In thinking about the best musicals, I had to reflect, of course, on the traditional view we all have of the genre--you know, those kind of movies with people rather surrealistically breaking out into song. But I also felt I had to mix in nods to musical bio-pics, animated films, films in which instrumental music was central to the picture, and films in which dancing--sans singing--takes center stage. I also admit I need perhaps more exposure to films in this genre, particularly musicals from the '30s and "40s. That said, based on (1) tunefulness, (2) overall quality, (3) relevance to genre, and (4) influence, here are the results:
1) All That Jazz (Bob Fosse, 79)
2) Meet Me In St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 44)
3) West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 61)
4) The Music Man (Morton De Costa, 62)
5) Nashville (Robert Altman, 75)
6) Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)
7) Fiddler on the Roof (Norman Jewison, 71)
8) Oliver! (Carol Reed, 68)
9) On The Town (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 49)
10) Tommy (Ken Russell, 75)
11) The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 64)
12) Guys and Dolls (Joseph L. Manckiewicz, 55)
13) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Stanley Donen, 54)
14) Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 72)
15) Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 52)
16) Pennies from Heaven (Herbert Ross, 81)
17) La La Land (2016, Damian Chazelle)
18) Coal Miner’s Daughter (Michael Apted, 80)
19) The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (Roy Rowland, 53)
20) Top Hat (Mark Sandrich, 35)
21) Swing Time (George Stevens, 36)
22) Bugsy Malone (Alan Parker, 76)
23) Funny Face (Stanley Donen, 57)
24) A Star is Born (George Cukor, 54)
25) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, 2001)
26) An American in Paris (Vincente Minnelli, 51)
27) Fame (Alan Parker, 80)
28) O Lucky Man! (Lindsey Anderson, 73)
28) A Hard Day's Night (Richard Lester, 64)
30) Round Midnight (Bertrand Tavernier, 86)
31) This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 84)
32) Lady and the Tramp (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske, 55)
33) The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 39)
34) The Jungle Book (Wolfgang Reitherman, 67)
35) Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 33)
36) Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, 91)
37) Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier, 2000)
38) Hair (Milos Forman, 78)
39) Godspell (David Greene, 73)
40) Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 64)
41) Yankee Doodle Dandy (Michael Curtiz, 42)
42) The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 80)
43) Damn Yankees (George Abbott and Stanley Donen, 58)
44) Chicago (Rob Marshall, 2002)
45) Funny Girl (William Wyler, 68)
46) Victor/Victoria (Blake Edwards, 82)
47) A Prairie Home Companion (Robert Altman, 2006)
48) The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 65)
48) The King and I (Walter Lang, 56)
50) Oklahoma! (Fred Zinnemann, 55)
51) Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 68)
52) Saturday Night Fever (John Badham, 77)
53) Viva Las Vegas (George Sidney, 64)
54) Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart, 71)
55) South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Trey Parker, 99)
56) The Buddy Holly Story (Steve Rash, 78)
57) Rock N’ Roll High School (Allan Arkush, 79)
58) Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, 74)
59) The Girl Can’t Help It (Frank Tashlin, 56)
60) The Muppet Movie (James Frawley, 79)
61) The Boy Friend (Ken Russell, 71)
62) Head (Bob Rafelson, 68)
63) Bound for Glory (Hal Ashby, 76)
64) One Trick Pony (Robert M. Young, 80)
65) The Committments (Alan Parker, 90)
66) Bird (Clint Eastwood, 88) 67) Anchors Aweigh (George Sidney, 45)
68) Absolute Beginners (Julian Temple, 86)
69) Jailhouse Rock (Richard Thorpe, 57)
70) Bye Bye Birdie (George Sidney, 63)
71) Hairspray (John Waters, 87)
72) Help! (Richard Lester, 65)
73) Once (John Carney, 2006)
74) New York New York (Martin Scorsese, 77)
75) Amadeus (Milos Forman, 84)
76) Pink Floyd: The Wall (Alan Parker, 82)
77) The Rose (Mark Rydell, 79)
78) Streets of Fire (Walter Hill, 84)
79) That’ll Be The Day (Claude Whatham, 73)
80) Breaking Glass (Brian Gibson, 80)
81) Holiday Inn (Mark Sandrich, 42)
82) Cinderella (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 50)
83) Flashdance (Adrian Lyne, 83)
84) Little Shop of Horrors (Frank Oz, 86)
85) Shock Treatment (Jim Sharman, 81)
86) Enchanted (Kevin Lima, 2007)
87) The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 53)
88) A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, 35)
89) The Ruling Class (Peter Medak, 72)
90) Pinnochio (Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, 40)
91) One From The Heart (Francis Ford Coppola, 82)
92) Babes in Arms (Busby Burkley, 39)
93) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 75)
94) Annie Get Your Gun (George Sidney, 50)
95) Wild in the Streets (Barry Shears, 68)
96) A Mighty Wind (Christopher Guest, 2003)
97) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To The Forum (Richard Lester, 66)
98) The Little Mermaid (Ron Clements and John Musker, 89)
99) The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 73)
100) Walk the Line (James Mangold, 2005)
101) Hans Christian Andersen (Charles Vidor, 52)
BREAKDOWN BY DECADE:
The 1930s (6, with 2 in 1939)
19) Top Hat (Mark Sandrich, 35)
20) Swing Time (George Stevens, 36)
32) The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 39)
34) Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 33)
87) A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, 35)
91) Babes in Arms (Busby Burkley, 39)
The 1940s (6, 2 in 1942)
1) Meet Me In St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 44)
9) On The Town (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 49)
40) Yankee Doodle Dandy (Michael Curtiz, 42)
67) Anchors Aweigh (George Sidney, 45)
81) Holiday Inn (Mark Sandrich, 42)
89) Pinnochio (Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, 40)
The 1950s (17, with 3 in 1955)
12) Guys and Dolls (Joseph L. Manckiewicz, 55)
13) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Stanley Donen, 54)
15) Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 52)
18) The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (Roy Rowland, 53)
22) Funny Face (Stanley Donen, 57)
23) A Star is Born (George Cukor, 54)
25) An American in Paris (Vincente Minnelli, 51)
31) Lady and the Tramp (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske, 55)
42) Damn Yankees (George Abbott and Stanley Donen, 58)
48) The King and I (Walter Lang, 56)
49) Oklahoma! (Fred Zinnemann, 55)
58) The Girl Can’t Help It (Frank Tashlin, 56)
65) The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 53)
69) Jailhouse Rock (Richard Thorpe, 57)
82) Cinderella (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 50)
93) Annie Get Your Gun (George Sidney, 50)
100) Hans Christian Andersen (Charles Vidor, 52)
The 1960s (16, with 4 in 1964 and in 1968)
3) West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 61)
4) The Music Man (Morton De Costa, 62)
8) Oliver! (Carol Reed, 68)
11) The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 64)
28) A Hard Day's Night (Richard Lester, 64)
33) The Jungle Book (Wolfgang Reitherman, 67)
39) Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 64)
44) Funny Girl (William Wyler, 68)
47) The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 65)
50) Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 68)
52) Viva Las Vegas (George Sidney, 64)
61) Head (Bob Rafelson, 68)
70) Bye Bye Birdie (George Sidney, 63)
72) Help! (Richard Lester, 65)
94) Wild in the Streets (Barry Shears, 68)
96) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To The Forum (Richard Lester, 66)
The 1970s (23--Officially the best decade for musicals—with 4 in 1973)
2) All That Jazz (Bob Fosse, 79)
5) Nashville (Robert Altman, 75)
7) Fiddler on the Roof (Norman Jewison, 71)
10) Tommy (Ken Russell, 75)
14) Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 72)
21) Bugsy Malone (Alan Parker, 76)
27) O Lucky Man! (Lindsey Anderson, 73)
37) Hair (Milos Forman, 78)
38) Godspell (David Greene, 73)
51) Saturday Night Fever (John Badham, 77)
53) Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart, 71)
55) The Buddy Holly Story (Steve Rash, 78)
56) Rock N’ Roll High School (Allan Arkush, 79)
57) Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, 74)
59) The Muppet Movie (James Frawley, 79)
60) The Boy Friend (Ken Russell, 71)
62) Bound for Glory (Hal Ashby, 76)
74) New York New York (Martin Scorsese, 77)
77) The Rose (Mark Rydell, 79)
79) That’ll Be The Day (Claude Whatham, 73)
88) The Ruling Class (Peter Medak, 72)
92) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 75)
98) The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 73)
The 1980s (20, with 5 in 1980)
16) Pennies from Heaven (Herbert Ross, 81)
17) Coal Miner’s Daughter (Michael Apted, 80)
26) Fame (Alan Parker, 80)
29) Round Midnight (Bertrand Tavernier, 86)
30) This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 84)
41) The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 80)
45) Victor/Victoria (Blake Edwards, 82)
63) One Trick Pony (Robert M. Young, 80)
66) Bird (Clint Eastwood, 88)
68) Absolute Beginners (Julian Temple, 86)
71) Hairspray (John Waters, 87)
75) Amadeus (Milos Forman, 84)
76) Pink Floyd: The Wall (Alan Parker, 82)
78) Streets of Fire (Walter Hill, 84)
80) Breaking Glass (Brian Gibson, 80)
83) Flashdance (Adrian Lyne, 83)
84) Little Shop of Horrors (Frank Oz, 86)
85) Shock Treatment (Jim Sharman, 81)
90) One From The Heart (Francis Ford Coppola, 82)
97) The Little Mermaid (Ron Clements and John Musker, 89)
The 1990s (3)
35) Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, 91)
54) South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Trey Parker, 99)
64) The Committments (Alan Parker, 90)
The 2000s (9, with 2 in 2001)
6) Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)
17) La La Land (Damian Chazelle, 2016)
24) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, 2001)
36) Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier, 2000)
43) Chicago (Rob Marshall, 2002)
73) Once (John Carney, 2006)
86) Enchanted (Kevin Lima, 2007)
95) A Mighty Wind (Christopher Guest, 2003)
99) Walk the Line (James Mangold, 2005)
BREAKDOWN BY DIRECTOR:
WITH 5 FILMS:
Stanley Donen: On The Town (9), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (13), Singin’ in the Rain (15), Funny Face (22), Damn Yankees (42)
WITH 4 FILMS:
George Sidney: Viva Las Vegas (52), Anchors Aweigh (67), Bye Bye Birdie (70), Annie Get Your Gun (93)
WITH 3 FILMS:
Vincente Minnelli: Meet Me In St. Louis (1), An American in Paris (25), The Band Wagon (65)
Alan Parker: Bugsy Malone (21), Fame (26), Pink Floyd: The Wall (76)
Richard Lester: A Hard Day's Night (28), Help! (72), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To The Forum (96)
Hamilton Luske: Lady and the Tramp(31), Cinderella (82), Pinnochio (89)
WITH 2 FILMS:
Bob Fosse: All That Jazz (2), Cabaret (14)
Robert Wise: West Side Story (3), The Sound of Music (47)
Robert Altman: Nashville (5), A Prairie Home Companion (46)
Gene Kelly: On The Town (9), Singin’ in the Rain (15)
Ken Russell: Tommy (10), The Boy Friend (60)
Mark Sandrich: Top Hat (19), Holiday Inn (81)
Clyde Geronimi: Lady and the Tramp(31), Cinderella (82)
Wilfred Jackson: Lady and the Tramp(31), Cinderella (82)
Milos Forman: Hair (37), Amadeus (75)
Jim Sharman: Shock Treatment (85), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (92)
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