Cabaret

On a historical level, a personal-story level, and as pure entertainment "Cabaret" works perfectly. The scene is Berlin, Germany, only two years before Hitler would come to total power. It is the Berlin that Christopher Isherwood lived in and wrote about: poverty, drug and alcohol escapism, criminals, sleazebags, fighting in the streets, venereal disease, the prostitution of both sexes, the desperation to escape through the film industry, the temporary escape from the harshness of life in "naughty" nightclubs like The Kit Kat Club, which encapsulates it all. It's a bad scene, and a good example of, perhaps, why so many Germans felt in need of a Hitler. There's not a single verbal reference to Hitler, and yet the presence of the growing Nazi movement all around these decadent misfits is ever present in this film. But you can't blame any of these apolitical people for that. Liza Minelli and Michael York's characters are so needy, so desperate just to find some personal happiness in life. They can't be bothered with what's going on in the bigger picture. Except for the Master Of Ceremonies at the Club: Joel Grey's character is a semi-supernatural all-seeing character, mocking, seeming to somehow know EXACTLY the further destruction Germany's headed for. His scary all-knowing grinning face pops in regularly to remind us. The musical number "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" is so effective an illustration of the appeal this new Nazi hope held for impoverished suffering Germans, and yet we have The Master Of Ceremonies' evil nodding grin to remind us, in retrospect, what it really led to.Just as every musical number (aside from being so beautifully choreographed and presented) reminds us of the desperation in Sally Bowles' life and in most of Germany. "Money Makes The World Go Around" is a perfect musical number, and so illustrative of the horrendous financial state of Germany at the time. Joel Grey's raunchy "Two Ladies" on the Kit Kat stage to the hysterical delight of the decadent crowd reminds us that all sexual propriety has broken down (including in the lives of the main characters, now involved in a threeway with one of the few Germans who still has some wealth intact). Everyone who wants an example of the artistic heights that film can reach should see "Cabaret".

In my time on this planet, I have passed this film by at least a hundred times, curious, but not enough to warrant seeing it. Well, this weekend curiosity got the better of me and I finally broke down and saw it. I was pleased to find a very tightly constructed piece of musical drama, in which the drama and the musical elements are separate yet interconnected.

A story ostensibly about the end of decadence in Germany and the simultaneous rise of the Nazi party, "Cabaret" winds up being much more. Unlike "Titanic"(1997), which also intermingled historical events with a love story, "Cabaret" uses the cabaret as a device to comment on the goings-on in the story surrounding it, yet doesn't feel tacked on or phony like the former film. Part of this is because of the wonderful performances all around, and part is the sheer craftsmanship involved in putting the film together. Liza Minnelli and Michael York make us actually care about their characters, and Joel Grey brings a creepy verisimilitude to the Master of Ceremonies. Marisa Berenson, Fritz Wepper, and Helmut Griem put in fine supporting performances, lending dimension to what could have easily been cardboard characters.

The craftsmanship of Geoffrey Unsworth and Bob Fosse is no less impressive. I was familiar with Unsworth's work from "Superman: The Movie" and was amazed with his ability to make Liza look so breathtaking here. Fosse's direction and staging of the dance numbers is classic Fosse, even if the film had to be tightened up by the studio prior to release. This is great entertainment, with food for thought, and the Kander & Ebb songs stay with you long after the film ends.

Come to think of it, so does the film itself. Well worth seeing, and the ending is very thought-provoking.

It's a strongest film I know. Every time I watch it, it bewilders me so I can't turn my eyes away from the screen, even though I remember all what happens by heart. It fills me with a strange mixed feeling of interest-sympathy-admiration-disgust-and-horror. One of the reviewers here called this film depressing, and I inclined to agree. Any picture of Berlin in 1931 must be depressing and frightening. But, on the other hand, there is an atmosphere of desperate reckless joy in the movie. When the entire world goes mad and speeds to a catastrophe, life is a cabaret! Do what you can, come hear the music play, don't permit some prophet of doom wipe every smile away, and end as the happiest corpse! It's one idea. There is also another, more humanistic: live and let live. Brian fails to understand Sally, so they fall apart. Fritz for the sake of his love faces the danger of admitting that he is Jew in Germany. There is no hope for him and Natalia in this country in this time. But he couldn't do otherwise. There are plenty of other ideas too: about money, politics, corruption, perverseness, decadence, stupidity of middle classes, talent, success, etc. The story is very simple and incredibly complicated in the same time. No use retelling it. It must be seen. It's life as it was in 1931 and in many ways as it is nowadays. I suppose that Cabaret would be a great film even without any musical numbers, but with them it is a masterpiece. They say that history repeats itself, for the first time as a tragedy, for the second time as a farce. Well, I would say that in Cabaret every event repeats itself for the first time as a human drama in life and for the second time as a farce on the stage, but it would not be exactly true. Life and farce are shown synchronically or farce even go in advance. But every staged number in divinely decadency Kit Kat Klub ruthlessly shows the naked truth of life. (Only Mein Herr and Maybe This Time have more to do with the character of Sally Bowles.) And of course, Tomorrow Belongs To Me must be mentioned separately. The way of German people towards fascism is presented in one startling scene. And in finale too. That distorted reflection of the audience full of Nazi, accompanied by a tense silence after Master's of Ceremonies ‘Aufwiedershen' is horrible. The movie due half of its unforgettable effect to the masterful camera shots. Actors' works are absolutely fantastical. Surely, Master Of Ceremonies is Joel Grey star role. He is amazing as that demonic shameless figure that seems to know everything, understand everything and deride everything. Liza Minnelli shines in every scene, acting, speaking, singing and dancing. I know few performances equally true, strong, brilliant and stylish as hers as Sally Bowles. Michael York is excellent as well, though he is often underestimated. It's only his character who is reserved, intelligent and avoids show-off. And he is perfectly British. I really admire York's acting in the movie. There are also beautiful Marisa Berenson as noble Natalia, Fritz Wepper very believable as tormented Fritz, repulsively attractive Helmut Griem as the rich scoundrel Maximilian and picturesque supporting cast. John's Kander's music is wonderful and haunting.

Shortly, Cabaret is a work of a genius, or it would be better to say of geniuses: Bob Fosse and the crew and the cast. And it's flawless.

The scene is Berlin just before the completion of Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Two apolitical people go about their lives while impending doom surrounds them. Cabaret is a ground-breaking combination of social drama and musical entertainment. It's one of the best examples of films from the New Hollywood. This was a short time in American cinema where the studios were producing challenging and director-led personal films.

What Cabaret does which is so unique is to reinvent what the musical could be. It's a film that is essentially a drama that uses musical numbers to comment on its story. The songs all fit into a realistic narrative. Most of them are sung within the confines of the Kit Kat Klub, the cabaret of the title. In taking this approach the movie is more able to incorporate a disturbing subject such as the Germany's progression to Nazism into this most fantastical and joyous of film genres. All of the songs comment on the social situation in Germany at the time and because they are all performed in the cabaret they can be explained in a real context, cleverly allowing those who do not even like musicals to enjoy them as they do not break the illusion of reality. The one song that is performed outside the club is perhaps the most memorable however. 'Tomorrow Belongs to Me' is sung by a young fresh-faced boy with an angelic voice. It starts out quite beautifully but as it progresses the camera pans down and we see the emblem of the swastika on a band around his arm and realise he is a Hitler Youth. The words suddenly take on an altogether more sinister meaning. It's a moment that really encapsulates the way that fascism seemed like a progressive way ahead for the majority of people at the time. With the benefit of hindsight we, of course, see the horror of what it represents but for many Germans at the time, the ideals of Hitlerism had an attraction, and 'Tomorrow Belongs to Me' brilliantly illustrates both these points.

Another way in which the film differentiates itself from most others that deal with this time and place is that there is barely a mention of the Nazis at all. All the Nazis characters exist in the periphery of the story, they barely interact with the characters in any way. Their significance is in no need of emphasis; their presence is ominously felt throughout. Cabaret reflects the changes in Germany from the point of view of people living in their own little world but the true horror is never far from the surface. The strange insular world of the Kit Kat Klub encapsulates this perfectly. Hosted by the enigmatic, almost supernatural, Master of Ceremonies, it's a decadent place that exists apart from the realities of Hitlerism, a place that we all know must be ultimately doomed when the Nazis fully rise to power.

Performances are universally great with Michael York and Liza Minnelli both putting in very fine work. Minnelli especially has to be credited for combining both dramatic acting and musical performances of both the highest calibre. The songs themselves are memorable and work in the clever double way of providing entertainment while commenting on dark issues below the surface. In a sense, that is the genius of Cabaret overall.

A young English man named Brian(Michael York, in a character based on Christopher Isherwood's experiences) develops a relationship with a reckless young American girl named Sally(Liza Minnelli at a wonderful performance to the edge of tragedy) in Berlin during the 30s in which Hitler is rising to power and racism, anti-Semitism and determinedly amoral behavior are growing. They're both then seduced by a German rich aristocrat named Max(Helmut Griem). Meanwhile Brian works as English teacher for an elegant young Jewish(Marisa Berenson) and his friend Fritz Wendel(Fritz Wippel), both of whom falling in love. All the roles are linked by the Kit-Kat club where perform Sally and an androgynous master of ceremonies(Joel Grey , he deservedly won Oscar to best support cast).

It's a magnificent musical-drama well set on Germany where are increasing horrors of Nazism taking place on its grim moments. Atmospheric nostalgia piece from the stories of Christopher Isherwood and successfully creating a portrait of a nation falling into moral decay. It's one of the most perfect examples of accurate timing over a sustained period ever put on cinema. This dynamic film packs excellent musical numbers full of aggression, fire and turn out to be unmissable experience. Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey give the acting of their lives. Glamorous and evocative cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth . Based on the John Kander's hit Broadway musical and soundtrack by Ralph Burns full of classic songs. This story was formerly brought to life by Henry Cornelius (1959) with Laurence Harvey(Brian role) and Julie Harris(Sally role) in a good drama no musicalized.

¨Cabaret¨ is an impressive picture splendidly directed by Bob Fosse(1927-1987) and winning three Oscars. Fosse was a director, actor, choreographer and dancer. He choreographed : ¨My sister Eileen, The Pijama game, Damn Yankees¨ and directed another films with awesome musical sequences such as ¨Sweet charity and All that jazz¨.