The Top Ten Musical Movies of All Time

From 1992's Aladdin to 1941's Ziegfeld Girl, Hollywood has provided us with constant reminders of the joys of musicals. When many musicals make the leap from the Broadway stage to the silver screen, they get the five-star treatment that adds all the glitz and glitter the stage perhaps could not afford. When they make the move from the big screen to the intimate stage, they are brought to life in a whole new way, and where before you could only imagine the tastes and smells of the characters onscreen you are suddenly able to breathe in every minute detail. Musicals hold a special place in the fabric of American cinematic culture. They make us laugh, and they make us cry; remind us where we came from, and hint at where we can only hope to go. With hundreds of musicals in the cannons of Hollywood cinema, it is no easy task to narrow down the list to a "top ten" selection. This may not be everyone's top list of favorites, but it is as diverse as it was difficult to compile. Enjoy!

10. Yentl

It takes a full nine minutes before the first note of a song is sung, but when it's Barbra Streisand doing the singing ... well, it's always worth the wait. Streisand spent over a decade working on this musical movie before it was filmed in 1982, and what a film it was destined to become. Streisand pulls out all the stops in her vocals, tearing at your heart strings with songs like "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" and tickling your funny bone with songs like "Tomorrow Night," a song with mixed gravity and hilarity as she faces the prospect of trying to win the heart of the man she loves by marrying the woman he loves. And if Barbra Streisand's golden pipes aren't enough to make this movie musical belong here, just factor in Mandy Patinkin-who sadly never sings, yet manages to elicit just as much emotion as any note of Streisand's songs with his presence on screen.

9. Grease

Thanks to Fox's GLEE, "You're the One That I Want" is now a little bit creepy ... but besides that, this classic musical tells a kind of twisted love story with a kind of twisted moral some of us can't help but scratch our heads over by the end. Sandy is a pure and innocent Australian girl who falls in love with high school gang member Danny over the summer when her family inexplicably vacations in the United States (I mean, if you live in Australia, is a U.S. beach really high on your list of vacation destinations?), who rekindles the romance when her family (just as inexplicably) decides to stay in America. Sandy and Danny's romance is rustled a bit by the demands of Danny's gang and the jealousy of female gang leader Rizzo, who apparently decides her unhappiness in her own relationship merits her utterly destroying the relationships of others (but hey, there are worse things she could do). In the end, despite the fact that Danny does the noble thing and cleans up his act to win his lady Sandy-fair, it is Sandy's downgrade into skin-tight spandex that saves the teenaged love affair, and they roar off into the mid-afternoon sky in a car we've sung about throughout the whole film and see for about ten minutes. So it's not the plot that makes this musical movie a classic. It's got to be the music, with a soundtrack chop full of memorable hits like "Grease Lightning," "Summer Lovin'," "Hopelessly Devoted to You," and many more.

8. Chicago

In 2002, some people chuckled at the thought of Catherine Zeta-Jones in a musical. Some people downright snorted in disbelief at the idea of Renée Zellweger in a musical. And some folks simply laughed out loud trying to envision Richard Gere singing and dancing his way through a movie. Then the film hit the theatres, and something happened: it wasn't awful. In fact ... it was good. It was so good that Zeta-Jones and costar Queen Latifa sang a number from the movie during the 2003 Oscar Awards Ceremony, at which it would also win six awards, including best picture. It was so good that in 2004 it won the Grammy award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture. It served as a reminder that musicals can be just as gritty as others are gleeful. After all, how many other musicals focus on the stories of women on death row, sleazy lawyers, affairs, murders, and the dark side of show biz?

7. Singin' in the Rain

I'll just go ahead and make a blanket statement right here: Anything with Gene Kelly in it is going to be amazing. The songs and dances of this musical are perennial favorites among musical fans, ever playful and charming, uproarious and heart-melting. 1952's Singin' in the Rain is a reminder of the great old school standard of musicals; telling an engaging story with a happy ending that reminds the audience that, yes, there is good in the world, and that good can overcome the toughest of odds. Of course, the odds never seem too tough in this particular musical; it's hard to see how anyone could doubt that somehow Don and Kathy will wind up together by the end. If there's a flaw to the magic of Singin', it would be the bizarre finish that manages to both remind us of Don's dream throughout the movie musical and take us almost completely out of the main plotline at the same time. Yet even here, the magic of musical cinema is brought to life in a timeless way. And just try to deny having the urge, on a rainy day, to stand out on the street and reenact the famous, timeless Kelly-performance of "Singin' in the Rain." If you doubt the song, or the performance's, timelessness, just check out the 1980 episode of The Muppet Show with Gene Kelly, and see if you, too, do not sit with bated breath waiting for him to give in and sing the song!

6. Fiddler on the Roof

Who would have thought the story of poverty, anti-Semitism, impending war, and religious conflict could be so entertaining? Yet that's just what this musical movie, from 1971, manages to be, and debates over tradition would never be the same. Despite the fact that the role of Tevye is one of the most coveted roles in musical history, his story dwells in the place between belly laughter and red-eyed sobbing. His daughters sing of match-makers, his future son-in-law sings of miracles, and his entire village sings of the town they have loved despite the poverty and neglect they faced there. This musical reminds us all of the hardship of change and broken traditions, and also of the potential that comes with such changes. We witness a father allow his departure from the traditions of his people to go so far, and no farther, questioning all the while whether or not these traditions are worth the cost of breaking them. We also witness a story of so many different manifestations of love it's almost more than the heart can take. And I won't lie: I get more than a little weepy every single time I watch Tevye and Golde wrangle their way through "Do You Love Me?"

5. The Sound of Music

I have to be honest ... this one made the list through clenched fists and even more tightly clenched teeth. Whether you, like me, are not a fan of Julie Andrews or otherwise, it's hard to deny that of all the permanent fixtures among classic musical movies, this is one that's perpetual glee just cannot be overlooked. No, folks probably aren't going to go twirling around on mountaintops these days singing love songs to the sound of music, but every once in a while they might just find themselves humming along to, if not outright singing, "Do-Re-Mi" and "My Favorite Things." Of all the songs in this 1965 classic, surprisingly one of the most popular is "Edelweiss," which was translated into a church hymn (although some churches will be sued if they use the hymn version without permission).

4. The Lion King/Beauty and the Beast/The Little Mermaid

As I've said before, when picking among Disney films, it's pretty much impossible to pick just one. Fortunately, these three Disney classics seem pretty on par with each other when it comes to their musical quality. It helps that all three were made into Broadway musicals! The films are only a few years apart; little girls everywhere fell in love with Ariel and Eric in 1989, followed by Belle and the Beast in 1991, and Simba and Nala in 1994. With classic songs like "Under the Sea" and "Part of Your World," "Be Our Guest" and "Beauty and the Beast," and "Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" between them, these films have enough memorable and loveable music to keep you singing happily for quite some time!

3. My Fair Lady

It's got Audrey Hepburn. It's got Rex Harrison. It's got eight Oscars and a remake on the way starring Keira Knightly. It's got countless vowels, horse races, gambling, and a level of sexual tension that will just about have you screaming, "Just kiss already!" by the end. Rex Harrison talks in pitch through his musical numbers, and Audrey Hepburn doesn't sing at all, but she's not the only actress to bring a classic role to the silver screen without being able to sing the part and nobody's complaining about Rex's delightfully cruel pitch-talked melodies. This musical takes the boy meets girl story and runs it through the ringer like you wouldn't believe. Boy meets girl, girl hates boy, girl loves boy but boy kind of disses girl, girl leaves boy, boy misses girl when he realizes he's "grown accustomed to her face," and girl rejoins boy (in a scene that would probably have many feminists screaming for blood when he demands his slippers) and the movie ends leaving the state of their romance either blissfully or painfully ambiguous. Harrison talks-in-pitch his way through songs like "I'm an Ordinary Man" and "A Hymn to Him," while Hepburn lip-synchs through classics like "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "I Could Have Danced All Night." Despite the greatness of this 1964 classic, some fans still haven't forgiven the filmmakers for replacing Julie Andrews (who did Mary Poppins that same year) from the original production with Hepburn ... but I, for one, forgive them.

2. West Side Story

The trailer to this 1961 gem tells us that unlike other stories, "West Side Story grows young." Starring Richard Beymer, Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, and George Chakiris, this film features even more overdubbing than My Fair Lady. Beymer, Wood, and Moreno were overdubbed; Wood was even to some extent duped into thinking her pre-recorded tracks would be featured in the film, only to be overdubbed by Marni Nixon. (As a side note, it's funny enough to think of one actress just lip-synching a track, but picture both Wood and Moreno mouthing the words to "I Have a Love".) This musical features some of the most memorable songs in musical history, including "America," "I Feel Pretty," "Somewhere," "Maria," and "Tonight." Plus, it makes Romeo and Juliet sing-able ... you've got to give extra points for that.

1. The Wizard of Oz

This 1939 film brings one of the most timeless tales ever told to musical life with Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Margaret Hamilton, and Billie Burke. Though the musical has probably some of the worst transitions from dialogue to song ever ("It's far, far away, behind the moon, beyond the rain [pause, and sing]," "Do? Why if I had a brain, I could [pause, and sing]", etc), awkward transitions do nothing to detract from the beauty and fun of all the film's classic songs. You might wonder how many times Dorothy will be told to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" before she actually starts following it, but that doesn't keep you from knowing all the words to the song (in fact, it probably helps a little bit). Sure the same melody is used to say what you'd do if you only had a brain or a heart or "the nerve," but it doesn't keep you from singing along to all three songs. And even the worst transition in the world can't keep me from tearing up a little during "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". (Side note: If you want to hear "Somewhere" get a little creepy, track down the alternate recording Dorothy sings while trapped in the witch's castle.) "Ding-Dong, The Witch Is Dead" is a pretty macabre song for the Munchkins, but it also contains one of my favorite lines ever in a musical: "Then this is a day of independence, for all Munchkins, and their descendants!" "If any!" Forget the fact that I've always preferred the Wicked Witch to Glinda ... I wouldn't give up the lines the old green one shrieks while she dissolves away into an unseen hole in the ground: "Oh what a world, what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?" With a dedication that reminds us that, before the film was made, the story had given "faithful service to the Young in Heart" for "nearly forty years, the film remains a classic for all time, and beyond.