LO4 MUSICALS

Research

http://www.tamswitmark.com/blog_items/a-brief-history-of-musicals-on-film/

http://www.filmsite.org/musicalfilms7.html

fred Astaire and ginger Rodgers films

the successful musicals for example rocky horror and grease have all transferred
into filling theatre seats on a daily occasion. The attraction and love of musicals
is loved universally that they are now so iconic that the medium has taken the
movie into other artfroms. That progression into theatres has not only transferred
into the west end and Broadway but throughout the world by amateur dramatic
groups in village halls. Even though La La Land realised in January of this year
made box office success and Oscar nominations and wins, I feel that it may not
stand the test of time in 10 years. Bringing it back to grease,

Many people love it despite hearing it tonnes of times they pay good money and
audience participation. Its the only time of film that produces this. All going to
participate that they are going to have a good night.

Musical Films

The musical is a fairly controversial ode of storytelling. Not everyone going from
a scene of normality to a sudden burst into song.

Movie films are often described as pure entertainment, mere escapism,

and simple wish fulfilment. Richard Dyer Entertainment and Utopism.
entertainment offers the image of something better to escape into, or
something we want deeply that our day-to-day lives dont provide.
Richard dyer contrasts the post-depression realism of the film narrative.
He argues that utopia serves a profound and socially nourishing function
that of enabling the audience to understand and imagine an alternative
problems of modernity.

The target audience is predominately women. Musical films would have

started off with an elder audience. It not stretched out to families. I would
say its target audience is women, middle adged, socio economic B with
time on their hands.

The films nowadays are aimed at younger audiences. For example high
school musical and Frozen.

Codes and conventions of musical films.

Similar to stage poroductions

Choreographed dance numbers

Overall style and charcteristics:

 Songs sung by the characters to enhance the plot or develop the films
characters feelings or themes. Singing in a movie is not what makes a
musical for it to be a musical characters must be uninhibited and
outwardly express emotion through song and dance. A mixture of non
diegetic and diegetic sounds. Non deictically performed songs are the
main numbers. Deictically performed songs usually are tied with song
reprises. prove to be of narrative significance. To anchor a slightly new
meaning perhaps

Musicals are always set in a fantasy world where music appears out of
nowhere, where extras spontaneously act as back-up dancers. Where
everybody has a booming Broadway-style singing voice.

Narrative and Themes

Overall, musicals tend to be utopic and happy where good rules over evil
or where the protagonist prevails. Whether the characters in the musicals
up and down, whether they are alone or in public. They are always able to
fulfil their desire to feel better by dancing and singing.

Music of musicals

The musical accompaniment comes from "no where"outside the

world of the filmthough the singing comes from within the world of
the film, which is a violation of the rules of realism that govern
almost all other genres/styles.
Songs are usually Broadway style requiring big, powerful voices
for example DREAMGIRLS.
Singing originates from the mind and emotion of the characters
the songs are used to express inward thoughts and feelings
outwardly

SETTING:

Musicals have been set in many different times and places and are
embedded in many other genres.
Typically, there are big, lavish, colorful, over-the-top sets -- the
scenery can often change from a realistic picture to something more
dreamlike.

Often musicals look like they are set on a theatre stage reminiscent of
Broadway theatre musical productions

Characters :

Male Lead: Protagonist, hero

Female Lead: Protagonist, often the love interest of the male lead
Villain: Usually an adult male, or often the conflict comes from the
protagonists struggle against a life adversity (poverty, finding way
 home, unsympathetic family, forbidden love, desire for something
unobtainable)
Sidekicks: Side/ancillary characters that round out the narrative and
support/thwart the protagonists

How are they distributed

Cinema, DVD and BLUEray, Netflix amazon prime, sky movies, freeview,
YouTube and illegal movie sites like putlocker and 123 movies. I would say
the main viewing is probably putlocker and Netflix as most families have a
Netflix account and putlocker is obviously free.

How has musical films changed over time.

The jazz singer (1927) is considered the first musical. It was the first
feature length Hollywood talkie film. In which spoken dialogue was used
as part of the dramatic action. Alttough the production was only 25%
which is a lot less than musicals we are used to seeing in todays society.
The commercialization of sound-on-film, and the transformation of the
industry from silent films to talkies became a reality with the success of
this film.

1930s saw more choreography and complex dance numbers. Such as in

Dames directed by Julien Duvivier. Dames payed homage to the golden
age if Hollywood. the film describes the fate of a family tailor shop that is
driven out of business when a gigantic department store opens across the
street.It has beautiful black and white imagery synomns with 1930
American cinema. Using methods of camera movement, staging and
lighting, seen in Hollywood classics like Gone with the Wind, Mr Smith
Goes to Washington.

Throughout the 1940s, songwriter Arthur Freed headed MGM's main

musical production unit. There were other fine musical producers at that
studio (including Joe Pasternak), but Freed's team set the industry
standard. After proving himself as associate producer of The Wizard of Oz
(1939), Freed supervised forty musicals over the next twenty years.

He broke away from the old formula and made his own musical films
such as singing in the rain (1944) and Meet me in saint Louis.

1950s Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Many theatre/stage productions adapted into musical films. Richard

Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein rose to fame by writing major hits such
as Oklahoma! (1955) and South Pacific (1958) set in everyday life
Disney made many animated musicals such as Cinderella (1950), Peter
Pan (1953), The Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959).
 1960s. Musicals early in the decade were mostly huge successes:
West Side Story (1961), The Music Man (1962), My Fair Lady (1964)
Mary Poppins (1964), The Sound of Music (1965) Julie Andrews was
very popular. In the late 60s, with the predominance of rock music,
most of the film musicals were commercial flops: Camelot (1967),
Paint Your Wagon (1969).

1970s musical films saw huge success at the big screen. Popular music
took over musical films. Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Tommy (1975),
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Grease (1978), Hair (1979) The
genre of musical films were being explored more, for example Rocky
Horror Picture Show explores the weird and wacky transvestite Dr
Frank-N-furter. Cult classic. On the other hand, Grease explores the
high school social status. Also with the rivalry gangs. Both films, show
case more explicit viewing .

1980s. musical films. sparse selections. Most of the few musicals

made in the 80s were directed at children: Jim Hensons Muppets
made three full-length musicals (1979, 1981, 1984), and Disney
revived its successful formula with The Little Mermaid (1989).

1990s musical films are now known as the golden age of musicals.
Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Newsies (1992), The Lion
King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996),
Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998), Tarzan (1999). These are films that
people my age grew up with. Nowadays, you can still see reenactments
of these films on stage.

2000s musical films have a more bold and most modern feel. Only a few
musicals were made, but they were bold, such as: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
(2001), Moulin Rouge! (2001), 8 Mile (2002), Chicago (2002), Dreamgirls
(2007), Sweeney Todd (2007) . Hollywood names are teaming up with
.

production teams to star in these films for example Jamie Fox, Eddie
Murphy and Beyonc all starred in Dreamgirls.

I think nowadays, the audiences expect a less fairytale musical films.

For example les miserables set in the French revolution is about
seeking redemption, prostitution death and violence.

La La Land explores the industry and the struggles Sebastian and Mia
have. It is a love story but it shows the crumbling of not only a
relationship but a career too. Alos, its not a happy ending as Emma
Stones character Mia ends up with someone else, however the
audience does see a fake reality of how we would have likes it too end.
This narrative technique is postmodern which is something that has
taken over a lot of musical films these days.
Narrative structure from musical films.

Musicals never finish on a low. Happy ending.

Musicals always have a love interest grease.