In times of trouble, the movie musical has always had a simple solution: "Let's face the music and dance!" This has led to criticisms of the genre being silly and shallow - which is unfair as there is always something deeper going on behind the song and dance routines, if merely from a technical viewpoint. From "The Jazz Singer" to "The Greatest Showman", from Astaire to Ziegfeld, Rodgers and Hammerstein, The Beatles and beyond, this informal course will explore and celebrate the stars, styles, themes and routines of cinema's most sophisticated, yet playful, form of entertainment.
Course aim
To provide an informal introduction and overview of the movie musical, so that the films can be watched with greater insight and enjoyment.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- This course is for beginners
- This course is for improvers
- This course is for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- Explain more about the development of the movie musical.
- Identify the key films which helped shape the development of the movie musical.
- Identify the key figures who helped shape the development of the movie musical.
- Explain the difficulties of "integrating" a musical number into a film narrative.
What else do I need to know?
Nothing is needed - just a willingness to paricipate and comment on film musicals! Among the films to be discussed are: The Jazz Singer (1927); Top Hat (1935); Meet Me in St. Louis (1944); Singin' in the Rain (1952); West Side Story (1961); The Sound of Music (1965); The Greatest Showman (2017).
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