Musicals
As soon as sound was introduced to the movies, the movie musical was born. The musical was one of the most popular movie entertainments from the 1930s through to the 50s, before falling out of favour at the end of the 60s for audiences now being weened on Vietnam, race riots, political assassinations, flower power and psychedelia. The musical still continued onwards, albeit in a different form, with various efforts such as "Cabaret", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Grease", "Hair", "All That Jazz" and "The Blues Brothers" appearing over the next decade. More recently, "Moulin Rouge" and particularly "Chicago" hark back to the glory days of the musical.
Right: Liza Minnelli does "Cabaret"
Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
8/10
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon
One of Broadway's greatest musicals comes to the screen with rousing dance numbers, emotionally charged performances, and such beloved tunes as "Sunri... Read more
Finian's Rainbow (1968)
6.3/10
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele
Fred Astaire plays codger Finian McLonergan, who thinks his magical pot of gold will grow and make him a millionaire until a real leprechaun (Tommy St... Read more
First Night (2010)
5.3/10
Director: Christopher Menaul
Starring: Richard E Grant, Sarah Brightman, Oliver Dimsdale, Susannah Fielding, Nigel Lind...
Adam is a rich industrialist, who aspires to a more cultured world. Spurred on by playful jibes that he is little more than a city suit living the cap... Read more
Flight of the Conchords: Season 2 (2008)
8.6/10
Starring: Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie, Rhys Darby, Kristen Schaal, Arj Barker
Bret and Jemaine came home to Wellington to write new material for the second season of their hit HBO show; shorter than the first, it is rumoured to... Read more
Flower Drum Song (1961)
7/10
Director: Henry Koster
Starring: Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Juanita Hall, Benson Fong, Jack Soo
Nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Music for Rodgers and Hammerstein, this classic, musical comedy-romance stars Nancy Kwan as a young C... Read more
Follies in Concert (1985)
Director: Herbert Ross
Starring: Andre Gregory, Barbara Cook, Carol Burnett, George Hearn, Lee Remick, Mandy Pati...
At a reunion of the fictional musical revue The Weismann Follies, the long-retired players relive their careers. A 1985 recreation of Stephen Sondheim... Read more
Footlight Parade (1933)
7.8/10
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Starring: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler
One of Busby Berkeley's best, featuring out-of-this-world musical mumbers and songs like 'Honeymoon Hotel" and "Shanghai Lil". James Cagney is a down-... Read more
For The Boys (1991)
6.3/10
Director: Mark Rydell
Starring: Bette Midler, James Caan, George Segal
Bette Midler at her best as a singer who becomes a star while performing for the troops during WWII. James Caan and George Segal co-star. Read more
Four Last Songs (2005)
6.2/10
Director: Francesca Joseph
Starring: Stanley Tucci, Rhys Ifans, Hugh Bonneville, Jena Malone, Jessica Stevenson, Karl...
Chronically dissatisfied musician and ex-pat, Larry (Stanley Tucci), is living on a beautiful Mediterranean island, where he makes a living playing pi... Read more
Frank Sinatra Classics: High Society / Anchors Aweigh (1944)
Director: Charles Walters, George Sidney
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson
High Society:This witty, musical version of The Philadelphia Story stars Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and the jazz master himself, Louis A... Read more