dominate every scene to the point of being overpowering , but that ’s very much the compass point . Like the Parisian turning point that provides the title and setting , Moulin Rouge!is all about the experience . The plastic film wants you to palpate everything , transmit a jolt of electricity through your veins with each enlarged line reading and volatile melodious issue . Powered by an outstanding Kidman and a scene - stealing cast of supporting thespian , Moulin Rouge!is a musical like no other . Spectacular , spectacular indeed .
Moulin Rouge!is uncommitted torent or purchase on Amazonand other digital vendors .
8. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Without a question , Beauty and the Beastis the top achievement not only of the Disney Renaissance butDisney as a whole . An adaptation of Jeanne - Marie Leprince de Beaumont ’s 1756 eponymic fairy tale , the movie follow the unconventional lovemaking story between a immature woman and a seemingly awful Beast who is really a prince cursed by an femme fatale .
smasher and the Beastcaptures all the magic the Mouse House had during its acme . Sweeping , romantic , and show - stopping , the film is an explosion of creativity and slyness that captures the animation spiritualist at its most powerful . Many of Disney ’s best Song come from this photographic film , includingBe Our Guestand the titular theme , which gain the 1992 Academy Award for Best Original Song . peach and the Beastreigns supreme as the best the life medium has to offer ; it ’s bewitching , deceitfully complex , and laughably entertaining , a on-key cinematic masterpiece that cement Disney as a titan in the manufacture without adequate . Tale as old as time to be sure .
Beauty and the Beastis available tostream on Disney+ .
7. An American in Paris (1953)
An American in Paris ‘ Best Picture Oscar remains contest today . However , whether you believeA Streetcar nominate Desiredeserved the honor or are a unswerving defender of this springy production , the verity continue Vincente Minnelli ’s movie is among the good musicals in account . Gene Kelly star as the titular character , a former gilbert trying to make a living as an artist in post - war Paris .
Although the genre has had many suitable director , arguably , no one has master it as well as Vincente Minnelli . An American in Parisis one of his crowning achievements , a delicious and wildly inventive creation from one of classic Hollywood ’s greatest filmmakers . The film is top by Gene Kelly , who brings to life the musical numbers with near - unlimited energy . share enviable chemical science with Leslie Caron — in her film unveiling , no less — Kelly is the film ’s gang leader , and everyone edge to his perfectly set measure . An American in Parisis the very definition of a musical , prise the formula without quite perfect it . But when the resultant is this good , who really worry about perfection ?
An American in Parisis available torent or purchase on Amazonand other digital trafficker .
6. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
There are rum icon of the Hollywood Golden Age , and then there ’s Judy Garland . The actress birth one of her most spirited and dazzling performance in Minnelli ’s 1944 musicalMeet Me in St. Louis . Told in vignettes throughout a year , the secret plan survey the Smith crime syndicate in the months leading to the 1904 World ’s Fair , focusing especially on the second - firstborn daughter , Esther .
Meet Me in St. Louisintroduced many tunes that would become staples of Garland ’s repertoire , mainlyThe Trolley Songand , of course , the nostalgic and generational - definingHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas . Like many musicals from the Golden Age , this one zoom on the back of its star . Garland is at her utter well : she ’s magnetic on the screen , effortlessly steer the plot of land through her interminably charming and deeply endear public presentation . There ’s an ingenuousness toMeet Me in St. Louisthat makes it digestible without seeming overly outdated . The film is , for lack of a better word , pretty , sweet , and harmless , like a pleasant-tasting comforter food at the conclusion of a especially grueling day .
see Me in St. Louisis available torent or purchase on Amazonand other digital marketer .
5. Chicago (2002)
Booze , sequins , two killer actresses , and all that jazz . In 2001 , the melodious was all but beat , with no major expiration in the music genre pretty much since 1996’sEvita — and the less we say about that film , the safe . Moulin Rouge!brought it back to animation with a shot of absinthe , but it was 2002’sChicagothat unfeignedly proved the musical was quick to rule . This Best motion-picture show - winning adaptation of the 1975 eponymic musical follows two murderess woman trying to make a name for themselves in 1920s Chicago .
Catherine Zeta - Jones and Renée Zellweger are dynamite together , play the now - iconic roles of Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart with wickedly scrumptious temptingness . The songs are evenly seductive and wonderfully betray by Rob Marshall in his feature directorial debut . Chicagofaithfully translates the musical ’s stage magic into the cinematic spiritualist , resecting its essence while enhancing everything that ’s already great about it .
It ’s fully grown , tatty , flashy , laughably contagious , and enticing , a on-key rape on the common sense that is no less sound in its observations of fame and infamy . It ’s not an overstatement to callChicagothe exclusive most important musical of the preceding fifty years ; every single musical from the 21st century is indebted to it in one way or another , and its legacy lives on over twenty years since its release .
Chicagois available tostream on Pluto TV .
4. Mary Poppins (1964)
Arguably , no film has ever blended animation with hot - natural process as well asMary Poppins . Walt Disney ’s passion undertaking , the picture show conform P. L. Travers ’ eponymic series about a charming yet stern and vain nanny-goat who aid a nonadaptive family living in 1910 ’s London . The film star Julie Andrews in an Oscar - winning purpose opposite Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson . The picture was a monumental commercial and critical success , earning multiple Oscar nominationsand scoring big at the box spot .
Mary Poppinsis a generous dose of old - fashioned magic that ’s sorely lacking these days . In her feature picture show introduction , Andrews is simply marvellous as Mary Poppins , playing the nurse as an ethereal yet somehow endearing figure . What she does in the use is nothing curt of extraordinary , brilliantly capturing a child ’s approximation of what an authority figure is while still keep her warm and engaging .
Andrews is the beating heart ofMary Poppins , dominate the scene with her magical presence and delicious vocalization . The songs , written and compose by the Sherman Brothers , are among the best in the Mouse House ’s catalogue , including germinal classics likeChim Chim Cher - eeandSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious .
Mary Poppinsis available tostream on Disney+ .
3. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Victor Fleming ’s 1939 classic adaptation of L. Frank Baum ’s novel star Judy Garland as Dorothy Gayle , a young woman transported by a tornado from Kansas to the wonderful state of Oz . There , she must work with the Scarecrow , the Cowardly Lion , and the Tin Man to follow the yellowed brick road , search for the wonderful Wizard of Oz .
The Wizard of Ozis a cinematic introduction . A brilliant display of accomplishment with just as much heart , the flick represents a before - and - after in American cinema . It was the crowning achievement of a remarkable year that saw the release of untouchable classics likeGone with the WindandStagecoach . The Sung introduced the Garland stapleSomewhere Over the Rainbow , a song that has surpassed the cinema itself to become an anthem for million .
The Wizard of Oz‘s legacy is far too great to put into Son ; it redefine what interview carry from musicals and it save dazzling us even today , thanks to its colorful visuals and catchy music . However , it ’s the story ’s cosmopolitan , insightful , and reassuring nature that still come across with us — and probably always will .
The Wizard of Ozis uncommitted tostream on Max .
2. Cabaret (1972)
“ What good is model all alone in your way ? add up , let the medicine act as . ” With those iconic words , Liza Minnelli enter the titular call of Bob Fosse ’s 1972 masterpiece , Cabaret , based on the 1966 eponymous musical . Set in the last days of the Weimar Republic when the Nazis rose to force , Minnelli stars as Sally Bowles , a nightspot Isaac Bashevis Singer who falls for a young English academic struggle with his sex .
Cabaretis , first and first , a showcase for Liza Minnelli , who delivers the performance of a lifetime as the helter-skelter Sally Bowles . The pic also introduced a few new song , includingMein HerrandMaybe This Time , while cement tune likeWillkommenandCabaretas timeless classics .
Beyond Minnelli ’s circuit - Diamond State - force operation and the timeless songs , Cabaretis a seminal entrance in the genre . Like all the best musical theater that come before , Cabaretchanged the fashion we see the genre . It ’s flashy and energetic , yes , but far less bombastic and enthusiastic than the musical comedy from the Golden Age ; alternatively , it ’s more intimate , sordid , and far more somber . In many ways , Cabaretis the opposite of what you might look from a melodic , but thanks to Bob Fosse ’s impassioned directing , it ’s no less seductive .
Cabaretis available tostream on Max .
1. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
There might be no biggersnub in the Best Picture categorythanSingin ’ in the rainwater . An ode to the last days of mum cinema , the picture stars Gene Kelly , Donald O’Connor , and Debbie Reynolds as three performers caught between the old mute techniques and the rotatory comer of sound . Kelly engineer and choreographed the film alongside the every bit fabled Stanley Donen .
Without a dubiousness , Singin ’ in the Rainis the best musical in American cinema . deeply influential and instantly iconic , the film preface many of the well - known sequences in the genre . From O’Connor ’s manicMake ‘ Em Laughto Kelly ’s generation - delineate performance of the titular number , the film is a gem treasure trove of song , matched by three of the essence performances that remain watershed in 1950s cinema .
Singin ’ in the Rainis exuberant and near - perfect , perfectly encapsulating what a musical should be . Every scene is striking , every song is overwhelming , and not a second is squander . There will probably never be a melodic likeSingin ’ in the Rain , a film that walk out the perfect balance between Sung , dance , wit , and love affair to craft a flawless cinematic experience .
Singin ’ in the Rainis available tostream on Max .
