Lindsay Ragone
This is an actual conversation I had during my interview to get into film school fifteen years ago:
Question: “What is your ultimate goal?”
Answer: “I want to bring back the movie musical.”
By the time I graduated, two different men had beaten me to it. Baz Luhrmann and John Cameron Mitchell both released musicals in 2001, both of them glorious. In my personal opinion, MOULIN ROUGE! and HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH set the bar for a new era of movie musicals.
I was elated when I heard the Oscars were planning a tribute to modern movie musicals this year, so you can understand my disappointment when the broadcast including no montage or clips from the varied selection of musicals from the last decade, but instead focused on live performances from just three films, one of which I don’t count towards the tribute (as a nominee LES MIS would have had a performance anyway). Now CHICAGO and DREAMGIRLS are both excellent films, but to isolate them in such a rich genre felt like a letdown.
I decided to edit together my own tribute to the modern musical movie. I don’t love every movie represented here (in fact I absolutely loathe one film, while another looks so terrible I haven’t brought myself to watch it fully yet), but generally this montage contains some of my favourite films since 2001.
There are 24 films represented here. How many can you spot?
I love this! Also like your goal! Are you still pursuing it? I personally can’t get enough of musicals, modern or classic 🙂 I think I got most of the ones in this video. Missing a couple…
I haven’t been actively pursuing it, but it’s still my dream to work on a musical. Whenever I watch CHICAGO I’m blown away by the editing, so one day I’d love to cut something of that caliber!
This is great! I love musicals. I love that you mentioned Hedwig and the Angry Inch too. I feel like that one sometimes gets forgotten. Across the Universe is one of my favorites too. It’s the only time I’ve actually liked a Beatles cover.
Hedwig is actually my favourite film ever!! It took a lot of restraint not to make this whole montage out of Hedwig clips.
I think Across The Universe handled Beatles covers beautifully. There was a good mix of re-arrangements, but they were smart enough to keep some songs true to the original (like Hey Jude) as well.
Oh this is brilliant! I love musicals. I mean I’m Bollywood, they sort of run in my blood. Moulin Rouge is my favourite film of all time and I love Once, Across the Universe, Hedwig, Chicago, Enchanted, Muppets and Hairspray and Sweeney Todd are a lot of fun.
Haven’t seen Nine, Dreamgirls and The Producers.
Awesome 😀
Did you notice the quick glimpse of Bride & Prejudice?
I did indeed. I genuinely despise Aishwarya Rai though and the idea of her being anything related to Elizabeth Bennet makes me want to punch something.
Actually, I didn’t notice that! I was referring to Naveen Andrews dancing around the 2:40 mark of the video.
Sounds like we have the same taste in movies! You can probably give Nine a skip, but Dreamgirls and The Producers are a lot of fun.
OH MY GOD LINDSAY YOU ARE A PERFECT HUMAN WAIT A MINUTE GOTTA GO WATCH THIS 100 MORE TIMES
THANKS ALEX!!!!!
Glad I got my Penelope Cruz fix here at thematinee. Really nice job Lindsay! And this makes me actually want to rewatch NINE even though I found it mostly underwhelming outside of the cinematography.
I’ve only watched NINE once and wasn’t that impressed with it myself. There’s a couple great numbers though and it’s visually beautiful. I think Rob Marshall made the best movie that can be made out of the source material, but I just don’t like the musical in general. I might give it another watch.
I think I should probably give NINE a second chance…
Also I take offense at you’re using of RENT (one of the worst film musicals since the recent resurrection of the genre)
She makes it look pretty though, don’t she?
Okay, I’m gonna come to the defence of RENT. I wasn’t that impressed with it myself the first time I saw it, but on re-watch I think it’s pretty great. I’ll admit there are some weak moments (I could do without the ‘What You Own’ scene that looks like we’ve stumbled into a bad Bon Jovi video), but there’s also some beautiful moments (Tango Maureen) that take things beyond the stage production. And it would have been easy to cast this film with twenty-something ex-Disney stars, so I appreciate that it was instead filled with the less box office-friendly dream cast. I’ve grown to love this film.
I remember liking the bit in the train (my memory is very foggy at this point). But ughh… I just start thinking about the opening song with Taye Diggs hurts my soul.
Wait, which song?
The opening number is the title track “Rent”, which actually works better here than on-stage given the visuals Columbus employs. The next number “You’ll See” is the one Diggs sings lead on…and while it’s not the greatest number in the film, it’s also pretty harmless.
Cripes, I can’t believe I’m defending this movie…
OK. Maybe it isn’t the opening song (did I mention a foggy memory?). But yes.. go and feel bad because you are now attempting to defend RENT.
Watch it again!
So which one do you hate, Lindsay?
(Confession: I unironically like Nine, even more than I like 8 1/2.)
It’s no secret that I hate LES MIS (hate really isn’t a strong enough word). It hurt my soul cut it into this tribute, but it is an important contribution to the world of musicals, so no matter how bad the film is it deserves to be montaged.
No shame in loving NINE. I un-ironically love CAMP, so it’s all good.
I also hate LES MIS! (And I love the stage-play.)
I want to like LES MIS… so much. But it just rubbed me the wrong way. Some parts I’m happy for and moments I get into it. Some moments it bothers me so much. I’ve been trying to work up the courage to revisit since seeing it like four months ago, but I’m afraid of only strengthening my hatred for it.
Brilliant! I don’t count myself as a big fan of musicals, but I’ve actually seen most of these.
That is brilliant. But of course, you’re Lindsay, so it just stands to reason.
I don’t usually watch musicals, but when I do I watch montages of musicals by Lindsay. Genius stuff here. I truly laughed, cried and may have even burst out in a rash of jazz hands.
Great montage Lindsay!! Didn’t care for Rock of Ages or Mama Mia and I think the problem with Les Mis is that it will NEVER compare to the play, which is brilliant! Moulin Rouge is still (and might forever be) the best and most iconic musical of all time :)Just wondering if you ever saw the play Chicago? In my opinion, it’s even better than the movie!
Not that I had doubts that it would be good (Ryan mentioned you were working on “something”), but geezus…That was really fantastic. Like, really fantastic.
I love musicals and I’m ashamed to say it. It actually takes a lot for me to hate a musical, even the ones that have a bad reputation (Mamma Mia, Rent, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera etc.). I enjoyed them all to a certain extent. Nice video.