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The musicals one should never give a miss!

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ANI New Delhi [India]

The sound of music is always soothing to a life full of care, who has no time to stand and stare. One such example is musical flicks.

Musicals have always enthralled viewers, transporting them to another world, away from their real life worries and the most recent examples to that are 'La La Land' and 'Beauty and the Beast.'

Meanwhile, here are some musicals, which no movie buff should miss in his/her lifetime:

- The Sound of Music- The multiple Oscar winning film was a major commercial success, becoming the number one Box Office movie after four weeks, and the highest-grossing film of 1965. One of Julie Andrew's best films, the songs from the film such as 'Do-Re-Mi', 'My Favourite Things' and others are still considered the best movie songs of all time.

 

- My Fair Lady- Audrey Hepburn's successful 'My Fair Lady' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion,' with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from Professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a lady. The original Broadway, London and film versions all starred Rex Harrison. My Fair Lady has frequently been called "the perfect musical."

- Beauty and the Beast (1991 Version)-The Disney film was a box office success, grossing 425 million dollars worldwide. 'Beauty and the Beast' received positive reviews; it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and became the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

- Beauty and the Beast (2017 Version)- 'Beauty and the Beast,' which is releasing on March 17, is a live-action musical adaptation of the studio's animated classic, featuring an extraordinary ensemble cast, including: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci with Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson.

- Singing in the Rain- It is a 1952 American musical comedy film, directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds. It offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to talkies. Since been accorded legendary status by contemporary critics, and is frequently regarded as the best movie musical ever made.

- Westside Story- The passion and rebellion of 'West Side Story' still lingers today. The musical, which is an interpretation of 'Romeo and Juliet' told through the eyes of warring teenage gangs, debuted on Broadway in 1957 and continues to feel fresh with every revival and tour. The innovative show shifted the way musicals were staged, breaking apart rules of choreography and storytelling. One of its most thrilling contributions, however, are the lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, who had his big break with the show's success and went on to write some of theater's most challenging, moving and iconic pieces.

- The Wizard Of Oz-'The Wizard of Oz' is a 1939 American musical comedy-drama fantasy film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the best-known and most commercially successful adaptation based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The film stars Judy Garland. Notable for its use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score, and unusual characters, over the years it has become an icon of American popular culture. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

- Chicago- 'Chicago' is a 2002 American musical criminal comedy film based on the musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Chicago during the Jazz Age. The film stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere. Directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall, and adapted by screenwriter Bill Condon, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago won six Academy Awards in 2003, including Best Picture. The film was critically lauded, and was the first musical to win Best Picture since 'Oliver!' in 1968.

- Grease- John Travolta's claim to fame, Grease is a 1978 American musical/romantic comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser and produced by Paramount Pictures. It is based on Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs' 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway. 'Grease' was successful. both critically and commercially. Its soundtrack album ended 1978 as the second-best selling album of the year in the United States.

- Moulin Rouge-The famous 2001 Australian-American pseudo-pastiche jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It tells the story of a young English poet/writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor), who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman). It uses the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France and who can get forget AR Rahmans contribution.

At the 74th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Nicole Kidman, winning two: for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. It was the first musical nominated for Best Picture in 10 years, following Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' (1991).

- Mary Poppins- 'Mary Poppins' was released on August 27, 1964, to universal acclaim, receiving a total of thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture- an unsurpassed record for any other film released by Walt Disney Studios- and won five; Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for 'Chim Chim Cher-ee.' In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Mary Poppins is widely considered to be Walt Disney's "crowning achievement", being his only film to garner a 'Best Picture' nomination at the Oscars in his lifetime.

- La La Land- One of the most appreciated movie of 2017, 'La La Land' has again revived the genre of musical in Hollywood. Starring EMa Stone and Ryan Gosling, the musical has bagged many six Golden Statuettes at the recently concluded Oscars.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Mar 03 2017 | 2:45 PM IST

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