Sound and Screen: The Best of Movie Musicals

The movie musical is a genre that is almost as old as film itself. Many may know that the first “talkie” (film with sound) was The Jazz Singer, a musical. The medium of film and the idea of a story told through music are so closely knitted that it would be hard to imagine a world without them. They’re not only a great innovation, but a logical one, and here are some of the very best examples of that at play.

Across the Universe (2007), directed by Julie Taymor

In 2007, director Julie Taymor, famous for her films Titus and Frida, created a film musical using music entirely from the catalogue of The Beatles set around the same three decades the band performed. Although this film never acknowledges the fab four as entities in the world they live, the music perfectly reflects the emotions of the times. Using the more playful tracks of The Beatles to show youthful joy, the harder hitting songs to show the horrors of war, and of course the more sweet songs for romance, Across the Universe is a visual feast for the eyes as it pairs the music of The Beatles with perfectly stunning visuals. It may be the perfect Beatles film; however, it won’t be the last time you hear about them on this list.

Bugsy Malone (1976), directed by Alan Parker

Bugsy Malone is a musical about the criminal underworld. A story featuring the mob, sleazy club owners, sassy singers, and one incredibly good detective, it’s also a kids’ film featuring a cast made entirely of children. The very funny, very entertaining, and very engaging story of Bugsy Malone works well as both a great children’s film and a hilarious satire of the gangster genre. Coupled with the young talent on screen is the wonderful directorial work of Alan Parker, and the musical compositions of Paul Williams, both of whom will, like The Beatles, come up again on this very list.

Cannibal! The Musical (1993), directed by Trey Parker

Cannibal! The Musical is an adaption of the story of Alferd Packer, an American prospector who in 1874 while lost with a crew in Colorado managed to survive through an act of cannibalism that to this day is unknown if was a last resort or a symptom of Packer being crazy. It doesn’t exactly sound like a good subject for a musical, much less a comedic one directly mocking Oklahoma! But as the first ever project from Trey Parker and Matt Stone — the duo that would later create the massively successful and still running show South Park — Cannibal! The Musical is not only hilarious, but hardly disturbing at all. Treating the story as a wacky buddy comedy with ridiculous slapstick humor and silly jokes, this film manages to rope the viewer in with laughter only mere seconds after it begins, making it so that when the story eventually does get violent it becomes too silly and fake looking to be bothersome.

Chicago (2002), directed by Rob Marshall

Chicago is far from an obscure movie. In fact, it won Best Picture in 2002, but it seemingly has fallen out of the public limelight in recent years, and that’s a shame because it’s a wonderfully good time. Chicago tells the story of Roxie Hart — an aspiring singer who in a fit of rage kills a man she was having an affair with — and her subsequent stint in a women’s prison around other women facing death row. The film manages to consistently tell its seemingly bleak story in a way that is almost constantly fun. Showing each vignette as if it were a stage show, Roxie manages to secure the assistance of attorney Billy Flynn who helps her weave a narrative that will prove her innocence. It’s cunning, it’s fun, it’s full of energy, and it’s creative. What more could you want?

Elvis (2022), directed by Baz Luhrmann

The most recent film on this list and also one of my favorites of the current year is Elvis, a musical biopic telling the story of Elvis Presley through the narration of the cunning, cruel, and manipulative Colonel Tom Parker, his lifelong manager. This film is gorgeous, without a doubt one of the most visually appealing films of recent memory, and by the end will make you truly feel as though Elvis Presley really was a king. The music — from the original recordings used, to the remixes made for the film, all the way to the original tracks composed — all lift this movie up even higher into the status of an instant classic.

Interstella 5555 (2003), directed by Kazuhisa Tankenouchi, Daisuke Nishio, Bernard Deyries, and Hirotoshi Rissen

This is almost certainly the oddest film out of the list. Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, as it is titled in full, is essentially a feature length music video for the album Discovery by famous electronic duo Daft Punk. This film is told entirely through visuals and the sound of the album, telling a simple parable about the evils of the record industry through anime visuals featuring aliens, space, and of course a unique electronic sound. It’s short, it’s sweet, and it’s candy for the eyes and ears.

Little Shop of Horrors (1986), directed by Frank Oz

Frank Oz may be most well known for his work with The Muppets and with Star Wars, but Little Shop of Horrors is certainly one of his best efforts as a director. A remake of the 1960 film of the same name by low-budget horror legend Roger Corman, Little Shop of Horrors takes a silly idea for a horror movie and makes it a full blown cartoonish tribute to b-movie horror and campy classics. With an all-star cast of comedians, such as Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, John Candy and even Bill Murray, this film brings tons of laughs, catchy tunes, and one giant man-eating plant hellbent on taking over the world.

Mack the Knife (1989), directed by Menahem Golan

In 1989, Canon Group was in an odd position. CEO and founder of the infamous film production company Menahem Golan was struggling with money as his releases of cheap silly action films — such as the Death Wish sequels or any given Chuck Norris film from the time — weren’t making him the money they used to. So in a turn that would inevitably result in a loss of even more money, Golan opted to turn Canon into a company for making art films — films he hoped would win him Oscars. Unfortunately, this only resulted in a small number of films that ultimately fell into relative obscurity, but the first of which was Golan’s own adaptation of the famous Three-Penny Opera entitled Mack the Knife. Full disclosure, this film is incredibly hard to find as it was only ever released on VHS and has yet to be upscaled, but if you can track it down it is absolutely worth the watch. It’s a perfect adaptation of the Three-Penny Opera featuring the always wonderful Raul Julia as the titular MacHeath (nicknamed Mack the Knife), a womanizing thief, murderer, and aristocrat. The film also features Roger Daltrey of The Who as what is essentially the film’s narrator. It’s worth the effort to see, and I implore you to try.

The Muppet Movie (1979), directed by James Frawley

To this day, the Muppets are icons. Entering into the cultural zeitgeist through Sesame Street and gaining even more steam with the airing of The Muppet Show, to this day Kermit, Mrs. Piggy, Fozzie, and the gang seem unstoppable. They will likely never lose popularity to some degree, and 1979’s The Muppet Movie will likewise always be an incredible watch. From the brilliant music written by Paul Williams (Remember him from Bugsy Malone?), the hilarious Muppet hijinks are still very endearing.

Phantom of the Paradise (1974), directed by Brian DePalma

For this list I’ve attempted to pick only films I haven’t yet recommended in my other articles, but Phantom of the Paradise is so good I must mention it again. If you want to read my more in-depth analysis of this move, it can be found in my article “14 Wonderfully Romantic Films for the Valentine’s Season,” Here I will state that this film never once gets old, and much like Bugsy Malone and The Muppet Movie it features music entirely written by the great Paul Williams. However, this time he’s in the movie itself playing the villainous Swan.

Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982), directed by Alan Parker

Alan Parker’s second entry on this list and my single favorite film featured here is Pink Floyd: The Wall, a visual adaptation of the album of the same name from 1979. Much like Interstella 5555, this is a film that plays almost as a music video for the album it’s based on. However, this one varies from the album, featuring new mixes of the songs, never before heard tracks, and an entirely different structure to the one found in the record. It’s a beautiful, haunting, psychedelic experience showing a rock star at the brink of sanity. Although quite esoteric in ways, this film is stunning to this day, and it’s likely you’ll get something out of it, even if you aren’t a Pink Floyd fan.

Purple Rain (1984), directed by Albert Magnoli

Purple Rain may be the only movie in history to have a soundtrack so popular that many people forget it’s even connected to a film at all, which is a shame. The music is absolutely fantastic, of course, but the film found here is quite possibly the most vulnerable Prince ever was in his entire life. The film is an adaptation of an autobiographical story of his own life, rife with abuse, depression and struggles of being an outcast. It features some of the most hard-hitting rock sounds of the time and makes for an incredibly emotional and profound film that, although not forgotten, is deserving of more love.

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979), directed by Allan Arkush

I could try to say something profound about Allan Arkush’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, but at the end of the day this is just an incredibly fun and silly musical comedy featuring hit songs by the Ramones and tons of goofy high school hijinks. There isn’t really much else to why this is as good as it is. It’s just genuinely very fun.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), directed by Michael Schultz

The Beatles finally make their return to this list for a film that isn’t exactly beloved. Upon its release, Sgt. Pepper’s the film was considered a disaster and often mocked as one of the worst films ever made. Now, 44 years after its release, this film’s reputation hasn’t exactly recovered, but it has its fans, and I am absolutely one of them. Make no mistake about it, this film is incredibly strange. It’s a jukebox musical featuring Beatles tracks that have Peter Frampton and The Bee-Gee’s starring as the titular band, alongside bizarre cameo roles from George Burns, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Steve Martin, and plenty more. Told mostly through music and the occasional narration from George Burns as Mr. Kite, every set-piece, song and visual trick seems like the kind of thing that could only be made by someone doing a lot of hard drugs. This is to say it is certainly not a film for everyone, maybe not even a film for most Beatles fans, but it is certainly worth seeing if you love bizarre films like I do.

Shock Treatment (1981), directed by Jim Sharman

Much has been said about The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and although I, too, love that film just as much as most people, I opted not to include it in this list. If you love musicals, there’s a very slim chance you’ve never seen Rocky Horror, so instead of recommending that, may I present to you it’s lesser known younger brother, Shock Treatment. Shock Treatment is the now mostly forgotten sequel to Rocky Horror, featuring mainly an entirely new cast (Richard O’Brien and Patrician Quinn being the only two actors to return, albeit in new roles). The story follows Janet and Brad who have returned to their hometown of Denton years after the events of Rocky Horror. Denton has been turned into the first town in America to be a TV station, making for an incredibly effective and funny social satire that features music that I personally like more then the Rocky Horror soundtrack. It features a great cast of freaks and tons of laughs.

Tommy (1975), directed by Ken Russell

Ken Russell’s Tommy is yet another film that is an adaptation of an album, that being The Who’s Tommy. However, before the film Tommy was a show seen on Broadway. As strange as this film is, it is incredibly easy to follow, though I would warn that if you aren’t up for a film that will challenge you, maybe give this one a skip. Featuring an all-star cast, including Roger Daltrey as Tommy, Elton John, Jack Nicholson, Tommy is a film that is at times hard to stomach, but a great film with an incredible legacy.

True Stories (1986), directed by David Byrne

True Stories is a quaint little passion project of Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, featuring a soundtrack written by the band and performed by both them and the film’s cast. It’s a quirky little film taking place in Texas with Byrne as your narrator, peeping into the lives of various residents in a small but bustling town. The most central of these characters is Louis Fyne, played wonderfully by a young John Goodman. Fyne is a sweet man looking for love in his small town. If you’re looking for a nice film you can watch with the whole family, True Stories is one of the best you can find. It’s story coming off as a nice comforting tale with vibrant humor and lots of loving vibes.

West Side Story (2021), directed by Steven Spielberg

I can’t say I was all too excited when Steven Spielberg announced he was making a remake of West Side Story. Although the original musical isn’t one of my own favorites, it is incredibly beloved. At the time, I had almost been convinced that Spielberg’s career was waning. After finally seeing his version of West Side Story, however, I’m willing to admit that I was wrong. Spielberg’s West Side Story is an incredibly engaging and visually stunning musical that takes the original story and opts to tell it visually different, while keeping almost all of the same plot beats. It’s a wonderful update to what is a classic story and one that can transfix an audience on every viewing.

Possibly In Michigan (1983), directed by Cecelia Condit

For the last two entries on this list, I’m going to recommend two short films, both musicals but neither feature length. Possibly In Michigan is my favorite short film ever made; however, a word of warning, if you don’t like horror movies you should probably avoid watching this. It is difficult to discuss this short without giving a lot away, but Possibly in Michigan is a short shot on VHS that follows two women, both of whom are being stalked by a mysterious masked man named Arthur. It’s very experimental and surreal, and it’s quite the treat. You can view it here on the director’s YouTube channel.

Runaway (2010), directed by Kanye West

Runaway is short film by Kanye West released alongside arguably his most celebrated album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” This short uses most of the music from that album as it tells a love story between a man named Griffin (played by West) and half-woman half-phoenix who he finds after she falls from the sky. It is an elaborate experimental work that probably appeals most to fans of experimental films, or of West’s music. I’m a fan of both, and although I don’t think “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is his best album, this short holds a very special place in my heart. The centerpiece of this film is the nine-minute song that it’s named after, Runaway, one of Kanye’s most beloved and beautiful pieces. You can view the film here.