Category Archives: Musicals 101

Musicals 101 (Part Seven): The Freed Unit

  The Freed Unit: MGM Musicals, the Evolution of Integration. There’s a saying you might know – it’s pretty popular among classic film buffs, and it goes a little something like this  “MGM has more stars than there are in heaven.” Well, I’m … Continue reading

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Musicals 101 (Part Six): Fred and Ginger

  Musical 101: Fred and Ginger, The Reigning Royalty of Dance Without a doubt, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are the king and queen of the movie musical. Although absolutely wonderful on their own, together the two add up to … Continue reading

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Musicals 101 (Part FIve): Busby Berkeley

  Musicals 101: Busby Berkeley, King of the Backstage Musical It’s only a slight exaggeration when I say that Busby Berkley invented the backstage musical. Sure, the genre existed before he entered the moving picture scene, but it was Berkeley … Continue reading

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Musicals 101 (Part Four): Analyze the Dance. Part 2: The Spectacle

  Musicals 101: Analyze the Dance. Part 2: The Spectacle. The backstage musical is a beautiful thing. While it is true that all musical numbers are ripe for spectacle, it is in the backstage musical where spectacle reigns supreme. The … Continue reading

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Musicals 101 (Part Three): Analyze the Dance, Part 1: Progression Integrated

Musicals 101: Analyze the Dance. Part 1: Progression Integrated. As I mentioned before, not all musicals are made the same. Although housed under the genre’s umbrella, the integrated musical and backstage musical evolved into very different creatures in relation to … Continue reading

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Musicals 101 (Part Two): Integrated vs. Backstage Musicals

  Movie Musicals 101: Integrated vs. Back Stage Musical, a formal difference.  Just like the other “big kid” genres, the movie musical can be divided into separate sub-genres based on their structural differences. The two main sub-genres of the musical … Continue reading

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Musicals 101 (Part One): An Introduction

  Movie Musical 101: A (semi) crash-course towards a more enlightened view on the most misunderstood genre. The movie musical is , in my opinion, a very misunderstood genre. Because the  musical is so innately unrealistic and its aesthetic is so utterly … Continue reading

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