...or do all the musical numbers take place on a stage a la Cabaret?
shareno to the first question. yes, i think so to the second question.
shareI just bought it, and I must say that I thought it would be a "burst into song" musical, but it isn't. I'm not disappointed, its just that when I hear musical I think of bursting into song. I still love this movie, I give it TEN!!
shareIt doesn't all take place on a stage. The music is however pretty logically placed. That is no Gene Kelly singing suddenly on the sidewalk(although that's beautiful in a way that is beyond description). It takes place during rehearsals, sound stage recordings and live performances. There is however one song, ''Happy Endings'' which is a direct homage/parody of the big studio numbers at MGM but that's structured as a movie-within-a-movie. So again logic protected.
"Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs." - Nathanael West
It is not a musical at all, technically, set by industry standards.
A musical (according to Hollywood) is a movie in which at least two characters sing to each other (rather than speak), or one character bursts into song through emotion, to anyone who is listening (such as Gene Kelly singing on the street in "Singin' In The Rain", or Nikki Blonsky singing on her way to school in "Hairpsray"). Otherwise, it's considered a 'film with music' and not a 'musical'. It's a bit different than theater, where just about any play shich includes singing is considered a musical.
"New York, New York" is one of those movies always thought to be a musical but isn't. The other two (always mistaken) is Streisand's "A Star Is Born" (the music is performed on the concert stage) from 1976, as well as Streisand's "Yentl" (the singing is the character's inner thoughts, not dialogue or bursts of song through emotion) from 1983. The movie "Cabaret", ublike the stage production, is also not considered a musical.
It is not a musical at all, technically, set by industry standards.
How do you explain then that when it was released the film was promoted, marketed and distributed as a musical by none other than "the industry".
In any case New York, New York isn't the first kind of musical structured like this. 42nd Street one of the most influential musicals of all time has no music at all until the end and that's structured within a stage performance. Then A Star is Born doesn't have any burst into song moments either, it's all either performed as a musical number about to be directed on film, a revue on stage before an audience or as is the case with the best song in that film, The Man That Got Away performed during a jam session by a band after hours. The only bit is the dance scene at their home set to that wild music but there's no singing there. So the Judy Garland A Star is Born isn't a "musical" either.
In any case this is silly, musicals are those films where the music as performed and dramatized(or as sung and danced) play a crucial dramatic, thematic or emotional role in the film. That is it's part of the film experience.
"Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs." - Nathanael West
Well said, artihcus022. I guess that's why we don't see any "Drama - but with a Hell of a Lot of Singing and Dancing Going On" sections in the video stores. ;) BTW, I think the "Somewhere There's a Someone" number (the one set in Vicki Lester & Norman Maine's living room) from A STAR IS BORN was pure genius.
shareIt was also very sexy. Judy Garland would have enjoyed that. No one who saw that would ever connect her with Dorothy-from-Kansas!!
"Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs." - Nathanael West
Agreed, artihcus022, made even more so by Judy pouring her heart out to James Mason. What chemistry!
shareI don't agree.
"New York, New York" is a drama about a particular time in music, and it happens to have singing in it. That's all. There are plenty of dramas out there about musicians and music, that having singing in them. Not all of them have been labeled 'musicals'.
Is "Walk the Line" labeled as a musical? No. But it has about the same amount music in it, and in the same way, as "New York, New York".
"New York, New York" was probably labeled a musical for one reason, and one reason only- Liza Minelli. I doubt it has anything to do with the definition of a musical, everything to do with marketing.
However, by definition, this is not a musical. In many ways, it's a tribute to the musical genre, but that doesn't make it a musical.
Is "Glitter" a musical? It was based "A Star Is Born". Geez, I hope not. :s
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Call it a new kind of musical.
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