Cabaret (1972)

Genres

Drama, Musical

Director

Bob Fosse

Country

USA

Cast

Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey, Fritz Wepper, Marisa Berenson, Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel, Helen Vita, Sigrid von Richthofen, Gerd Vespermann, Ralf Wolter, Georg Hartmann, Ricky Renee, Oliver Collignon, Kathryn Doby, Inge Jaeger, Angelika Koch, Helen Velkovrska, Gitta Schmidt, Louise Quick

Storyline

In 1930's Berlin, meanwhile the Nazism is rising, American cabaret singer Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) finds herself in the middle of a love triangle with English professor Brian Roberts (Michael York) and the German Baron Maximilian von Heune (Helmut Griem).

Opinion

Like I said many, and many times in the past, musicals are my thing, but Cabaret is such a classic I felt the need to watch it anything. And I'm glad I did because it isn't just a musical, but a deep drama that also works as a comedy and historical film.

Based on Christopher Isherwood's A Goodbye to Berlin, the story is very simple yet incredibly complicated which is what make it so interesting. Also, the fact that it beautifully blends a personal story with a historical storyline.

It's incredible how the film manages to deliver a compelling love story/love triangle, and at the same time being about the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, with songs both moving the plot forward and making a strong commentary on the (rotting) world outside the cabaret and also about the need to be/feel normal. 

This film also features some very funny moments and a lot of witty dialogue. Not to mention the very well written and developed characters that are brought to life by a tremendous cast among which Liza Minnelli and Michael York stand out for really making you care about their characters. The rest of the cast also deserves to be praised for giving dimension to characters that could have easily been one-dimensional. 

Since it's still a musical, songs really play an important role in it, and they work perfect as they are brilliant and catchy, wonderfully performed, and they are combined with some beautiful colours, setting and cinematography.

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3 comments :

  1. Birgit17 May 2017 at 04:27

    Excellent review! This is a great film and I love that the background dancers are not....beautiful. They are rather ugly in their depiction which works well with the whole scenario. I find one of the most memorable parts is when the MC sings about his new love and it's a gorilla. We are laughing and think nothing of it until his very last line which instantly takes you out of comedy and into horror actually. Very scary and compelling.

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    Replies
    1. Sonia Cerca17 May 2017 at 09:50

      Thanks! I also liked that the dancers were ugly, they really work well with the story and what the movie is trying to say.

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  2. Katy18 May 2017 at 19:30

    Great review! Cabaret is one of my favorites. Like you said, it mixes the escape of musical with the horror and reality. Awesome performances too.

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