A+

I loved this.

For one, the musical numbers. Everyone and everything is so perfect in the singing, choreography, it's absolutely stunning to watch. I think they may just be the best collection of musical numbers I've ever seen in a film, a feat even more impressive considering they're all performed on a simple stage. My personal favorite was Mein Herr at the beginning, and Two Ladies.

Joel Grey. His performance is out of his fucking mind here. He's practically inhuman as the emcee. All his scenes are musical scenes, but even with that this might be one of the best supporting, or performances period, that I've ever seen. It's easily one of the most memorable and unique.

Liza is stunning here. She perfectly captures the desperate, shortsighted soul that Sally is, where as shown in the last song, her entire life is forcing a cabaret feel over everything and chasing an impossible dream, because she's too blind to amount to anything else. She's absolutely charming and glorious fun while doing that as well of course. Both her and Grey deserved their Oscars.

But even with the musical numbers as stunning as they are, what's almost equally amazing is that they don't dominate the film. They tie completley into the rest of the movie, like the old saying that the best supporting performances are great but don't take anything away from the leads of the film, the star... The musical numbers here co-exist with the regular movie beautifully. And the regular movie here is fantastic as well.

It's this flawless capsule into pre-WWII Berlin, where like Minelli things are desperate and shortsighted and cabaret. The nazis forever in the background are ominous, in particular for the Fritz in Natalia characters, who unknowingly are doomed by the end of the film. The love story and resolution is similar to something like Annie Hall's, but with added edge, in its conclusion and the think that as a whole it's one of the better start to finish pure relationship films, it offers a lot of mediation on that subject. Michael York as Liza's counterpart gives a very understaded performance, his subtle gestures of not being able to keep up with Liza, and his quiet loser nature, is done well. The resolution to the Max storyline is one of the most hilariously shocking things ever, but I have to give it thumbs up.

The screenplay and dialogue in the film is cracking, there's so many quotable lines and moments, and literally every single scene in the film is memorable, nothing is wasted or forgotten. The technicals in set and art design, costumes, cinematography, editing, etc. is of course perfect, it's one of the finest crafted and directed films around.

What a perfect movie. One of the best musicals ever without a doubt, it deserves every inch of reputation it gets.

By the way, The Godfather vs Cabaret must've been the most intense head to head Oscar battle ever! And Caberet almost beat it, TG must've won by the skin of its teeth. Cabaret beat it in Director and Supporting Actor, had Actress, and had an 8 to 2 lead in Oscars overall going into the final award.

Cabaret vs. The Godfather was like The Pianist vs. Chicago..only that The Godfather won and The Pianist did not, but won BD instead.

So where is it on your all-time list, Shack?

Probably top 40-50 but I have to look over things. I feel like I've added two films to my top 100 every week this summer(literally), so it's hard to keep up.

I think in terms of live action musicals for me it's 1. Moulin Rouge and then this or The Sound of Music... This is probably the finer film but the second is more enjoyable and I have a nostalgia connection to that one.

Great review, Shack.

Now you simply must move on to All That Jazz! Fosse's other masterpiece.

It's on my zip(netflix) list, though slightly weary because I pretty much hated 8 1/2. Though I doubt the problem I had with that (boredom) will pop up in a big extravaganza musical picture.