Best Musical Movie Adaptations Ever

Musicals are great. I love them so much that the only thing I listen to now is musicals. The only downside is that they are very hard to find as they can close or are in countries you don’t bother to go to. It is also very hard to find recordings that weren't recorded on 100 quality. Musicals are sometimes made into movies that you can watch at the cinema or at home. However they miss important parts and much beloved songs due to copyright and even change plot development and key characters and even the ending. And sometimes it is so horrid you would rather lick the bathroom floor than look at a bunch of CGI singing cats. Today I am counting down the best musical movie adaptations. By the way most of these is opinions I found online as I was taking forever to write this.

10. The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most challenging musicals to perform due to the outstanding high notes the characters need to perform specifically in the title song The Phantom of the Opera which has the famous E6 sung by Christene Daae. Many people don’t really enjoy the movie adaptation due to the CGI and the very quiet dialogue and people thought that Gerald Butler didn’t have the haunting yet caring and smooth voice that Michael Crawford provided in the original. And I personally hate it due to the moving of the famous chandelier crash from All I ask of you (reprise) to The Point of No Return which ruined it because the chandelier crash at the end of act one would have been more fitting there because it doesn't make sense at the end.

9. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

A movie not made short after its inspiration, Little Shop of Horrors is a classic Rock-Horror-Comedy musical that includes great characters and awesome songs. The most notable change was the ending as in the original 1982 stage musical version, the musical ends with the alien plant Audrey II eating the main characters and taking over the world with the main cast joining together as human/plant hybrids warning the audience to not feed the plants. This ending was filmed for the 1986 film version but when tested out with audiences, they found it way too dark and the film makers decided to end with Seymour and Audrey killing the plant and leaving Skid Row living happily ever after.

8. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Now in my opinion, Sweeney Todd is my second favourite musical of all time only just beaten by Hadestown. Written by the amazing Stephen Sondheim, anyone who tries to remake one of his musicals will have a large challenge due to the expectations they need to hold. While Tim Burton tried to remake the magic of Sweeney Todd Sondheim created in 1979, many songs that really challenge vocals and were important for character development were cut (if you want to know: Prelude: The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Attend The Tale of Sweeney Todd (the opening song as well as all the other reprises of the ballad), Ah Miss, Mea Culpa, Kiss Me, the chorus of Ladies in their Sensitivities, Kiss Me Part 2, a lot of A Little Priest, the chorus of God That’s Good, Wigmaker Sequence, The Letter, Parlour Songs and a lot of the Final Sequence). However the casting was amazing and performed most of the songs very well.

7. Grease (1978)

One of the musicals that is considered better than the original, Grease is the highest grossing live-action musical movie in the past 3 decades. Grease is regarded as one of the few that are better than the stage adaptation. The best songs from the show remain present including “Summer Nights,” “Beauty School Dropout,” and “Greased Lightnin.” The film also introduced new things like replacing “All Choked Up” with the even catchier “You’re the One That I Want,” and giving Sandy an Oscar -nominated song, “Hopelessly Devoted to You”. Though corny, Grease will always be in our hearts.

 6. My Fair Lady (1964)

Based on the 1956 musical adaptation of the 1913 play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady broke records upon release with its $17 million budget with the rights alone costing $5.5 million. But for our sake it was a good investment. The movie awash with colour and sound won 8 academy awards and was the second-highest-grossing film of 1964. Even though Julie Andrew didn’t get to bring her version of Eliza Doolittle to the screen, as Jack L. Warner wasn't convinced she had the star power. Audrey Hepburn carried the role wonderfully and her comedic timing and charisma made us want to dance all night.

5. Oliver! (1968)

Based on Lionel Bart’s 1960 stage musical which was adapted from Charles Dickens’ 1838 novel ‘Oliver Twist’. The tale of the orphan who dared ask for more is a well known tale. With many adaptations throughout the years the one that caught people’s attention was the 1960 musical adaptation by Lionel Bart later followed by the movie adaptation of the stage musical which was absolutely brilliant. They had all the classic and well known songs such as “Food! Glorious Food!”, “Consider Yourself”, “Pick a Pocket or Two”, “I’d Do Anything” and “Omm Pah Pah”. The casting was brilliant with Ron Moody reprising his role as master thief Fagin who played his role with style that is hard to recreate. This movie was also the last musical to win best picture until Chicago.

4. Cabaret (1972)

With the original proving to be a smash on Broadway, the film adaptation was a risky move. Though it is a brilliant movie, the only downside is that Director Bob Fosse turned the movie into more of a different interpretation of the stage version as the movie is much darker and grittier focusing on the Kit Kat Klub and the eerie political atmosphere of 1930s Berlin. However besides that the movie had good casting and the story telling is perfect.

3. Chicago (2002)

Following “Cabaret”, Bob Fosse brought Chicago to Broadway. Sadly he didn’t live long enough to see the film adaptation releasing 15 years after his death. However, his influence is strongly felt throughout the film, especially with the jazzy lighting, amazing choreography and excellent staging. The movie perfectly replicates the fantasy and realism of the stage musical, with catchy tunes this movie became the first musical to win best picture in 34 years with the last one coming from “Oliver!” in 1968.

2. The Sound of Music (1965)

A Oscar winning movie directed by Robert Wise, The Sound of Music is a classic musical story of the Von-Traap family. It remains faithful to the original story while blowing the minds of audiences. Julie Andrews perfectly portrays the character Fralin Maria and sings the title song perfectly with the crew going all out with a camera zooming in on Andrew's via helicopter. Everything in this musical is fantastic and is a simple story about how music unites us all.

1. West Side Story (1961)

Based on the stage musical based on the famous Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet which is mostly considered the best musical. Robert Wise won another pair of Oscars writing 2 of the greatest movie musicals of all time. West Side Story was a cinematic masterpiece with amazing choreography and all the musical numbers are fantastic. The story of two people from different backgrounds coming together in harmony shown on screen blew audiences minds. This movie ended up winning 10 Oscars including Best Picture and director.