The MoFo Top 100 Musicals Countdown

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Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
I love this version of Cinderella, and I specifically asked about the eligibility of TV versions of musicals, and I was told that they were not eligible, so it was immediately removed from my potential list at the time, and I didn't vote for it.

I can't say with 100% certainty that it would have made my final list, but it had a very good chance if I knew it would have been allowed.

I'm glad to see that it made the list anyway, but I wish the eligibility rules had been clearer or enforced better.


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You asked about some specific movies, and I asked you whether they were proper movies that happened to be on TV or like filmed versions of live stage plays, which wouldn't be eligible.

I admit it could have been clearer in advance whether TV movies were eligible. I didn't really think it was going to be an issue until Cinderella turned up in the top 100. At that point, having not ruled specifically against TV movies, it would have been unfair to exclude it.



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
I'm getting the feeling there's going to be a lot of near-musicals in this countdown. Probably because there's not alot of musical lovers here.
If it helps, I'm pretty sure at least 80% of the countdown is proper musicals.





96
3lists37points
The Smiling Lieutenant
Director

Ernst Lubitsch, 1931

Starring

Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins, Charles Ruggles







95
3lists38points
Walk the Line
Director

James Mangold, 2005

Starring

Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick





I've not seen either Walk the Line nor The Smiling Lieutenant. Lubitsch might be one of those famous directors that I don't think I've ever seen any of their films.



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
A note on tiebreakers... when films have the same number of points, the one that appears on the most lists is given the higher ranking. If this still doesn't break the tie, the one with the highest placement on an individual list gets the higher ranking.

In the case of the 4 films on 38 points, one was on 4 ballots, so that comes highest. The other two had a 1st place and a 4th place respectively, so they'll show up tomorrow, ahead of Walk the Line which shows today in 95th place as its highest placement was at #6 on a ballot.



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Did you know if you click on the movie name on the countdown posts, it takes you to the page for that movie so you can find out more about it? Big thanks to @Yoda for coding that in.



I didn't vote Amadeus (didn't consider it a musical...which was a mistake it seems) but you gonna tell me there are 96 movies here that are better? You full of surprises MoFo!

Johnny Cash is probably my favorite singer ever... Phoenix did him fine, but Witherspoon steals that movie, somehow.
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Seen The Meaning of Life, even remember... 1 song from it. Both it and Life of Brian are the least memorable Monty Python movies to me.


Haven't seen any of the others so far.
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Yep, I was the highest vote.

Once it was made clear that movies about musicians would be eligible, there was never even a shred of doubt that Walk the Line would be on my ballot and placed quite high. It features some really great (and award-winning) performances in which the cast did all of their own singing and I really love the soundtrack. I'm a little disappointed at its low placement, but I'm happy that it made the cut.

Here's what I wrote about it when I rewatched it for the countdown:



Walk the Line
(James Mangold, 2005)

This is not a movie that I needed to watch for this countdown. As soon as I knew it was eligible, there was never any doubt that it would get my vote. But it's been a few years since I last watched it and I'd kind of forgotten just how jam packed full of music it is and just how much that I enjoy that music. Which isn't to say that I'm a Johnny Cash fan. I am not. I think I have an "essentials" CD plus Unchained - the album he did with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - but besides a handful of his hits, especially his cover of "Hurt," I never had much interest in his music. But I really enjoy the soundtrack to this film and am impressed with the vocal performances from its cast.

But besides just the music, the acting here is really strong. Joaquin Phoenix in particular brings a huge amount of intensity to his portrayal of Cash and I cannot take my eyes off him (of course the fact that he looks so damn good in it doesn't hurt). He is absolutely mesmerizing. But the other performances are also very strong with the obvious standout being Reese Witherspoon in her Oscar winning turn as June Carter Cash.

Speaking of awards, despite Phoenix's Golden Globe win for "Best Actor in a Musical Or Comedy" with this performance, obviously this isn't a musical with a capital M. But I do think it's very worthy of inclusion in the countdown and will rank quite high on my ballot.



I don't think I've ever heard of The Smiling Lieutenant.

My Ballot:
6. Walk the Line (#95)
25. Joe's Apartment (One Pointer)



Walk the Line is entertaining and well made with good performances. I rated it an 8/10, but there wasn't room on my ballot to consider it. I don't think I have seen The Smiling Lieutenant.

Seen: 4/6



Trouble with a capital "T"
#96 - The Smiling Lieutenant...When I looked through a huge list of IMDB movies marked musicals I seen that title and knew it would make the countdown because it was directed by Lubitsch.

#95 - Walk the Line...Love this movie! I watched it back in the Musical Artist Movie Hall of Fame hosted by SilentVamp. It was her nomination. I wrote this:

Walk The Line (2005)
I knew this was a really good movie, and on a second watch I'm more convinced of that than ever!

Joaquin Phoenix gave a fine performance as a young Johnny Cash. Did he look just like him? No...and that doesn't matter. What does matter is he nailed the body language and vocal inflections of Johnny Cash. I believed he was the man in black! And Joaquin sang his own songs, impressive! He sounded good too and sounded like Cash.

Reese Witherspoon
, I have no idea what June Carter Cash looks or sounds like and it doesn't matter to me if Reese doesn't look just like her. She captured this lively spirit and convinced me she was June. And she sang her own songs too! And could Reese be any more cuter than in the start of this movie! Especially in the 1954 scenes at the Grand Old Opry, wow...she was perkily, adorable!



What an amazing story and told so well that I held my breath for much of the movie...That means I was intently focused on the story and that doesn't happen with many movies. The sets and the way it was filmed told me this was a professionally made movie. I'm not a fan of country music and yet I still liked hearing the songs performed live...and that says a lot about the quality of the movie too.




Trouble with a capital "T"
Even though I loved Walk the Line and it was eligible I only voted for movies that were traditional type musicals. So far none of the movies on my ballot have showed up and I expect many won't.

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