Ten musical films praised for using song to convey emotional honesty

Collider highlighted ten musical films the piece presents as some of the best examples of how songs can convey emotional honesty. The list includes Cabaret, set in early-1930s Berlin where Sally Bowles performs amid creeping Nazi influence; Chicago, about Roxie Hart and the transformation of crime into spectacle in 1920s Chicago; Singin' in the Rain, which uses Hollywood’s switch to sound as its central conflict; The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a French romance split by the Algerian War; and West Side Story, where rival gangs and escalating violence shape a brief young love.

Also featured are The Sound of Music, following Maria and the von Trapp family as Austria faces Nazi pressure; La La Land, tracing Mia and Sebastian’s burgeoning careers and the compromises they make; All That Jazz, which focuses on a driven choreographer’s destructive routine and hallucinations; The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s journey along the Yellow Brick Road; and The Young Girls of Rochefort, a tale of twin sisters, near-misses and departures.

The Young Girls of Rochefort entry notes a March 8, 1967 release date, a 126-minute runtime, and director Jacques Demy, and names Gilbert de Goldschmidt along with performers Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac.

Key Topics

Culture, Cabaret, Chicago, La La Land, Catherine Deneuve, Jacques Demy