The Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket - Round Five, Day Two
Life is a cabaret, old chum.
Hey, friends! I hope you all had a good Friday the 13th, a day that at least brought us all a cursed matchup in the Elite Eight in the Ultimate Movie Musicals Bracket. Now that…well, one classic movie has moved into the Final Four (I am writing this the Sunday before yesterday’s post went up, so I have no idea what won), it’s time for another vote that I envision to be less challenging.
Let’s go!
(2) Mary Poppins vs. (6) Cabaret: You may think this is a tough vote. I do not! I admire Cabaret, a challenging and complex musical period piece that effectively sounds the warning bell about the scourge of Nazism (even post-WWII). But I more emphatically enjoy the messy charms of Mary Poppins. (Mary Poppins is many things, but it is not a perfect film. If this was a debate about who’s a better director, Bob Fosse would be a walk against Robert Stevenson. Alas.)
But that’s me. Cabaret has done much better than I would have predicted, so maybe it’s going to stun me and move to the next round. What do you think?
Mary Poppins
Cabaret
mary poppins any day of the week, i fear
Generally speaking, there have essentially been three visions of Cabaret. First was Hal Prince's colorful, winking production featuring the inimitable Joel Gray's MC. Then, Fosse made his movie - a great movie - sleazier and sultrier. And then there's my least favorite: Sam Mendes's colorless, heroine chic version. My fav by far is Prince's original. But all three are are artfully made with strong vision and immense craft.
That said, I'll take a holiday with Mary every time.