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(In response to the color challenge ;) ).
Coming from someone who's not a fan of either Minnelli or York: this is really not to be missed, given our tastes.
Decadence before the storm in inter-war Berlin, overshadowed both by personal drama and by something monstrous gradually closing in.
The legendary cabaret scenes alone would make it an enjoyable watch (my favourite is Liza Minnelli breaking into tears while singing "Life is a Cabaret" towards the end), but what makes this truly worthy is the real substance of the plot they're woven into. Some very clever character interaction, supported by powerful acting at certain key moments.
Joel Grey's such an unforgettable, eerie apparition. As his only lines are spoken/sung on stage he's like the collective subconscious, his cabaret numbers mirroring "real world" conflicts in grotesque and mesmerizing ways.
Also, there's the immortal exchange:
York: Screw Maximilian!
Minnelli: I do.
York: So do I.
been avoiding this movie for a purpose but if it's got that interesting plot I may have to reconsider. Michael York is always in my eyes going to be Austin Power's british agent helper, Basil :D
ReplyDeleteI know, I'd been sort of avoiding it, too, it seemed like pretty meh stuff. and I really have a an aversion towards York (that this film didn't manage to cure) but he does a very good job. The scene mentioned above, I made it sound unfairly camp, but it's really dramatic and very well acted. In this and subsequent scenes, you can distinctly tell all sources of York's frustration gnawing at him at the same time: he's jealous of Minnelli because of Griem *and* jealous of Griem because of Minnelli *and* angry for getting himself in this situation *and* frustrated because it's over *and* appalled at the pervading political climate (though I am inclined to think the latter may work as respectable scapegoat for all the "pettier" former emotions). The short-lived three-way triangle is rather well-handled. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that it's York's acting that really carries it off, the resistance, the seduction, the frustration, etc. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteomg, i just remembered where i've seen minelli before. once watched this weird 60's relic called sterile cuckoo, check it out if you like minelli's acting and the climate of the decade! oh and though i haven't watched the whole movie yet (gonna go and find it from the lib!) this clip really mesmerized me, u know my mom sang this to me when i was little, bit weirrrrrrrrrrrrrrd...:D
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRIbUT6u7Q&feature=channel_page
it is something, isn't it :)? great party movie this would make.
ReplyDeleteand sterile cuckoo, omg what a...fertile title!
okay, watched it. really couldn't say it better than you in your review. sometimes it seemed that the cabaret numbers were more structured and better acted than the real dramatic scenes but just because of the numbers, the movie is really it's worth. really
ReplyDeletemesmerizing.. okay, maybe i'll have to do like you did with Gilda..too much to say!
nice, glad you liked it :)! yeah, these comments are a bit hard to follow. you always have to go back though all the movies if you don't want to miss any.
ReplyDeletei admit this takes time to stroll through the pages, there's this section where you can choose if you want a notice everytime when a comment appears on this page but i decided not to tick that bit 'cause i'm sure our e-mails are full of notices anyways. :)
ReplyDeleteyeah, that was a good call. it's ok, i try to check all pages for new comments as often as possible :).
ReplyDelete