With Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables about to seen by the first set of eyes this coming Friday, many pundits predict this could be the first musical nominated for Best Picture since Rob Marshall’s Chicago (2002).
The question I pose to our readership today is which movie musical would you have nominated for Best Picture but sadly was not in any given year?
I’m sure some are going to throw out the likes of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) or perhaps even Adam Shankman’s version of Hairspray (2007), two films that are insanely flawed but work on some level of entertainment. The only film I can think of would be Bill Condon’s version of Dreamgirls (2006). While Jennifer Hudson reaped the awards benefit for the film and Eddie Murphy enjoyed his first Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor, Beyoncé Knowles showed a presentable acting range while the film introduced the powerful talents of Anika Noni Rose and Keith Robinson. The film still stands as one of the best of 2006. This might be a cheat but animated films like The Prince of Egypt (1998) and The Lion King (1994) are pounding in my head though I know they’re not “musicals” per se. I’m going with it anyway.
Which ones would you choose?
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Tags: Anika Noni Rose, Beyonce Knowles, Bill Condon, Chicago, Cinema of the United States, Dreamgirls, eddie murphy, Egypt, Entertainment/Culture, Films, Hairspray, jennifer hudson, Keith Robinson, King, Movie Release, Musical theatre, Prince, Rob Marshall, Sweeney, sweeney todd, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt, Tom Hooper
22 Comments
Possibly Rent – It was a totally enjoyable movie. Even more there are musicals that have never become movies that I would love to have seen: Into The Woods, City of Angels, Sunset Boulevard, and a remake of Brigadoon with all the missing songs and emphasis on singing rather than dancing.
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)
Easily, Dreamgirls. It should have had a Best Picture nomination. I still don’t get this one. What was the Academy thinking? Especially in a particular weak year in my opinion. Crossing fingers that Les Mis knocks it outta the park and takes the top prize.
Chad(Quote) (Reply)
Huh? Really? I thought 2006 a weak year? I thought 2006 was a dynamite year with Departed, Babel (which I hated, but I know many liked), Little Miss Sunshine, the Queen, and Letters from Iwo Jima. Even the snubbed movies from that year were great — Flags of our Fathers, Pursuit of Happyness, Pan’s Labyrinth, Notes on s Scandal, Devil Wears Prada (more for acting), United 93, and Children of Men. I’d place all those movies above Dreamgirls in my book.
Dan(Quote) (Reply)
Singin’ in the Rain, full stop. One of the worst snubs in Oscar history.
UBourgeois(Quote) (Reply)
Amen. That should have taken all four acting, director, and picture
Joe Gouveia(Quote) (Reply)
You’re right about Singing In the Rain. In almost the same class, the 1954 “A Star Is Born”. Definitely hope “Les Miserables” will run the table and then we can all gear up for “The Wiz” unless the new Oz movie undercuts the desire for the subject.
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)
I assume you meant to say “Wicked”, as “The Wiz” was made into a film in 1978 with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
Mark(Quote) (Reply)
Absolutely right and I’ve read all four books. Shame on me!!
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)
Hey now Clay, don’t you throw shade at Hairspray! lol If 2007 wasn’t such a ridiculously good year I’d say Hairspray. But other musicals that deserved it:
-Singin in the Rain
-Damn Yankees
-The Lion King
-Once
I think Rent would have been better if they ditched the original cast for a younger cast. I love their voices but they were a wee bit too old for the story they tried to tell.
Terence Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
ooooo Great call on “Once.”
Clayton Davis(Quote) (Reply)
1981: Pennies from Heaven. A brilliant dark musical that was highly underappreciated at the time and remains semi-obscure. But it’s so good–go to YouTube, watch Christopher Walken tapdance/striptease to “Let’s Misbehave”, and tell me it doesn’t look like a masterpiece.
JamDenTel(Quote) (Reply)
Once, without a doubt…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. That is all.
Squasher88(Quote) (Reply)
-Singin’ in the Rain
It’s just a great movie overall
-Grease
I can’t think of five movies from 1978 that I liked better
As far as animated musicals go I’d say The Lion King and South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.
Jeremy DC(Quote) (Reply)
Then there are musicals that were great at the time and still are fun to watch on TCM, but now appear somewhat dated as they are locked into the 1950 / 60s era and mores: American In Paris, Daddy Long Legs, and Finian’s Rainbow
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)
My three favorite musicals are The Blues Brothers, Fiddler on the Roof, and Once. Fiddler got the nomination for ’71, so that doesn’t fit the criteria (though for the record, I would picked it for best picture and actor, even over The French Connection, another movie I love). The Blues Brothers is too far fetched a choice, though I like it infinitely better than Ordinary People. However, Once was certainly worthy of a nomination for 2007, even considering that 2007 is one of my favorite years for film and had an overcrowded slate. I would put it in over Atonement.
Steve Glansberg(Quote) (Reply)
Clay, I’m swooning over your mention of “Prince of Egypt.” Both that and “Lion King” deserved Best Picture nominations and THE WIN (yep, I said it!).
Joseph Braverman(Quote) (Reply)
I think the reason Lion King was left out was because 1994 was a superb year for movies. Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction all came out in that year just to name a few.
And the snubbing of Singin in the Rain was one of the biggest embarassment to Oscar’s history.
Max(Quote) (Reply)
Maybe not for Best Picture, but I would have loved if Hedwig & The Angry Inch had a bit more Awards attention. The Globe nomination was fantastic for John Cameron Mitchell, but his performance in that is nothing short of AMAZING and would have been a fantastic off-the-wall nomination from the Academy.
Ben Turner(Quote) (Reply)
I think Evita, while flawed and not deserving of a Best Picture nomination, was under recognised and probably because of its leading actress. Chicago was waaaay over recognised and should not have won Best Picture or Supporting Actress for Catherine Zita Jones.
Matthew Barker(Quote) (Reply)
Currently reading the screenplay for Les Mis and if its as visually stunning as the script suggests, it will be impressive on the screen.
Matthew Barker(Quote) (Reply)
Read the script while listening to the BBC radio broadcast with commentary. It was amazing to see the words and hear the music at the same time. Have tickets for Christmas Day. Multiple viewings are probably in order.
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)