5 names of musicals and their composers. The best musicals. KP readers version

The Wizard of Oz (1939) / The Wizard of Oz

The most famous fairy tale by Lyman Frank Baum in the most different forms has been filmed several times, but the history of cinema will always put Victor Fleming's brilliant film with the charming Judy Garland in first place. leading role. The musical family film about the girl Dorothy and her extraordinary friends was nominated for six gold statuettes, but won only in two categories - “best music” and “best song”. “Over the Rainbow” is truly incredibly good - it continues to be included among the most famous film compositions in the history of cinema.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

When a few years ago we all admired “The Artist” by Michel Hazanavicius, people enlightened in cinema told the young people: “All this has already happened!” And it’s true, “Singing in the Rain” is very close in theme to “The Artist” - it is also an “autobiography of Hollywood” during the transition from silent films to sound films. What's the best way to show the triumph of sound? Of course, with songs and dances! The musical numbers from “Singing” became real hits; millions of viewers around the world still recognize them from the first notes. Alas, the actors and authors of the film were not awarded Oscars for their work, but the film deservedly entered many lists of the most important works of cinema, claiming to be the “No. 1 Musical” in the world.

The King and I (1956) / The King and I

The musical "The King and I", staged on Broadway, became one of the most expensive performances of its time - the budget of 360 thousand dollars in 1950 seemed cosmic. The film production was supposed to be just as grandiose, but the film suffered a great loss from the very beginning - Gertrude Lawrence, an actress and singer, to whom the vocal parts of Anna, the main character of the work, were written, died of cancer. Thus, the role went to Deborah Kerr, but Marni Nixon performed her role behind the scenes, which, however, did not harm the film. “The King and I” won five Oscars after nine nominations and was ranked among the best films of the 20th century.

West Side Story (1961) / West Side Story

Do you think that transferring the action of Shakespearean tragedies from the past to our time is the lot of postmodernism of the 1990-2000s? Nothing like that, West Side Story by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise is clean water"Romeo and Juliet", only this time the events meet the viewer not in Verona, but in New York, where representatives of two warring immigrant gangs fall in love with each other. And all this to the sound of music! Critics were captivated by the spectacle - West Side Story took away 10 Oscars from the ceremony, including the award for Best Picture. Brilliant result!

The Russian viewer’s idea of ​​Mary Poppins is forever “deformed” by the magical television film starring Natalya Andreichenko (also a musical, by the way), but let’s be fair to history - Walt Disney was the first to make a star out of the flying housekeeper. And first of all, a musical star. The film “Saving Mr. Banks” perfectly tells how difficult it was to write songs for the cinematic Mary, and the result of the work of composers the Sherman brothers is known to every American child - the five-time Oscar winner, the film directed by Robert Stevenson has not left TV screens for half a century.

My Fair Lady (1964) / My Fair Lady

Another musical that received an Oscar as “best film of the year” is the musical melodrama “My Fair Lady.” George Cukor’s film was based on the famous play by Bernard Shaw and a very popular Broadway play, so, apparently, “The Lady” did not make a splash in terms of plot, but its musical component really impressed both the audience and the critics. Alas, the filmmakers were not satisfied with Audrey Hepburn’s limited vocal range, so she, just like the heroine of the already mentioned “Singin’ in the Rain,” had to open her mouth in the frame to someone else’s soundtrack. But this is perhaps the only significant complaint about the film; otherwise, “My Fair Lady” with its eight Oscars is impeccable.

The Sound of Music (1965) / The Sound of Music

The undisputed leader of almost all the top “Best Musical in the History of Cinema” - the melodrama “The Sound of Music” certainly deserves all the praise addressed to it. The film also combines a family comedy about children from big family, and a rom-com about a widower in love, and even a military thriller, because the events of the film unfold against the backdrop of the annexation of Austria to Germany on the eve of World War II. Brilliantly acted by Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, the film became one of the highest-grossing films in Hollywood history (judging by the budget-to-gross ratio), and the songs from the film are considered full-fledged classics today.

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

It is not customary for us to recognize as valuable works of art by foreign authors based on the events of two Russian revolutions at the beginning of the last century, but Americans love the play “Fiddler on the Roof,” which tells about a Ukrainian village, so much that you can see its production in almost every school. What can we say about cinema - Norman Jewison's film of the same name has become a classic work, awarded three Oscars and a Golden Globe for best musical. Jewison somewhat "shredded" the original Broadway version, but for the author of the follow-up to "Fiddler" "Jesus Christ Superstar" such arbitrariness is excusable, although this is a completely different story...

Cabaret (1972) / Cabaret

Bob Fosse's musical melodrama "Cabaret" turned out to be so popular in the world that songs from this film managed to leak even into a country closed to American music. Soviet Union, so when, already during perestroika, the “one-sixth” audience was able to see the film, most of the musical numbers were well known to them. Surprisingly, behind the tinsel of songs and dances, Foss managed to hide quite dramatic story with a clear anti-fascist message - a rare combination for a musical that is usually joyful and sunny. The undoubted decoration of the picture was the work of Liza Minnelli. The songs from “Cabaret” performed by her became genuine “golden hits” and are still enthusiastically received by the audience at the concerts of the singer and actress.

Grease (1978) / Grease

Surprisingly, Grease, which made stars of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and is widely known far beyond Hollywood, did not receive not only a single Oscar, but not even a Golden Globe, which has separate categories for musicals. But the success of this film is a living example of the fact that for a true classic, critical laurels are useless; “Grease” is a folk movie, beloved by audiences, who often put Randle Kleiser’s film above all “these of yours” “Singing in the Rain” and “Beautiful” lady". This is what phenomenal musical material means - the songs from the film released on the disc won dozens of awards, and the disc itself went platinum in America.

The Lion King (1994) / The Lion King

The 32nd full-length animated film from the Disney studio, of course, is not a musical in its purest form - after all, almost every cartoon of this company has musical numbers. But it was precisely the professional, careful and very thorough approach to the musical component of the film that in many ways made the classic story about the formation of a hero one of the most successful film projects in history - the 45-million-dollar film only slightly fell short of a billion dollars in box office receipts. The disc with songs by Elton John and music by Hans Zimmer became the best-selling soundtrack of 1994, and no animated film has been able to replicate the diamond status of this record. The king is the king!

Moulin rouge! (2001) / Moulin Rouge!

Usually, the soundtrack for musicals is created specifically: music is written, lyrics are composed, arrangements are worked out, but sometimes the viewer wants to hear something familiar and long-loved. “Moulin Rouge” by Baz Luhrmann, despite the fact that its plot takes place at the very beginning of the twentieth century, deftly uses the hits of the 80s and 90s. Madonna and David Bowie, Sting and Bono, Elton John and Christina Aguilera shared their creativity with the film, and this immediately made the film a hit - with a budget of 50 million, the film about the love of a courtesan and a poet collected four times more worldwide, and critics noted “Moulin Rouge” » dozens of prizes on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Chicago (2002) / Chicago

In the 1980s-1990s, musicals were pushed to the margins of film production - “Flashdance” and “Dirty Dancing”, despite all the love of the audience for them, did not earn either a crazy box office or the delight of festival juries. The return of the musical to the top happened with the release of Rob Marshall's crime dramedy "Chicago" - a Broadway production that had not left the stage for a quarter of a century was simply difficult to spoil. The film adaptation was conceived by the authors back in the 1970s, then the main roles in the film were given to Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Goldie Hawn, but modern actors did not spoil the holiday - Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones brought the producers six Oscars, including including the main one for “best film”.

Dream Girls (2006) / Dreamgirls

Against the backdrop of last year’s scandal with black American actors who boycotted the Oscars, it would not be a bad idea to recall the purely African-American musical “Dreamgirls,” which tells about the formation and creative path a girl trio from Chicago who have gained worldwide fame, which, however, cannot replace simple home happiness. The main striking force of “Girls” was supposed to be the famous singer Beyoncé, who was engaged to play the main role, but unexpectedly for many, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson “shot” in the film. The latter was even awarded an Academy Award, one of two the film received after six nominations.

Les Miserables (2012)

The previous big musical landing at the Academy Awards ceremony was four years ago - in 2013, Tom Hooper's Les Misérables received eight nominations. Despite all its merits, the film received “second-tier” prizes for makeup and sound, and only Anne Hathaway, who cut her hair for the film, was favored by academics. Meanwhile, the film deserved much more - it is truly a large-scale historical film with brilliant musical numbers. Their performance could perhaps have been better; after all, Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman are not exactly singers, but everything was done with soul.

This is probably the first film that anyone remembers when they hear the word “musical.” Moreover, it is curious that the songs that sounded in it were, for the most part, not written specifically for this film and were performed previously, including in other films and musicals. The leading actor, Gene Kelly, was also one of the directors of the film, which allowed him, with his superstar status, to make the film exactly the way he wanted. Naturally, he also performed the songs himself. But for the beautiful Debbie Reynolds (by the way, the mother of “Princess Leia”, Carrie Fisher), a professional singer was hired just in case: Reynolds herself sang and danced well, but there was no risk. As a result, the film forever took its place of honor among the best film musicals in history.

If we talk about cinematic value, then among all these paintings this masterpiece by Lars von Trier is, of course, the main one. Risky, experimental (the musical numbers were filmed by hundreds of video cameras from different angles), cruel, it immediately became an event everywhere except in conservative America, where von Trier was never favored at all. Even the invitation to a cameo by Joel Gray, known for his role as the entertainer in Cabaret, did not help. Singer Björk wrote her best songs for the film and performed them together with Catherine Deneuve. Hollywood pointedly ignored the film, not even giving it an Oscar for best song, but, fortunately, smart people Hollywood is not a decree. The film won the most prestigious film award in the world, the Palme d'Or, and although Björk has since refused to even talk to von Trier, the Cannes prize for the best female role she also received thanks to him.

One of the best musical film tales, and even with songs written and performed by David Bowie himself. In the film, he played the role of the main villain, who, in general, is not a villain at all, but a lonely and even romantic in love. Magic world, hairy monsters, castles with curved space - all this comes to life to the amazing music of Bowie and still lives.

The songs of the ABBA group have long turned from pop hits of the 70s into the property of universal culture. So when their material was turned into a musical, it wasn't a commercial gimmick (although that was one too), but simply an acknowledgment of the obvious: ABBA was no longer just ABBA. Therefore, although Hollywood stars in combination with the songs of the Swedish quartet, at first they look a little wild, but you quickly get used to it and begin to get legitimate pleasure.

It seemed that beginning of XXI century, the Hollywood musical has long been a dead genre, and only experimenters like von Trier dared to work with it. But Baz Luhrmann proved to everyone that this is not so. His large-scale production about a love story set in a notorious French cabaret turned out to be very timely and incredibly successful. Hollywood realized that the genre needed to be developed.

The huge color blockbuster at one time was a worthy competitor to Gone with the Wind. If only because the fairy tale about Oz still had more readers. She also starred in the film greatest actress Hollywood's Judy Garland, and it's still impossible not to fall in love with her when she performs her parts in this film. In the USA, this film is always named among the ten most significant films in history, and all over the world, viewers of all ages still enjoy watching this film.

One of the greatest musicals in history. Michel Legrand's melodies have long since become popular; no one remembers their author, nor the film, nor the role after which Catherine Deneuve became a superstar, nor the film's triumph at Cannes. But the music from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg sounds everywhere there is love, sadness and romance. For her sake, they watch this picture many times, crying over the fate of such young and such unfortunate heroes.

By the standards of today's viewer, a three-hour musical musical, and even with a very unpretentious and leisurely plot, even including the theme of Nazism, looks rather heavy. Because this is a big screen spectacle that you need to devote the whole evening to. See on this big screen charming Julie Andrews, submit to the beauty of her voice - and not only her voice. Then it will become clear why the Oscar committee awarded the film not only in the “musical” categories, but considered it the best film with the best direction of 1966.

The image of Audrey Hepburn does not fit in with the flower seller from Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. But the actress managed to “tame” her indescribable grace and elegance for a while, and then “release” them again. This is how one of her famous films, where, oddly enough, Hepburn herself was almost not allowed to sing, although she seriously prepared for this. But many years later, when the film was released on DVD, the found soundtracks with her voice became available to the general public.

Young John Travolta, who dances beautifully and sings a little less beautifully, is the main attraction of this musical. The image of a young hooligan, whose heart turns out to be larger than he expected, captivated all the girls on the planet, with the exception of progressive Soviet viewers: they simply did not see the film.

Style, style and more style - that's what made the musical Cabaret, directed by Bob Fosse, so great. Passionate and difficult relationships The characters of Liza Minnelli and Michael York develop in Berlin in the early 30s. The space is dark, oppressive, somewhat perverted, and daring. And the plot matches it. This is not a sweet little tale of love, but a harsh story of several intertwined personal tragedies, where equal value have an abortion, a Jewish ritual and people mysteriously disappearing from the hall where the heroine performs her zongs.

The story of Damien Chazelle is a living embodiment American dream. From the modest short film “Obsession,” about a drummer’s rehearsal under the guidance of a sadistic conductor, to the feature film of the same name, which immediately became the talk of the cinematic circles. And after this - an incredibly stylish musical with Hollywood stars, which is already being considered as the film event of the year. Elegant, smart, precise, not a show on the screen, but a serious movie with musical numbers. This is history that is being made before our eyes.

One of the most famous musicals in the world could not be transferred to the silver screen for many years. Therefore, we watched this version very meticulously, mocking the vocals of Gerard Butler, who played up the shortcomings of his voice with dramatic talent. But Emmy Rossum in the title role handled her parts simply delicately, at the level of a good opera singer. And although the film failed at the box office in the United States, it still went down in history. An expensive and at times very interesting production.

Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a dead man in the next room and a lot of songs, jokes and dancing - that’s the whole musical by Francois Ozon. Which at the same time remains the most famous work of this director, and there is practically no viewer who has not watched this film at least several times. Because everything about him is perfect, including, of course, the best French actresses of different generations.

Woody Allen and the musical are incompatible things. As well as, for example, Tim Roth, Edward Norton, Natalie Portman and many other stars who do not really fit in with the song culture. This is what the joker Allen was counting on. And, as always, he turned out to be right: the director’s fans received the film very favorably.

For the Soviet public there can be no question which Mary Poppins is better: they unanimously prefer the Soviet one performed by Natalia Andreichenko and refuse to watch the Disney musical, which the whole world adores. But those who have overcome themselves cannot then get rid of the haunting tunes of the songs performed by Julie Andrews and her film partners. Playful, witty, and sometimes incredibly sad, they are simple and beautiful, just like this film adaptation itself.

Tim Burton made everyone sing: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter (she was also filming pregnant), Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman - a bloody, dark and very cute musical about cutting throats with a razor and “the worst pies in all of London”, which prepared from human flesh. Even the audience who saw this musical on Broadway was somewhat taken aback, but then accepted the film as if it were their own.

For Judy Garland, this film, a remake of the 1937 film starring the great Adolphe Menjou, was very personal, as it largely echoed the details of her own biography. Therefore, it was very difficult for her to come to the set: they say that she sometimes made the group wait for her for several days, missing deadlines and risking being thrown out of the project. The studio did not forgive the actress: soon after the film's release she was left without work. But for a long time she performed songs from this musical at her concerts.

After a quarter century of successful productions on Broadway, Chicago received an exemplary film interpretation with the help of the genre's leading contemporary specialist, Rob Marshall. Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere sang for their heroes themselves, although they clearly lacked the vocal abilities for this, which caused a negative reaction from a number of viewers. But the Film Academy openly supported the film, awarding it 6 Oscars at once and inscribing it in the history of American cinema. So he stayed there.

Gangster action movie. But there are two features. First: all the gangsters sing here. Second: they are all played by small children who have machine guns that shoot cakes. This Alan Parker musical is incredibly fun to watch, and young Jodie Foster is a real standout here, too. talented actors. Her femme fatale, even in children's clothing, remains dangerous and sexy.

Turning Federico Fellini's main film "8½" into a musical seems, at first glance, completely absurd, and therefore Rob Marshall's film has many opponents, as, indeed, all his other works. Daniel Day-Lewis is not at all like the sophisticated and cynical Marcello Mastroianni, and Marshall’s accents are somewhat shifted. However, for any film connoisseur, this film is of particular importance as a declaration of love from one director to the work of another. A very colorful, inventive confession.

The music for West Side Story was written by the great Leonard Bernstein, one of the best conductors of the twentieth century, a connoisseur of classical music, an educator and simply an outstanding person. Maybe that’s why the musical sounds so perfect that people still listen to it today; it has gone through many productions in different countries. The plot is the story of Romeo and Juliet, transferred to the streets of New York in the 50s, where instead of warring families, street gangs. The film is considered an exemplary production of this musical, it received 10 Oscars and belongs to the best examples genre.

This is the case when the film musical overtook Broadway by half a century: this plot “matured” only in 1980 before its stage implementation. Meanwhile, for its time, the early 30s, the plot was very sharp and political, if only because it directly spoke about the harsh reality of the Great Depression. Since sound in cinema was just emerging, the soundtrack for the musical was recorded in advance, and the actors only had to act in sync with it. Hollywood subsequently made this practice widespread.

The musical is in which songs, music, dialogues and choreography are intertwined in an amazing way. This is a relatively young one that has been influenced big influence operetta, burlesque, vaudeville, etc. Due to its entertainment value, the musical is considered one of the most commercial theater genres, and due to the complexity of the production process, much more money is spent on it.

The history of the emergence of a new musical genre

The starting point of this genre is considered to be 1866, when the first musical, Black Crook, was staged on the Broadway stage, in which melodrama, romantic ballet and other genres were intertwined. Since that time, the list of musicals has been constantly updated with new performances. From the above it follows that the birthplace of this genre is America. At the beginning of the 19th century, American composers J. Kern, J. Gershwin, and Cole Porter gave the musical genre a truly American flavor: notes of jazz were visible in the rhythms of the melodies, the librettos became more complex, American phrases appeared in the lyrics, etc. In 1932, reached high awards. George Gershwin was awarded for the musical “I Sing of You.” The most famous performances included in the list of musicals are, of course, “West Side Story” (composer L. Bernstein) based on the Shakespearean tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” "to the music of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. This talented composer is also the author of other equally, and perhaps more famous musicals: “Cats” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Best musicals: AFI list

In 2006, the American Film Institute published a list of the best American musicals of the last 100 years. We present to your attention this list:

1. “42nd Street” - (1933).
2. “Top Hat” (1935).
3. “Floating Theater” (1936).
4. “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).
5. “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942).
6. “Will you meet me in St. Louis?” (1944).
7. “Dismissal to the city” (1949).
8. “An American in Paris” (1951).
9. “Singing in the Rain” (1952).
10. “Theater Van” (1953).
11. “Seven daughters-in-law for seven brothers” (1954).
12. “Guys and Dolls” (1955).
13. “The King and I” (1956).
14. “West Side Story” (1961).
15. “My Fair Lady” (1964).
16. “The Sound of Music” (1965).
17. “Funny Girl” (1968).
18. “Cabaret” (1972).
19. “All That Jazz” (1979).
20. “Beauty and the Beast” (1991).

Despite the fact that, according to many, the golden age of musicals is behind us, over the past 13 years, many excellent films in this genre have been made in Hollywood. Here is a list of musicals that are considered the best of the 21st century.

1. “Dancing in the Dark” (2000).
2. “Moulin Rouge” (2001).
3. “Chicago (2002).
4. “The Phantom of the Opera” (2004).
5. “La Boheme” (2005).
6. “Enchanted” (2007).
7. “Mamma Mia” (2008).
8. “Burlesque” (2010).
9. “Les Miserables” (2012).
10. “Goddess” (2013).

French musicals: list of the best performances

Until 1958, it was considered an exclusively American genre, but this year the play “Les Miserables” based on the work of V. Hugo was triumphantly staged in London. The music was composed by Claude Michel Schonberg. Another work by this composer, “Miss Saigon,” based on the opera “Madama Butterfly,” was a success on the Paris stage. The list of musicals includes productions of “Starmania-Starmania” (Michel Berger), “Romeo and Juliet” (Gerard Presgurvik), “Notre Dame de Paris” (Riccardo Cocciante), “Mozart” (Kunze and Levi), etc.

Russian musicals

The most popular musical in Russia for many years has been and remains the wonderful rock opera “Juno and Avos”. This is perhaps the most powerful work of composer A. Rybnikov. Today, the best Russian musicals are considered to be “Nord-Ost”, “Metro”, last years works translated into Russian are staged on the Russian stage: “Notre Dame de Paris”, “Chicago”, “Cats”, etc.

We will tell you about the most interesting and beautiful representatives of such a musical and theatrical stage genre as the musical in this top 10 best musicals.

10 The Sound of Music

9 Mamma Mia!

8 My fair lady

7 Moulin Rouge!

6 Les Miserables

5 Cats

4 Romeo and Juliet. From hate to love

3 Notre Dame de Paris

2 The last test

1 Phantom of the Opera