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| Cabaret
Year: 1972
Classification: Musical
Directed:
- Bob Fosse
Actors/Actresses:
- Liza Minnelli
- Michael York
A masterpiece, but the DVD extras are nothing special
This film is a masterpiece of modern musical theatre film. Fosse's work from camera angles to lighting and choreography is simply perfection. Minnelli, Grey and York are all excellent in their roles, and Kander and Ebb's songs add so much to each plot development, unlike other movie musicals, where the songs just seemed tacked on as an excuse for some singing and dancing.
The DVD contains a mini-documentary on the making of the film as well as the original theatrical trailer and interviews with all the stars, producers and staff involved (except Fosse). The remastering of the film is beautiful..the colors look better than ever and the sound is excellent.
Unfortunately, Fosse died in 1987 and somehow, without his commentary the DVD extras seem to be missing something. More time should have been spent in the extras on his life and his thoughts on the film. I've read several Fosse biographies and there's plenty of material out there that could been placed on the DVD.
This was my first ever DVD, and while I am happy with the quality of the picture itself, the extras seem a bit tacked on and not incredibly illuminating. Just scratching the surface of DVD potential really.
Life IS a Cabaret
Bob Fosse's "Cabaret" is simply one of the most brilliant musicals ever conceived. Liza Minnelli plays cabaret singer Sally Bowles, who has escaped to the Berlin of 1931 to lose herself in "divine decadence." Minnelli brings such gorgeous energy and flamboyance to Sally, making her irresistable to watch. Her best music numbers, "Mein Herr" and "Maybe This Time" bring the house down. Michael York plays Brian, a bisexual who manages to fall in love with Sally. Joel Grey brings his impish but diabolic Emcee to life as he did on Broadway. The songs are all winners and take place inside the Cabaret itself, so the dramatic flow is not disturbed by having characters break out into song. This makes the story seem all the more real and serious. And it is a serious musical, not to be taken lightly. This is the Berlin of 1931, just before the Nazis take over and cause immortal suffering. The glitz and glitter that Sally and Brian purposely lose themselves in begins to fall apart as Nazis begin to bring shadow of the Cabaret lights. Their world soon falls into disillusion, and at the film's climax we see the reflection of Nazis in the audience.
The serious subtext aside, Cabaret is an upbeat film. Sally Bowles and her romance with Brian make up a charming story, with an ending that we know must happen, because nothing in their turbulent world can stay forever. As Sally says in her last song and dance, "life is a cabaret." This is true because everyone must pretend to be happy in the glitter of Berlin, and hide from the darkness that overshadows it.
THE BEST
As for musical-drama concerned... THIS IS IT! The producers of Chicago should have seen this(indeed they did - every major moment in that film is "stolen" from Cabaret) and put REAL musical stars in the film.
When u have Joel and Liza u are not let down... I give flowergreetings to the entire cast and crew... The filmversion of Cabaret has a lot of "new songs"(Maybe This Time, Mein Herr, The Money Song) and the plot follows the 1955-movie "I AM A CAMERA" more than the stage musical. Since then; the Liza-songs have found themselves in numerous revivals of this stageplay since this 1972-masterpiece. The film is still frightening and raw......Trivia: The scene in which Liza meets Marisa they talk about diseases... On video, here in Europe at least, that was cut....
Buy Cabaret at Amazon.com
Buy posters at Allposters.com
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