Musical History of the Musical film As soon

Musical

History of the Musical film � As soon as audio was able to coincide with motion pictures, the musical was born almost in an instant, the first ever ‘talkie’ film was The Jazz Singer in 1927, where Al Johnson sang on stage. Not only did this change the film industry forever, moving from the Silent Era of the Teens and 20’s to what would become the Golden Age of Hollywood, but it would also change the fate of Warner Bros. who were on the brink of financial ruin before revealing their new technological advancement. Musicals took over Hollywood as soon as the talkie was born. Dominating the industry in terms of quantity and box office value, many musicals would also be around during awards season. Musicals were also a brilliant vestibule for the ‘roadshow’. A now extinct film distribution practice where certain films would get limited theatre screening in large cities. Selling the viewing of the film as a grand event, with intermissions and live music. At the time, a very profitable practice if done appropriately. Along with Westerns, Musicals would remain the powerhouse genre until the mid-70 s when revenue for roadshow musicals began dropping rapidly. Hello Dolly! , in particular, flopped horribly in ticket sales after preparing a grand roadshow with star Barbara Streisand helming. This led to a massive withdrawal from studios to commission musicals, and from there they became gradually uncommon to the point of near extinction. Companies like Disney kept them alive in a way through their animated renaissance in the 90’s. However, live action musicals remained scarce, right up to the present day. Where the only original live-action musicals released in the last decade are La La Land The Greatest Showman, which ironically were huge financial successes, perhaps opening a door for more original musicals to come forth in the modern film industry.

Sub-Genres of the Musical film �Jukebox Musical – a film musical that uses previously released popular songs as its musical score. Usually the songs have in common a connection with a particular popular musician or group — because they were either written by, or for, the artists in question, or at least covered by them.

Iconography of the Musical film �Musicals have large variations in their content, and thus lack a consistent iconography that can be found within most films of the genre. However, obviously actions are associated with the musical genre, singing and dancing mainly.

Actors/Directors associated with Musical films �Gene Kelly – Actor/Director – Singin’ in the Rain, An American In Paris �Jacques Demy – Director – The Young Girls of Rochefort , The Umbrellas of Cherbourg �Fred Astaire – Actor – Swing Time, Top Hat �Rob Marshall – Director – Chicago, Mary Poppins Returns

Box Office – Top 10 films of the Genre � According to the-numbers. com (live-action only, not including Disney remakes) � 1. Mamma Mia! (2008, Phyllida Lloyd) 2. Les Miserables (2012, Tom Hooper) 3. La La Land (2016, Damien Chazelle) 4. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018, Ol Parker) 5. Grease (1978, Randal Kleiser) 6. The Greatest Showman (2017, Michael Gracey) 7. Mary Poppins Returns (2018, Rob Marshall) 8. Chicago (2002, Rob Marshall) 9. The Sound Of Music (1965, Robert Wise) 10. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008, Kenny Ortega)

Critically acclaimed examples �Classic – Singin’ In the Rain (1952, Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen – Ranked 20 th in the BFI’s Critics’ Top 100 Films of All Time list �Pre-21 st Century – Cabaret (1972, Bob Fosse) – Winner of 8 Oscars, Nominated for Best Picture �Modern – La La Land (2016, Damien Chazelle) – Tied for most Oscar nominations of all time, including Best Picture. Chazelle winning Best Director.

Stretch and Challenge: Ideologies/Contexts �Realism vs Fantasy – Breaking the realism of a scene to burst int 0 song brings into question what is real and what is implied in a musical. �Cynicsm vs Optimism – As musicals are often perceived as ‘cheesy’ and ‘over the top’ they often focus on this aspect and comment on the nature of leving behind cynicism

Films that challenge/parody the genre �Disney have made the majority of their animated princess stories musicals and somewhat changed the way we perceive musicals in the modern day. Enchanted (Kevin Lima, 2007) parodies this by transporting a Disney style princess into realworld New York. While mainly parodying the Princess story, it also parodies the musical aspect. When the princess sings and everyone sings along, our main character wonders how everyone knows the words to this random song, and when she wants to sing he compels her not to, commenting on the nonrealist aspect of musical numbers.