Tag Archives: AFI musicals

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Song of the Day #4,438: ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ – Judy Garland

Continuing my personal ranking of the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute…

#15. The Wizard of Oz – 1939
(#3 on the AFI list)

The Wizard of Oz is probably the most famous and beloved film on this list, a classic family entertainment that has been watched and treasured by multiple generations.

Watching it for what must have been the first time all the way through since I was a child, its most famous scenes felt instantly familiar. In fact, it was difficult to appreciate it as a cohesive movie rather than a collection of classic pop culture moments.

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Song of the Day #4,437: ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ – James Cagney

Continuing my personal ranking of the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute…

#16. Yankee Doodle Dandy – 1942
(#18 on the AFI list)

I’ve gotten the most joy out of watching the older movies on AFI’s list of essential musicals. Though I didn’t plan it this way, I’ll feature six of the seven movies released before 1950 over the next six days, and every one is a treasure.

Yankee Doodle Dandy is the first James Cagney film I’ve ever seen. Prior to this, my exposure to his work was limited to the reenactment of Public Enemy staged at Disney World’s Great Movie Ride. I thought of him as an old-timey gangster, and indeed he was typecast in those roles early in his career.

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Song of the Day #4,436: ‘Elephant Medley’ – Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman

Continuing my personal ranking of the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute…

#17. Moulin Rouge! – 2001
(#25 on the AFI list)

If I were ranking top scenes from these 25 musicals, two standouts from Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 Moulin Rouge may well top that list. One is Ewan McGregor’s earnest performance of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ and the other is today’s SOTD, the so-called ‘Elephant Medley.’

This extravagant mash-up of a dozen love songs is both a brilliant piece of music and transporting cinema. McGregor leaping on the elephant’s head to belt out “love lifts us up where we belong” and the explosion of heart-shaped stars surrounding the lovers as they break into the chorus of ‘I Will Always Love You’ — these are breathtaking moments.

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Song of the Day #4,435: ‘The Man That Got Away’ – Judy Garland

Continuing my personal ranking of the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute…

#18. A Star is Born – 1954
(#7 on the AFI list)

This project has given me my first real exposure to Judy Garland, and I’ve come away as fascinated and impressed as fans the world over have been for years. Garland stars in three films on this list, spanning her whole turbulent film career.

A Star is Born, directed by George Cukor (who also helmed a film still to come), was considered Garland’s comeback film at the ripe old age of 32. It was also one of the last movies she ever made.

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Song of the Day #4,434: ‘Be Our Guest’ – Beauty and the Beast cast

Continuing my personal ranking of the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute…

#19. Beauty and the Beast – 1991
(#22 on the AFI list)

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is the only animated film on AFI’s list of essential musicals, and I’m not wild about its inclusion. While the film is indeed a musical in the traditional sense, for me the animation puts it in another category, one that shouldn’t be compared to the live-action films on this list.

Additionally, if we are to include animated musicals, I can think of at least a half dozen I would rank above this one (Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled and Moana leap to mind, for starters).

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