93
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickSorry, the beloved Singin’ in the Rain isn’t the finest of the legendary MGM musicals. For my money, it’s a close second to The Band Wagon, which has better music, better dances, better direction, more lavish sets and costumes and a wittier script (by the same writers).
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineSeamlessly directed by Vincente Minnelli, The Band Wagon is one of the finest musicals ever made. Playing its hackneyed story with tongue firmly in cheek, it simultaneously reflects upon the musical genre, satirizes its conventions and delivers marvelous entertainment.
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSingin' in the Rain is a comedy, but The Band Wagon has a note of melancholy along with its smiles, a sadness always present among Broadway veterans, who have seen more failure than success, who know the show always closes and that the backstage family breaks up and returns to the limbo of auditions and out-of-town tryouts.
- 100The more you look at it, the more perfect it seems. Hollywood doesn't make films like this now because public taste has changed. But it's doubtful if they could anyway.
- 100The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherJoined with the equally nimble talents of Fred Astaire. Jack Buchanan and Cyd Charisse and some tunes from the sterling repertory of Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, this literate and witty combination herein delivers a show that respectfully bids for recognition as one of the best musical films ever made.
- 88Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrFor many, this 1953 feature represents the height of the American musical.
- 80EmpireKim NewmanEmpireKim NewmanA perfect backstage musical.
- 63LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenLarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenLike An American in Paris, which Vincente Minnelli directed two years earlier, The Band Wagon will either strike you as ebullient and exhilarating or aggressive and overwhelming—in both technique and theme.
- 63Slant MagazineJeremiah KippSlant MagazineJeremiah KippOnly musical theater people will plug into this love-fest, breaking their arms patting themselves on the back. That’s entertainment?