Favorite Movies Adapted from Musicals

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:44pm

Since everyone spends a lot of time here bashing the movie musicals they don't like (Rent, Mamma Mia, Phantom of the Opera), just to name a few off the type of my head, I'm wondering what movies adapted from musicals everyone likes?

My absolute favorites are Grease, Chicago, and the Sound of Music.

Updated On: 6/11/11 at 02:44 PM

[Steel Pier Fan]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:46pm

I think The Sound Of Music improved a very good show and Mamma Mia was even funner as a movie.

[broadwaybabywannabe]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 8:20pm

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF..reason: more cinematic
WEST SIDE STORY..reason: more cinematic
CHICAGO..reason: more cinematic
KING & I..reason: DEBORAH KERR
CABARET..reason: BOB FOSSE/LIZA MINNELLI
SOUTH PACIFIC..(don't laugh i LOVED this movie)
FUNNY FACE..reason: AUDREY HEPBURN/KAY THOMPSON
('Think Pink')
SOUND OF MUSIC..reason: JULIE ANDREWS
Updated On: 6/11/11 at 08:20 PM

[binau]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 8:38pm

[jv92]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 8:42pm

The King and I-- They cut most of the fat, and made a really nice movie. That's probably my favorite. It still holds up today. And both Bryner and Karr are terrific.

[noradesmond]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 9:44pm

Nothing new to offer really. I agree with The King and I. Wonderful adaptation with Deborah Kerr giving a superb performance. And one of the things that makes it work so well is that Marni Nixon who dubbed the vocals actually rehearsed with Kerr so the lip syncing was very fluid.

Sound Of Music, Fiddler On the Roof, Sweeney Todd - all big affirmatives. Because they adapted the material to the screen so well.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 9:50pm

The Music Man and Cabaret.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 10:07pm

Well, these were ADAPTED not ADOPTED, as far as I know, but I haven't seen the papers ...

Sound of Music
West Side Story
Oliver!
Chicago
The Music Man
The King and I
Funny Girl
My Fair Lady
Fiddler on the Roof
Cabaret


Maybe not the most popular choices around here, but I love them just the same:

Flower Drum Song
Hello, Dolly!
On the Town
Girl Crazy
Dreamgirls
Sweet Charity
Hair

Honorable mentions:

Damn Yankees
The Pajama Game
Finnian's Rainbow
Hairspray

Oh, and the worst:

The Wiz
Annie
A Chorus Line
Man of La Mancha
Mame

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 10:10pm

CALL ME MADAM - kept what worked on stage and cut or rewrote the rest.

FUNNY GIRL - the script for teh stage version is a mess..The screenplay for the film greatly improves the narrative.

OKLAHOMA! - while not necessarily better than the stage show, it has cinematic style (and location shooting) to bring the story to life.

KING AND I - Agree with above...excellent casting, suptuous production values and a decent streamlining of a long-ish stage show. (Though I DO wish the footage for "Shall I Tell You What I Think of YOU" could be restored. Marni Nixon told me it WAS in the film when it premiered but later cut and then lost.)

WEST SIDE STORY - The changes in song placement plus the location shooting helped make the film the success that it was and seeing it on teh big scren againa few years ago I was struck by how well it still works.

Warner Bros seemed to like embalming hit plays and musicals on film... sometiems the results are deadly dull, sometimes just mis-cast with Hollywood stars (GYPSY) although MUSIC MAN captures some of what made the stage show so successful, and MY FAIR LADY at least preserves Rex Harrison's performance (sadly without Julie Andrews.)

SOUND OF MUSIC - All that Austrian scenery just makes the movie. Julie ANdrews so right for the role (Mary Martin at almost 50 was too old on stage.) Even the alterations to teh song line-up make for a better film. These are some of the reasons why it remains popular as it approaches its 50th anniversary.

CABARET - While it is not reptresentive of Hal Prince's CABARET on stage but as a film it's a fantastic melding of the stage musical and the script for I AM A CAMERA.

Adl for every oen of these there are disaterous film versions of hit shows that often seem like deliberate attempts to discredit teh stage properties teh film-makers are trying to preserve: CAMELOT, PAINT YOUR WAGON, MAME, HELLO DOLLY! - Notice these all came out within a 10 years span, almost as if Hollywood's new (younger, hipper) guard were trying to prove that movie musicals were no longer viable. If anyone wanted to destroy a genre you cold not have done a better job than releasing bombs like these.

And the final nail in the cross: Hal Prince's misguided film of NIGHT MUSIC.

Updated On: 6/11/11 at 10:10 PM

[finishmyhat]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 10:22pm

Despite the last 15 minutes, Little Shop of Horrors is a remarkably well made transfer. On screen puppetry at it's best (doubtful CGI could look as real today), just cuts to material up until the ending (anyone to argue losing Closed For Renovations, Call Back In The Morning, and Ya Never Know doesn't realize how weak the material is and how it was composed to cover set/plant changes and ultimately introduce them. You don't need it on film), and a superb cast.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 11:22pm

There are a few that I love... I usually prefer filmings of stage productions, but here are a few of my favorites:

CHICAGO: For the most part, it's a dazzling film that really manages to make the piece still feel theatrical. You get the same feeling from this as when you actually see the show, it's just achieved in slightly different ways, which I think means it was a very successful adaptation. My one disappointment is that there really isn't much Fosse-style choreography, which wouldn't have been that hard to solve, but you can't have everything, can you?

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: I've said this many times, and while I know most (if not all) people here disagree with me, I think the movie mad some huge improvements to the overall tone of the show. While I'm not in love with either version, there were some things I think the movie did right--the first of which was so cut the dialogue-type songs with sloppy lyrics and no real reason to sing other than just because they wanted to. This also made the score feel a lot less repetitive. But the thing that I love about this movie is that it cut down the length of the opera sequences so that they didn't interrupt the dark tone of the rest of the show. The opera sequences seem to be some kind of comic relief on stage, so by cutting down on them or showing what the Phantom is doing, the dark tone continues throughout the whole movie. This anticipation and creepiness being carried throughout the whole movie makes the end quite thrilling, which didn't happen for me on stage.

HAIRSPRAY: This movie really managed to capture the fun atmosphere of the show with a quite talented cast of mostly celebrities. It's not engagingly artistic, but it's a very enjoyable movie that I really can't say anything very bad about. Watching the movie just makes me feel pretty happy.

HOW TO SUCCEED...: Mostly a "cut-and-paste" adaptation with nothing changed. It feels maybe a little too theatrical for a movie, but it works in its old musical cheesiness. It really shows what was up on the stage quite well and, while it feels kind of long without an intermission, it has really stood the test of time better than I thought it would have when I first picked it up of the library shelf a few years ago. A delightful show to have, though I could really do without Robert Morse's excessive vibrato.

Most of these I chose to talk about because nobody had touched on them much, so of course I love a lot of the ones that people had previously talked about in detail. My least favorites would have to include Sweeney Todd (for its excessive amount of blood making it gross rather than scary), A Little Night Music (for somehow making a beautiful, intricate show laughably simple), and Evita (for destroying the power of unbelievably high belting and making it visually monotonous).

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 11:47pm

Best12bars - I changed it to "adapted" way before your post. I sincerely apologize.

In regards to Sweeney Todd - I think Tim Burton did a fine job, but since I love the musical, I still think it doesn't do it justice compared to the live experience, so I left that off of my exclusive list.

Can't believe I forgot West Side Story. (The King and I is pretty brilliant too.)

And...you liked Hairspray? I found everything in that film awful except for Nikki Blonsky (and from time to time...Queen Latifah)

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 12:16am

It was fun. I don't like it as much as most annoying "theatre fans" at my school love it, but I was pleasantly surprised with it. Quite enjoyable.

[JP2]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 12:23am

Hairspray
Little Shop of Horrors
Sweeney Todd
Cabaret
Chicago
Hedwig
Rocky Horror
Hello, Dolly!
Dreamgirls - Hasn't aged well, but still has its moments.

[pinoyidol2006]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 12:32am

Sound of Music: Because of Julie Andrews. Also, those kids are too cute.
Hairspray: I just enjoyed it. I'm still trying to figure out why.
Liked:
Girl Crazy: Because of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Judy's "But Not For Me" is DIVINE.
Funny Girl: Because of Barbra.
My Fair Lady: It was just awesome. I still wish Julie played Eliza in the film.
Sweeney Todd: I'm glad they didn't try to copy and paste the stage show.
Mamma Mia: It was quite fun.

So-so:
Rent

Hate:
Nine, Phantom of the Opera

I will be watching Chicago (finally) tomorrow. I'll see how I enjoy it.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 4:44pm

If I had to name just one it would probably be "The Music Man." Somehow Robert Preston managed to transfer all that energy that he generated in the theater on to the movie screen.

And the supporting cast was very strong with Buddy Hackett, Paul Ford, Hermione Gingold and little Ronnie Howard.

I haven't been able to find out why Barbara Cook was passed over. Maybe they thought that she was too old at 35. Shirley Jones was 28 at filming and had a track record from "Oklahoma" and "Carousel." In any event, Shirley Jones was fine.

As for "My Fair Lady," there can never be forgiveness for passing over Julie Andrews.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 5:03pm

Shirley Jones was an established film star at that point. She had just won an Oscar for Elmer Gantry, too.

You may not realize that they almost passed over Robert Preston for the part of Harold Hill because he wasn't a big enough name, even though he had worked in movies.

The only way they could use him was to have a movie star as Marian.

If Cary Grant (God forbid) had accepted the offer to play Harold Hill, we might have seen Barbara Cook as Marian, but thankfully, he turned it down.

A similar casting scenario happened for Pajama Game (also at Warners). They could use one Broadway lead and one film star. That was the plan. An offer went out to Frank Sinatra (again, God forbid!) to play Sid. If he had accepted, Janis Paige would have played Babe. He turned it down, so they offered Doris Day "Babe" and used Broadway's John Raitt as Sid.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 8:10pm

I had forgotten that Shirley Jones had won an Oscar for acting.

I did see where Robert Preston almost didn't get the film role. This sounds a little crazy but I read that Jack Warner wanted Frank Sinatra or Cary Grant for the role.

Meredith Willson supposedly insisted on Preston. I don't know if he had that kind of power.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 8:45pm

Hands down The Sound of Music.

Can you imagine if Julie Andrews had played Eliza on screen? Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, AND My Fair Lady? That would have been amazing!

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 3:37pm

"The Sound of Music" and "My Fair Lady" are my two favorites.

Posted: 11/14/11 at 4:53pm

My favorites are:

1. My Fair Lady
2. The Sound of Music
3. West Side Story
4. Chicago
5. Sweeney Todd
6. Hairspray
Movie Musicals

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 11/14/11 at 6:24pm

I think Milos Forman's HAIR is one of the great screen musicals and superior in every way to the mess that was presented on stage. (I saw it on Broadway late in its original run (when Jerry Ragni was doing unfunny-Lenny-Bruce-as-Berger) and on national tour (when that production was still fresh).)

The film is like some of the great MGM screen musicals, utterly un-serious and totally delightful as a result.

There's no denying the original stage production's historical importance and terrific tunes. In content it was no more serious than the film, however, yet pretended to have far greater weight than it actually offered.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 11/14/11 at 6:27pm

If her famous Golden Globes speech is any indication, Julie Andrews would not have been available for Mary Poppins had she done My Fair Lady. (She thanked Warner for not hiring her for MFL.)

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 11/14/11 at 7:12pm

Three immediately come to mind:

Cabaret (one of my favorite movies of all time)
Fiddler on the Roof (the second best movie musical of the 70's)
Sound of Music (that scenery! those orchestrations! Julie!!!)

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 11/14/11 at 9:10pm

The Sound of Music still makes me smile to this day and I think it's better than the stage show.

Chicago was superb! The "all in Roxy's mind" gimmick served the story perfectly.

Loved Sweeney Todd for the most part. The singing was at least all on pitch and visually, it was pretty stunning. It was filled with atmosphere and suspense just like a really good Hammer horror film.

Hairspray was a total blast!

Can we please discuss how the hell they managed to screw up Nine? With that cast? They needed a better script. It was terrible. Why would a wardrobe mistress start singing about the Follies Bergere? It makes no sense! Daniel Day-Lewis was totally miscast and too broody as Guido. However, Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz were phenomenal! The lower keys for Unusual Way didn't make sense either. Given what I've heard of Nicole Kidman's voice, I'm pretty sure she would have been far more comfortable in the original key. The whole movie was just one big WTF!