Musical Mutations: Before, Beyond and Against Hollywood (Adrian Martin)
All films listed in Adrian Martin's essay "Musical Mutations: Before, Beyond and Against Hollywood" as it appears in "Movie Mutations."
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- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsAnna KarinaJean-Claude BrialyJean-Paul BelmondoAn exotic dancer is desperate to become a mother and accepts her reluctant boyfriend's suggestion that she be impregnated by his best friend.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsBjörkCatherine DeneuveDavid MorseAn Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerBen-Zvi BaratoffOssip DymowStarsMoyshe OysherMiriam RiselleFlorence WeissMoishe Oysher gives his most robust performance as a passionate shtetl blacksmith who must struggle against temptation to become a mensch. Ulmer's film is a musical version of David Pinski's classic 1906 play Yankl der Schmid."Edgar Ulmer's independently produced Yiddish musicals of the 30s"
- DirectorDana RangaStarsMargarita AndrushkovichChris DoerkErich GuskoA look at Communist musicals that strove to be ideologically correct - and entertaining, besides."the Communist musicals featured in..."
- DirectorKrishna ShahStarsAmitabh BachchanZeenat AmanDharmendraDirector Shah Krishna compiled this compelling documentary of Indian cinema after spending two years searching through film archives from all over the world. Included are films from the turn of the 20th century through the 1970s to illustrate various schools of filmmaking and the historical progression of the art form.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMaurice ChevalierClaudette ColbertMiriam HopkinsAn amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violin-playing girlfriend on the side.Lubitsch musicals of the 30s
- DirectorKing VidorStarsDaniel L. HaynesNina Mae McKinneyWilliam FountaineA sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.King Vidor musicals
- DirectorJoseph B. VasquezStarsGeorge PerezLumi CavazosMarco LeonardiA young immigrant arrives to New York with the dream of dancing on Broadway.
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsDean MartinJerry LewisShirley MacLaineRick Todd uses the dreams of his roommate Eugene as the basis for a successful comic book."Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis comedies... [featuring] song and dance numbers"
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsElvis PresleyJudy TylerMickey ShaughnessyAfter serving time for manslaughter, young Vince Everett becomes a teenage rock star."Elvis Presley movies... [featuring] song and dance numbers"
- DirectorAllan DavidWilliam J. Hole Jr.StarsLouis PrimaJune WilkinsonSam ButeraSam Butera and the Witnesses perform several Twist numbers to save a small New Orleans nightclub and raise the bail to get Louis Prima out of jail.rock-and-roll exploitation films
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsPeter Lind HayesMary HealyHans ConriedA young boy dreams that he is in an imaginary world where, assisted by his family's plumber, he must save other piano-playing kids like himself from the dungeons of his dictatorial piano teacher who also mind-controls his mother.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsGene KellyVan JohnsonCyd CharisseTwo Americans on a hunting trip in Scotland become lost. They encounter a small village, not on the map, called Brigadoon, in which people harbor a mysterious secret, and behave as if they were still living two hundred years in the past.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDonald O'ConnorDebbie ReynoldsA silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandMargaret O'BrienMary AstorYoung love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
- DirectorJerome RobbinsRobert WiseStarsNatalie WoodGeorge ChakirisRichard BeymerTwo youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsJane PowellHoward KeelJeff RichardsWhen a backwoodsman in 1850s Oregon brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsRick MoranisEllen GreeneVincent GardeniaA nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.
- DirectorDavid O'MalleyStarsLorraine MastersonJoy CurtisStephanie JonesEmily Ann, an innocent Iowa farm girl turned lethal mistress of the martial arts is recruited to stop a crazed Nazi pianist suspected of murdering fashion models to avenge the death of his beloved basset hound.
- DirectorCory McAbeeStarsCory McAbeeRocco SistoGregory Russell CookSamuel Curtis, an interplanetary trader, sets forth through a rustic and remote solar system, unaware that his old friend Professor Hess is trying to kill him.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsZero MostelGene WilderDick ShawnA stage-play producer devises a plan to make money by producing a sure-fire flop.
- DirectorJacques DemyStarsCatherine DeneuveGeorge ChakirisFrançoise DorléacTwo sisters leave their small seaside town of Rochefort in search of romance. Hired as carnival singers, one falls for an American musician, while the other must search for her ideal partner.Jacques Demy musicals
- DirectorDon WeisStarsDonald O'ConnorDebbie ReynoldsUna MerkelMelvin, a photographer for "Look" magazine, meets Judy and wants to marry her. Her father is against that and as a last resort, Melvin promises to get Judy's photo on the cover of the next issue, a task easier said than done.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsMarge ChampionGower ChampionDebbie ReynoldsBroadway choreographer Ted Sturgis auditions dancers for a new musical after the lead walks out, with talent ranging from a ballerina to an untrained novice and his former partner, a retired star.
- DirectorMarcel VarnelStarsArthur AskeyJack Hylton and His BandRichard MurdochA plot involving spies in a haunted castle gives this team of celebrated British wireless comedians plenty of scope for laughs.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsCliff RichardLauri PetersMelvyn HayesFour bus mechanics and a stowaway travel Europe as a hotel, picking up singers. In Athens, the stowaway's mother has them arrested for kidnapping but then accepts her daughter's love for a mechanic and they vacation in Greece.
- DirectorFrank RyanStarsDeanna DurbinRobert PaigeAkim TamiroffA senator's daughter (who can't help singing) follows her boyfriend West in the days of the California gold rush.Deanna Durbin musicals
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsMarlon BrandoJean SimmonsFrank SinatraIn New York, a gambler is challenged to take a cold female missionary to Havana, but they fall for each other, and the bet has a hidden motive to finance a crap game.
- DirectorBarbra StreisandStarsBarbra StreisandAmy IrvingMandy PatinkinA Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsRobin WilliamsShelley DuvallRay WalstonThe adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsDiana RossMichael JacksonNipsey RussellAn adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsSteve MartinBernadette PetersJessica HarperDuring the Great Depression, a sheet-music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.
- DirectorJulien TempleStarsPatsy KensitEddie O'ConnellDavid BowieIn London in 1958, a young photographer seeks media stardom to keep the love of a beautiful, aspiring fashion designer.
- DirectorOlivier DucastelJacques MartineauStarsVirginie LedoyenMathieu DemyJacques BonnafféJeanne has an appetite for love that can never be satisfied. Lovers at every corner of her life she is still in search of that "one". When a impromptu tryst on the subway with Olivier gives her butterflies like never before she finally finds herself in love, truly in love. Yet she continues her affairs but now with a realization that they are not what she wants, she wants Olivier. Olivier reluctant to continue the romance with Jeanne for fear of hurting her or worse yet her seeing him at his worse. Olivier reveals to Jeanne he has AIDS from a bad needle during his heroine use. This however does not scare Jeanne off and her love for him turns her into a new person who wants to care for him, but that is not what he wants. The two share a common friend that is an AIDS Activist but they don't know it. Then Olivier because severely ill and Jeanne professes her love and her infidelity. That is the last she ever sees of Olivier. She returns to the hospital to find he has left with his parents, and left no forwarding address. Much time passes, and still the pain of her lost love resides. She knows of nothing of his whereabouts and no way to find him, until she bumps in to a friend that accompanied Olivier on the subway when she met him. Then she finally learns her love has passed on. A musical about the french governments lack of concern and role in the dire conditions of their citizens and about the different classes in society from the immigrant workers, soldiers, upper class and economic dependency on credit cards. A story that covers all walks of life and the pains of love.
- DirectorYoussef ChahineStarsLatifaAhmad BedairAhmad WafiqDrama about Malak, a rich and famous singing star who, when her husband leaves her, takes up with the younger, handsome Lamei. What Malak can't see - but her family can - is that Lamei is only after her money.
- DirectorJie FuWenzhan PanStarsQingtang LiuJinghua XueSong Chen
- DirectorDanièle HuilletJean-Marie StraubStarsRichard SalterChristine WhittleseyAnnabelle HahnIt is late at night and a married couple has just returned home from a party, where they met a former school friend of the wife and a famous singer. The husband has been charmed by the seductive and elegant woman, and this makes him treat his wife, who has gone straight back to being a housewife, condescendingly. Talking about the evening, the husband praises the school friend's beauty and intelligence. This makes his wife reveal the advances she received from the singer and the compliments he paid her; the man may be affected, but made her feel she was still desirable. When she realises her husband is jealous, the wife decides to teach him a lesson. She puts on an elegant, flimsy dress he has never seen before and pretends to turn into the 'modern-day woman', emancipated and free that her husband so admires. Initially, he likes the change; but that is only the beginning. Soon the husband discovers that his wife's transformation goes a lot deeper. She is now a whimsical woman who wants to live a life of luxury, drink champagne and have an endless string of lovers. The husband will now dance with her perhaps for the last time. The noise wakes up their child, but the wife, uncharacteristically, treats the boy coldly, and the husband has no choice but to look after him himself. When, for some strange reason, the gasman rings the door at midnight, the wife claims she spent the money her husband gave her to pay the bill on clothes. If their gas is cut off, they will have to move into a hotel and get used to living a fashionable life of debts. The wife has started packing her bags when the telephone rings - it is the singer, inviting them out. The woman suggests they all go together, with her husband and school friend, to a night-club, so they can continue their lovely evening, making it clear that she is willing to change partners. Only when the husband, in despair, accuses her of ruining his happiness does the wife realise she has finally won, and o
- DirectorFritz LangStarsSylvia SidneyGeorge RaftBarton MacLaneAn altruistic department-store owner hires ex-convicts in order to give them a second chance at life. Unfortunately, one of the convicts he hires recruits two of his fellow ex-convicts in a plan to rob the store.
- DirectorDein PerryStarsVaughan SheffieldChristian PattersonLisa PerryCharismatic tap dancing Sean tries to find a way out of working at the steel mill. When failure brings him home he starts his own dance group wearing hardhats. He must then find inspiration in the steel mill he once tried to escape.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsPaul WilliamsWilliam FinleyJessica HarperA disfigured composer sells his soul for the woman he loves so that she will perform his music. However, an evil record tycoon betrays him and steals his music to open his rock palace, The Paradise.
- DirectorAlbert MagnoliStarsPrinceApollonia KoteroMorris DayA young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsJennifer BealsMichael NouriLilia SkalaAn 18-year-old female amateur dancer who performs nightly at a dancing bar, and works as a welder during the day, dreams of joining the Pittsburgh ballet school.
- DirectorPrinceDavid HoganAlbert MagnoliStarsPrinceSheila E.Sheena EastonHighlights from Prince's 1987 European concert tour, including selections from the rock star's album of the same title.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsNeil YoungJim JarmuschRalph MolinaThis film documents Neil Young and Crazy Horse's 1996 concert tour. Jim Jarmusch interviews the band about their long history, and we see backstage footage from the 1970s and 1980s.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroSharon StoneJoe PesciIn Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite."The music-film; the guiding role of music in relation to image in especially foregrounded... A very open area which must include everything from films in which songs are prominently overlaid on the action... to the films of Martin Scorsese, Emir Kusturica, Federico Fellini, Terrence Malick, Miklos Jansco, Michael Mann, Glauber Rocha, Werner Schroeter, Sergei Parajanov, or Jon Jost..."
- DirectorRolf de HeerStarsDavid GulpililGary SweetDamon GameauFanatic is a government trooper who is heading an expedition to find an Aboriginal man accused of murdering a white woman. Others in the expedition are the Follower, a greenhorn trooper, the Veteran, and the Tracker.also included under music-film: "Ballad films where a song soundtrack becomes the essential narration"
- DirectorBibo BergeronDon PaulJeffrey KatzenbergStarsKevin KlineKenneth BranaghRosie PerezTwo swindlers get their hands on a map to the fabled city of gold, El Dorado.also included under music-film: "modern, animated features from Disney or DreamWorks where songs jump mid-verse from being voiced by characters to external lyrical commentary"
- DirectorTony GatlifStarsLa CaitaThe journey of the Romany people told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.also included under music-film: "unique... hybrid[s] between musical documentary and musical fiction"
- DirectorWim WendersStarsCompay SegundoIbrahim FerrerRubén GonzálezAging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.also included under music-film: "unique... hybrid[s] between musical documentary and musical fiction"
- DirectorMartin ArnoldStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandGrace HayesMickey Rooney and Judy Garland perform a hellish courtship in a nightmare of the American dream, created by manipulating old film.also included under music-film: "experimental films..."
- DirectorJohn GreysonStarsJohn RobinsonNormand FauteuxDianne HeatheringtonAn immortal, bigoted, unethical taxidermist is doing research on "Patient Zero", the gay flight attendant who allegedly was the first to bring AIDS to North America, for a museum show about contagious diseases, helped by the man's ghost.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsRoy ScheiderJessica LangeAnn ReinkingDirector/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.
- DirectorRoberta TorreVincenzo NavarraStarsCiccio GuarinoEnzo PaglinoMimma De RosaliaShot in his butcher shop by a rival clan during the Mafia wars of 1988, the Palermo Mobster Tano Guarrasi is mourned by his wife, four unmarried sisters and his daughter. But in truth, his death represents a kind of liberation for the women.
- DirectorJacques RivetteStarsMarianne DenicourtNathalie RichardLaurence CôteAdventures of three young women in a hot and lazy Paris in summer.
- DirectorTerence DaviesStarsLeigh McCormackMarjorie YatesAnthony WatsonA lyrical reverie about a young Liverpool boy coming of age in the 1950s among his loving family and the austere Catholic Church as he enters the rigors of school, nurtures a bedazzled love of the movies and longs for companionship.
- CreatorDavid E. KelleyStarsCalista FlockhartGreg GermannJane KrakowskiFollows the personal and professional life of lawyer Ally.
- CreatorJames L. BrooksStan DanielsDavid DavisStarsJudd HirschJeff ConawayDanny DeVitoThe staff of a New York City taxicab company go about their job while they dream of greater things.
- CreatorJoss WhedonStarsSarah Michelle GellarNicholas BrendonAlyson HanniganA young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsMel BrooksLesley Ann WarrenJeffrey TamborA filthy rich businessman bets a corporate rival that he can live on the streets of L.A. without the comforts of home or money, which proves to be tougher than he thought.
- DirectorMark HermanStarsBrenda BlethynJane HorrocksMichael CaineA shy reclusive lady is convinced by an invisible entity to sing. Subsequently, she finds herself noticed by a sleazy talent agent and her talent being showcased on-stage. She also meets a kind but nervous man who becomes her best friend.
- DirectorBruce PaltrowStarsHuey LewisGwyneth PaltrowPaul GiamattiA professional karaoke hustler reconnects with his daughter and a bored suburban businessman turns outlaw karaoke singer, among other plotlines.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsPaul MercurioTara MoriceBill HunterA maverick dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanEwan McGregorJohn LeguizamoA poor Bohemian poet in 1890s Paris falls for a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star coveted by a jealous duke.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGeorge ClooneyJohn TurturroTim Blake NelsonIn the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenGoldie HawnJulia RobertsA New York girl sets her father up with a beautiful woman in a troubled marriage while her stepsister gets engaged.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsAlessandro NivolaAlicia SilverstoneNatascha McElhoneAn update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot the film like a classic 1930s musical. It tells the story of four best friends who swear off love.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsPierre ArditiSabine AzémaJean-Pierre BacriA musical story about how people find their love on the streets of beautiful Paris.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne MooreAn epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
- DirectorAlan RudolphStarsKeith CarradineSally KellermanGeraldine ChaplinThe lives and romantic entanglements of a group of young adults who have achieved "overnight" success in Los Angeles.
- DirectorJon JostStarsTom BlairWayne CrouseJessica St. JohnA man who is dissatisfied with his family life leaves home for weeks at a time, drifting from town to town.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsWillem DafoeSusan SarandonDana DelanyA drug dealer reconsiders his profession when his boss plans to go straight and an old flame reappears.
- DirectorFrançois OzonStarsBernard GiraudeauMalik ZidiLudivine SagnierIn 1970s Germany, a 50-year-old businessman falls in love with a 20-year-old man.
- DirectorNanni MorettiStarsNanni MorettiRenato CarpentieriAntonio NeiwillerDirector Nanni Moretti takes a mordant look at Italian life through three disparate journeys, presented as the chapters of an open diary.
- DirectorNanni MorettiStarsNanni MorettiSilvio OrlandoSilvia NonoNanni Moretti takes a comic look at the ebbs and flows of his life as he becomes a father for the first time. He struggles with distractions while trying to make a documentary of the Italian national elections.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsJohn CassavetesDiahnne AbbottTwo closely bound, emotionally wounded souls reunite after years apart.
- DirectorGeorge AbbottStanley DonenStarsDoris DayJohn RaittCarol HaneyAn Iowa pajama factory worker falls in love with an affable superintendent who had been hired by the factory's boss to help oppose the workers' demand for a pay raise.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoSean PennPenelope Ann MillerA Puerto Rican former convict, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of N.Y.C.
- DirectorPhilippe GarrelStarsBrigitte SyPhilippe GarrelLouis GarrelThe familiar conflicts of a film director planning to make a movie about his life, and the confrontation he has with his wife, an actress who was turned down for such a project in which she wanted to play herself.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeremy IronsGeneviève BujoldHeidi von PalleskeTwin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
- DirectorJerry LewisStarsJerry LewisHelen TraubelPat StanleyA clueless, recently-single graduate unwittingly takes a job as a servant in a mansion inhabited by dozens of young women.
- StarsCheryl CampbellBob HoskinsGemma CravenA travelling sheet music salesman with an uptight wife throws everything away for the love of an innocent school teacher in the romantic spirit of the music he loves, that bursts into his life in full song-and-dance numbers.
- StarsMichael GambonPatrick MalahideJoanne WhalleyTormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.
- StarsGiles ThomasEwan McGregorLouise Germaine7 men work in a military intelligence office in 1956 London. Hopper is bored translating Russian and imagines rock'n'roll musicals set in the office. Francis dreams of Berry's wife.
- DirectorJacques DemyStarsCatherine DeneuveNino CastelnuovoAnne VernonA young woman separated from her lover by war faces a life-altering decision.
- DirectorTsai Ming-liangStarsKuei-Mei YangKang-sheng LeeMiao TienWhile never-ending rain and a strange disease spread by cockroaches ravage Taiwan, a plumber makes a hole between two apartments and the inhabitants of each form a unique connection, enacted in musical numbers.
- DirectorChantal AkermanStarsLioPascale SalkinDelphine SeyrigEmployees and clients of a commercial gallery only live for love; they dream it, proclaim it, sing it and dance it. Experience the encounters, reunions, passions and disappointments of a malicious chorus of girls and a group of idle boys.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Paul BelmondoAnna KarinaGraziella GalvaniPierrot escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run.
- DirectorChantal AkermanStarsGuilaine LondezThomas LangmannFrançois NégretJack and Julie live in a bare flat in Paris. At night, Jack drives a taxi while Julie wanders around the city, and in the day they make love. One day Julie meets Joseph, the daytime driver of the taxi, and soon Julie is spending her nights with Joseph and her days with Jack.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsSally PotterPablo VerónMorgane MaugranA scriptwriter comes to Paris to work on her film. There she takes up tango lessons and forms a relationship with the dancer.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsAlice FayeCarmen MirandaPhil BakerA soldier falls for a chorus girl and then experiences trouble when he is posted to the Pacific.Busby Berkeley musicals
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
- DirectorLeos CaraxStarsJuliette BinocheDenis LavantKlaus-Michael GrüberAlex, who's homeless and addicted to alcohol, and Michèle, who's losing her sight, form a relationship while sleeping rough on Paris's Pont-Neuf bridge.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsLiza MinnelliMichael YorkHelmut GriemA female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.