How Old Are You? (Top Ten Modern Musicals vs Top Ten Classic Musicals)
Apr 23 '03
The Bottom Line The battle of the times... Which do you prefer, modern or classic?
Musicals go in and out of fashion , but I am happy to see they are having a healthy come-back these days. Sometimes you need to fast-forward through the songs, but other times you just love to sing-along and be happy or sad with them. I have separated this review into two top ten lists. One is for the modern musicals (anything after the 1970s) and the classic musicals (anything after the 1970s). Which ones do you prefer? Also, I have decided to only note the keywords from each movie. I find this gives a funnier view, and sometimes even more detailed idea of the movie than a plot summary. The movies are all listed from the last released, to the first released.
MODERN:
Chicago (2002): directed by Rob Marshall, with Renee Zellwegger (great singing), Catherine Zeta-Jones (great dancing but too fat), Richard Gere (not too great singing or dancing). Tagline: "If you can't be famous... be infamous." Keywords: 1920s, crime, booty-shaking, crooked lawyers, fame, non-fame, female prisons, murders, newspaper headlines.
Moulin Rouge (2001): directed by Baz Luhrmann, with Nicole Kidman (impressive dancing and singing, good voice), Ewan McGregor (a little too soft for him), John Leguizamo (funny and psycho as usual). Tagline: " No Laws. No Limits. One Rule. Never Fall In Love." Keywords: love, prostitution, poor poets, crazy circuis, 1890s, Paris, cancan, classic-modernized remakes, seduction, jealousy, tragedy.
Cry-Baby (1990): directed by John Waters, with Johnny Depp (not very believable), Iggy Pop (weird and crazy as usual), Ricky Lake (very bad fake of tough girl), Tracy Lords (I love her). Tagline: "He's a doll. He's a dreamboat. He's a delinquent." Keywords: John Waters, 1950s, square, tears, tough guys, delinquents, prison, motorcycles, trailor trash, leather.
Hairspray (1988): directed by John Waters, with Ricki Lake (surprised by her dancing moves), Sonny Bonno (boring), Divine (wonderful to watch), Debby Harry (scary). Tagline: "Get Back To Your Roots!" Keywords: John Waters, big hair, fat people, racism, "the mashed potato", 1950s, Baltimore, spoof, dance contests, exploding wigs.
Grease (1978): directed by Randal Kleiser, with John Travolta (great dancing and singing and coolness), Olivia Newton-John (uninteresting until she wears a black catsuit and smokes a cigarette), Stockard Channing (b**ch, but only in the movie, of course). Tagline: "Grease is the word." Keywords: hair combing, great sing-a-longs, coolness/uncoolness, gangs, pregnancy, 1950s, Sandra Dee, makeover.
Saturday Night Fever (1977): directed by John Badham, with John Travolta (I'm still trying his moves out on the dancefloor). Tagline: "Where do you go when the record is over..." Keywords: hair combing, Brooklyn, discos, polyester, 1970s, pregnancy, suicide, fights, high collars, losers.
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): directed by Jim Sharman, with Tim Curry (one of my favorite actors, boy, what a great dragqueen he makes), Susan Sarandon (very fitting part as a naive, cookie-cutter girl that gets horny), Barry Bostwick (also not bad as the naive, cookie-cutter guy that discovers maybe he likes men), Meat Loaf (very funny as the rebel motorcycle dude who gets eaten). Tagline: Action-packed... lotsa larfs & sex... gorgeous gals... thrills & chills... Transylvanian parties... romance." Keywords: transvestites, aliens, tan muscly guy in gold speedos, "Don't dream it, be it!", confusion, cookie-cutter couples, guy who gets eaten, toilet paper, "It's just a jump to the left."
Cabaret (1972): directed by Bob Fosse, with Liza Minnelli (great part as a cabaret girl who falls in love but needs a rich guy, great dancing acts), Michael York (kinda boring, but plays well the naive guy). Tagline: "Life is a cabaret ol' chum so come to the Cabaret." Keywords: cabaret, master of ceremonies, nazis, pouncing on stuck-up virgins, booze, sex, mud wrestling fights, babies, rich guys, wilkomen, bienvenue, welcome.
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971): directed by Mel Stuart, with Gene Wilder (always amazingly funny and interesting to watch). Tagline: "It's everybody's non-pollutionary, anti-institutionary, pro-confectionery factory of fun!" Keywords: chocolate, candy, elevators that go to the moon, eccentricity, bubble-gum, spoiled kids, too much tv, little men that are orange (Oompa Loompas), golden geese, I think somebody was taking drugs...
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970): directed by Vincente Minnelli, with Barbara Streisand (a wonderful character that she plays very well), Yves Montand (also wonderfully played), Bob Newhart (forgetteable), Jack Nicholson (very funny and charming). Tagline: "No, I'm afraid of flying. Well, not so much of flying, more so of the "no smoking" sign!" Keywords: hypnosis, confusion, reincarnation, psychoanalysis, fantasy, smoking, flowers, extrasensory-perception.
CLASSIC:
The Sound of Music (1965): directed by Robert Wise, with Julie Andrews (charming and perfect and saintly). Tagline: "The Happiest Sound In All The World!" Keywords: governess, "Raindrops on roses...", nazis, nuns, Austria, children, love, widower, 1930s, escape.
My Fair Lady (1964): directed by George Cukor, with Audrey Hepburn (amazingly beautiful and graceful and awe-inspiring), Rex Harrison (very sarcastic and dry). Tagline: "The loverliest motion picture of them all!" Keywords: poverty, speech, balls, makeovers, bets, horse-races, etiquette, high-society, linguist, London, 1910s, class-differences, bachelors, professors, beautiful dresses, annoying father.
West Side Story (1961): directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, with Natalie Wood (young and naive and charming) and Richard Beymer (young and naive and charming). Tagline: "Unlike other musicals 'West Side Story' grows younger!" Keywords: gang-rivalries, New York City, discrimination, immigration, interracial-relationships, racism, murder, teens, love-at-first-sight, switchblades, police, tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, jealousy, revenge.
Some Like It Hot (1959): directed by Billy Wilder, with Tony Curtis (great performance and sex-change), Marilyn Monroe (always sweet and naive and sexy), Jack Lemmon (very funny and not so good at being a woman, which is even funnier). Tagline: "The movie too HOT for words!" Keywords: gangsters, escape, changing sexes, girl's band, hotel, murder, gold-diggers, pretending, beaches, yachts.
Gigi (1958): directed by Vincente Minnelli and Charles Walters, with Leslie Caron (charmingly naive and childish), Maurice Chevalier (very funny happy-to-be-alive guy), Louis Jourdan (disgruntled young rich guy), Eva Gabor (the perfect drama-queen diva). Tagline: "Thank heaven for Gigi." Keywords: child-mollestation, courtisans, 1900s, Paris, bachelor, Maxim's, courtship, etiquette, gigolo, makeover, playboy, growing-up, love, lots of fun.
Auntie Mame (1958): directed by Morton DaCosta, with Rosalind Russell (wonderful sophisticated, eccentric lady). Tagline: "Yes! Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Keywords: extravagance, eccentricity, alcohol, pregnancy, growing-up, department store, Christmas, orphan, hunting, lovers, cocktail parties, college, remodeling, snob, socialite.
Funny Face (1957): directed by Stanley Donen, with Audrey Hepburn (so sweet and beautiful and lovely), Fred Astaire (tap-away, baby). Tagline: "Presented in a Real New Dimension in Motion Picture Entertainment." Keywords: modeling, photographers, emphaticalism, beatniks, Paris, fashion, philosophy, photography, love, "Take the picture, take the picture."
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953): directed by Howard Hawks, with Marilyn Monroe (the divine, not so smart, bombshell), Jane Russell (the more sensible, brunette bombshell). Tagline: "The Two M-M-Marvels Of Our Age In The Wonder Musical Of The World!" Keywords: detectives, cruise-ship, diamonds, gold-digger, Paris, show-girls, "We're just two little girls from Little Rock", tiaras, wives, fathers, silly men.
The Wizard of Oz (1939): directed by Richard Thorpe and Victor Fleming, with Judy Garland (a lost little girl). Tagline: "Gaiety! Glory! Glamour!" Keywords: munchkins, Oz, family, the scarecrow without a brain, magic shoes, Kansas, bicycle, the cowerdly lion, the tin-man without a heart, good witches, bad witches, flying monkeys, Toto, tornado, farm, wizard, crystal-ball, dream, haunted forest, yellow brick road, "Over the rainbow."
Top Hat (1935): directed by Mark Sandrich, with Fred Astaire (a lovely man), Ginger Rogers (a little too perfect). Tagline: "They're Dancing Cheek-To-Cheek Again!" Keywords: tap-dancing, love, actually, there isn't much more.
So, which do you prefer, the classic musicals or the modern musicals? Personally ... I can't decide really, but I think I would go with the classics. It seems like more effort was put into them, I'm not saying more money (like the modern ones), but more effort. Maybe also because I am a classic girl at heart (don't tell anyone). Let me know the ones you prefer.
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