Musicals aren't life. They're escapist fantasies.
Also, if all you've seen are musicals of the past couple of decades, then you haven't seen any good musicals. Go back and watch musicals from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s before you decide.
I'm generally not a huge fan of musicals on film either, but West Side Story, the Sound of Music, Hair, and Cabaret are among the few movie musicals that appeal to me. None of the others I mentioned, however, hold the same special place in my heart regarding movies in general, as the original 1961 film version of West Side Story. With the exception of West Side Story, Sound of Music, and Cabaret, most musicals are better on stage than on the screen.
shareI love those musicals too, but I would include The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in my top 5.
shareHi, modica. Good to see you posting again! How've you been doing? Thank you for your compliment. I've never seen the Umbrellas of Cherbourg, however.
shareI am good. I love The Umbrellas of Cherbourg because it is a beautiful musical that is as colorful and vibrant as West Side Story. The only thing that may stop people from seeing it is the fact that the songs are sung in French with subtitles. Even with that, the score is beautiful and the ending is as emotional as West Side Story. Really a fantastic musical.
shareHi, modica. Glad you are doing well. Thank you for your quick reply to my message, and your review of "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg".
shareI love them for the sheer trippyness of people bursting into song at random times, and having other passersby join in singing and dancing. This is awesome stuff.
shareGood point, TheOtherFella. Musicals are also wonderful, due to the fact that they have both singing and speaking in them, as well.
The original 1961 film version of West Side Story, which I'm a devout fan of, is my all time favorite movie, hands down. I never get tired of seeing it over and over again, and it always feels fresh and new to me, like I'm seeing it for the very first time. I hope to see the original 1961 film version of West Side Story in movie theatres more often.
Then why are you here wasting your time. Seems very strange.
shareThen why are you here? You are on lots of posts about musical movies. Are you a closeted lover of musicals? Do you wake up in the middle of the night with headphones a blazin' listening to Singing in the Rain? Do you sneak downtown in a trench coat and hat to see the latest Broadway show that has come into town? Do you go on these websites and post negative things about musicals just to try and convince yourself that you find them awful? Are you a self-hating song and dance man?
shareTry saying that at a strip club.
shareMusicals I like:
Jesus Christ Superstar (2000 new stage production)
Evita (Alan Parker's movie version)
Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Mermaid (Disney animation)
Nothing else comes to my mind... I tried watching West side story just recently for the first time and didn't bother finishing it.
People who like The Little Mermaid generally don't like West Side Story. Now I know some people will come on and say that they like both, but for the most part, I find this to be the case. I hate The Little Mermaid, so that is probably why I like West Side Story.
I've never heard that one before, that people who don't like Little Mermaid like West Side Story and vice versa. I've always really liked both. But I have noticed that Ariel's signature vocalization sounds awfully similar to Maria singing "I Have A Love."
shareAs I said, some will like both. I still believe that people who like Little Mermaid, don't like West Side Story and vice versa.
shareThat’s an interesting idea. I like both. I have not discussed the topic with anyone else, so I don’t know if I’m an outlier. Do you have aN explanation for why that’s the case?
shareI think that(as it was explained to me awhile ago)that there is a pretty large segment of the population(mostly men)who just don't like musicals with singing and dancing. Not sure why that is, but I believe that it has to do with the fact that many males who like musicals are gay. Now, there certainly are men who are straight who like musicals, but some men are almost violent in their objection to musicals. I have seen it time and again. They see musicals as a feminine art form. There also is a segment of the population that just doesn't understand that musicals tell the story through singing, orchestration and dancing. They tell a story like an opera, symphony or ballet would.
Now with musicals like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Frozen; people seem to object less because they are animated. They seem to accept a cartoon character being musical more than they would a real person. It seems that while all musicals are fantastical, anything animated is already fantastical, so certain moviegoers don't have to take that leap into an imaginary world, because they were already there from the beginning.
During a movie musical that isn't animated, I can always hear the moans and see the squirming men who start to get uncomfortable once the movie starts. It's like they were caught in a gay bar by someone they work with. They look around to see if there is someone who might see them at a movie like this at times also. I know it sounds strange, but I have seen this happen in theaters many times. And once the movie is over, the complaints by these guys are loud enough so everyone knows that they object to being dragged to a movie such as this. They want everyone to know that they didn't choose to see this movie.
Now when it comes to the other side, I think that people who love live action fantasy musicals, just don't feel the same way about animated musicals. For them there just isn't the same excitement and many might consider these movies as animation with music and not a musical.