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Movies / On DVD / Cabaret
Cabaret

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Cabaret (1972)

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Reviews Counted:31

Fresh:30

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.2/10

Consensus: Great performances and evocative musical numbers help Cabaret secure its status as a stylish, socially conscious classic.

Runtime: 2 hrs 30 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Synopsis: The final shot of the hit film CABARET is a Nazi meeting reflected in a mirror, providing the chilling historical subtext for this groundbreaking musical movie, set in prewar Berlin. Not since GONE... The final shot of the hit film CABARET is a Nazi meeting reflected in a mirror, providing the chilling historical subtext for this groundbreaking musical movie, set in prewar Berlin. Not since GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) had Hollywood produced a more successful film. CABARET was a convention-shattering story that dealt with themes like bisexuality that were still under the radar in the US. Additionally, CABARET made the enormously talented Liza Minnelli an American icon. Minnelli plays Sally Bowles, an aspiring singer and dancer. The main plot revolves around her relationship with two different men and her life as a singer at the Kit Kat Klub. The film utilizes the traditional conventions of American musical theater while adding in the fiendishly painted Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey) who comments on the proceedings through song and dance. Director Bob Fosse showcases the range of his vision as a director of stage and screen, serving as both choreographer and musical director. Based on the Kander-Ebb musical from John van Druten's play I AM A CAMERA (which, in turn, was derived from Christopher Isherwood's novel GOODBYE TO BERLIN), CABARET was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won eight, making it one of the most acclaimed films in movie history. [More]

Starring: Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Michael York, Helmut Griem

Starring: Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Fritz Wepper, Marisa Berenson

Director: Bob Fosse

Director: Bob Fosse
Screenwriter: Jay Presson Allen
Producer: Cy Feuer

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Cabaret

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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This viscerally powerful, deliriously inspired musical stands the test of time, and then some.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
07/11/02
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

All are guaranteed to leave Sally Bowles' words ringing in your ears as the credits roll: 'Divine decadence, darling!'

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/10/02
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Although its political pretensions are often forced, the film's energy, musical set-pieces and performances still enthral, especially Grey's depiction of a grotesque cabaret emcee. 'Money', his duet with Minnelli, is a show-stopper.

Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
06/25/02
FilmFour.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Superbly choreographed by Fosse, the cabaret numbers evoke the Berlin of 1931 - city of gaiety and perversion, of champagne and Nazi propaganda - so vividly that only an idiot could fail to perceive that something is rotten in the state of Weimar.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

simply masterful in every way

comment Comment
04/20/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Bob Fosse's direction is as chaotic as it was in his previous Sweet Charity, a desperate scramble after a style.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
08/12/08
Jay Cocks
Jay Cocks
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...the context of Germany on the eve of the Nazi ascent to power makes the entire musical into an unforgettable cry of despair.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Everybody in Cabaret is very fine, and meticulously chosen for type, down to the last weary transvestite and to the least of the bland, blond open-faced Nazis in the background.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/21/03
Roger Greenspun
Roger Greenspun
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

After a decade of stagnant musicals, Bob Fosse reenergizes the genre with a dazzling, intelligent, and socially conscious musical more reflective of the zeitgeist of the 1970s--Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey are brilliant.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
01/11/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Bob Fosse captures the atmosphere incredibly with a multi-layered musical that continues to hold up over the years

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
02/10/02
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

Much-lauded, Fosse's look at pre-Nazi Germany is pretty uneven and uninspired -- his work is far better when we're inside the Kit Kat Club where there's singing and dancing to be had.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Filled with brilliant scenes.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
02/28/02
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Whatever this 1972 feature is, it's entertaining and stylish, though maybe not quite as serious as it wants to be.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/27/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

The screenplay, which never seems to talk down to an audience while at the same time making its candid points with tasteful emphasis, returns the story to a variety of settings.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/27/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Let's just say it: the best thing going in director Bob Fosse's tour de force is Joel Grey. As the Master of Ceremonies at the infamous Berlin Kit-Kat club, Grey steals every scene he's in and makes us hope for more.

Full Review Source: JWR | comment Comment
07/22/09
S. James Wegg
S. James Wegg
JWR

Flashy musical numbers go a long way to disguise the bitterness of this pill.

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
11/06/01
Movieline
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Chilling Fosse vision of Weimar Berlin, stylishly directed and choreographed, featuring a show-stopping musical performance by Minnelli, Grey's unforgettable emcee and thoughtful acting from Michael York.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/30/03
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Matt Easterbrook
Matt Easterbrook
Matt's Movie Reviews

The classic musical..much better than Chicago

comment Comment
08/24/05
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

Seems less fresh now, but still powerful.

comment 1 Comment
12/01/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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