Cabaret (1972)

Winner of eight Academy Awards, including Best Director (Bob Fosse), Best Actress (Liza Minnelli), and Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey), Cabaret would also have taken Best Picture if it hadn't been competing against The Godfather as the most acclaimed film of 1972. (Francis Ford Coppola would have to wait two years before winning Best Director, for The Godfather, Part II.) Brilliantly adapted from the acclaimed stage production, which was in turn inspired by Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories and the play and movie I Am a Camera, this remarkable musical turns the pre-war Berlin of 1931 into a sexually charged haven of decadence. Minnelli commands the screen as nightclub entertainer Sally Bowles, who radiantly goes on with the show as the Nazis rise to power, holding her many male admirers (including Michael York and Helmut Griem) at a distance that keeps her from having to bother with genuinely deep emotions. Joel Grey is the master of ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub who will guarantee a great show night after night as a way of staving off the inevitable effects of war and dictatorship. They're all living in a morally ambiguous vacuum of desperate anxiety, determined to keep up appearances as the real world--the world outside the comfortable sanctuary of the cabaret--prepares for the nightmarish chaos of war. Director-choreographer Fosse achieves a finely tuned combination of devastating drama and ebullient entertainment, and the result is one of the most substantial screen musicals ever made. The dual-layered Special Edition widescreen DVD includes an exclusive 25th-anniversary documentary, Cabaret: A Legend in the Making, a 1972 promotional featurette, a photo gallery, production notes, the theatrical trailer, and more. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com essential video

spirited and lively entertainment

One of the better musicals and great Fosse choreography. Joel Grey is stupendous as the MC and his musical skits are great entertainment. Liza Minnelli is supreme as Sally Boles.
September 2, 2008

A Perfect Example Of Why We Go To The Movies

Christopher Isherwood, the author of THE BERLIN STORIES, where the character Sally Bowles came from in the first place, is quoted in the documentary "Chris and Don" as saying that Liza Minnelli wasn't right for this movie because she was far too good since Sally Bowles was an amateur performer and there was nothing that resembled an amateur about Minnelli's performance. She gives a performance here that is perfect and deserves to be seen again and again. She comes alive in every scene (her mother would have been proud of her) and won an Oscar for best actress along with Joel Grey (Best Supporting Actor) and Bob Fosse for Best Director. If you are counting, there were five more Oscars awarded to this movie on Oscar night as well. The cinematography is by Geoffrey Unsworth; the music by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

Watching this film for the first time since I saw it in 1972, I noticed how much Michael York's character here is similar to the one he played in "Something for Everyone," released a few years before "Cabaret." Hal Prince, who produced this film was the director of that fine movie and Kander is responsible for the soundtrack.

The story of course is all about the "divine decadence," as Sally would say, in Berlin in the years leading up to the outbreak of World War II. When a young blond angelic German lad sings "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" and is joined by a whole host of others as the song swells in volume, we get a chilling preview of what will take place soon in Germany and the rest of Europe.

"Cabaret" is quite simply a perfect movie. August 27, 2008

Should have a title other than "Cabaret"...

Cabaret, the on-stage musical, is one of the most enthralling and moving musicals to be ever found on Broadway. It's message and theme are both important and beautiful. The only problem is that when they attempted to adapt it to the screen, the took a beautiful show, and ripped it apart. The plot, characters, and a few songs (Mein Herr, Money) are completely distorted and absolutely different than the original show. This movie should have had a different title other than "Cabaret" because this is not the same as the magnificent show. I gave it two stars only because the movie itself is not all terrible. This movie and the show should be viewed as two completely different entities, they truly have nothing in common. August 26, 2008

first rate on many levels

I have not seen this in 35 years, and I was utterly enthralled to see it again. There are so many ways to see this films that it has got to be one of the best I have ever seen. First, there is the historical reconstruction, a snapshot of a very difficult period in late Weimar, which would result in Hitler's regime. Even the images in the film reflected art from the period: you see images by Grosz and many others appearing in subtle glimpses.

Second, there is the drama of the two young lovers. I did not notice the first time that the York character is sexually ambiguous, and that his ambivalence towards a relationship with Sally may be due to his actual orientation. Of course, Sally Bowles is one of the great new character types created by the film: a loose woman who is actually extremely vulnerable and trying to be tough. She hold back from commitments yet needs them, openly uses her body to advance her career, and also sees her own limitations and hence chooses illegal abortion. At the time, this combination was psychological dynamite, really pioneering stuff, and I saw a lot more in them as a middle-aged man.

Third, there is the music. To say it is wonderful is an understatement. Minelli is one of the greatest talents that has ever come out of a Hollywood dynasty. The best. Interestingly, I heard an interview with Isherwood's long-time partner. He said that Bowles was an amateur in the original book, not the phenomenal talent that the film uses to traduce the character.

I got this because my daughter (13) loves musicals and is developing into a singer. As a parent, I feel a bit wary about the sophistication and bawdiness of the film, which is more explicit than I feel comfortable with, but then, she knows about these things. We will no doubt watch this so much together that we will memorize it.

Recommended with enthusiasm. August 7, 2008

Great

Received the DVD way ahead of schedule in perfect condition. Never been disappointed with Amazon!! July 10, 2008

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