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Saturday 23 March 2013

The best and worst movie stage musical adaptations


Which musicals made the transfer from stage to screen unscathed?  Here's one person's opinion.

The best musical adaptations:
  • "Les Miserables" 2012
  • "My Fair Lady" 1964
  • "Little Shop of Horrors" 1986
  • "Oliver!" 1968
  • "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" 1967
  • "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" 1966
  • "Gypsy" 1962
  • "Chicago" 2002
  • "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" 2007(Tim Burton doing Sondheim! How good can it get?)
The worst musical adaptations:
  • "Annie" 1982 version (poor John Huston)
  • "Jesus Christ Superstar" 1973
  • "Man of La Mancha" 1972 (calling this a turkey is high praise)
  • "Hair" 1979 (just because the timing was wrong, 1968 becomes 1979?)
  • "The Wiz" 1978 (poor Sidney Lumet)
  • "Evita" 1996 (Madge as Evita sounded good on paper)
Too easy section (the makers couldn't possibly stuff it up):
  • "The Sound of Music" 1966
  • "West Side Story" 1961
  • "Oklahoma" 1955
  • "South Pacific" 1957
  • "The King and I" 1956
  • "Fiddler on the Roof" 1971
  • "Funny Girl" 1968
The jury is still out (I'm fence sitting)
  • "Hello Dolly" 1969
  • "Paint Your Wagon" 1969
  • "Camelot" 1967
  • "Sweet Charity" 1968
  • "Grease" 1978
  • "Dreamgirls" 2006
  • "The Producers" 2005
  • "Guys and Dolls" 1955
  • "A Chorus Line" 1985

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