Tag Archives: AFI musicals

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Song of the Day #4,431: ‘Shall We Dance’ – Yul Brynner & Deborah Kerr

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

#20. The King and I – 1956
(#11 on the AFI list)

From this point on, I’m very positive on all of the movies I’ll mention. I guess that’s a good thing, given that this is supposed to be a list of the greatest musicals ever made.

The King and I, based on the Rodgers & Hammerstein stage musical, which was itself loosely based on the life of Anna Leonowens, a governess employed by King Mongkut Rama IV of Siam, is first and foremost a feast for the eyes. The costumes in this production are breathtaking, featuring lavish colors and intricate design. Deborah Kerr’s voluminous dresses are basically characters unto themselves.

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Song of the Day #4,430: ‘I Got Rhythm’ – Gene Kelly

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

#21. An American in Paris – 1951
(#9 on the AFI list)

An American in Paris goes down as one of my biggest disappointments. Not that it’s bad, but I had very high expectations. One of five movies on the list to win Best Picture, one of three by acclaimed director Vincente Minnelli, and one of three to star the peerless Gene Kelly, this movie seemed destined for my personal top ten.

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Song of the Day #4,429: ‘A Spoon Full of Sugar’ – Julie Andrews

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

#23. West Side Story – 1961
(#2 on the AFI list)

I’ve written about a handful of these movies already, so in those cases I will just link to my original post. West Side Story represents the biggest gap between my ranking and AFI’s.

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Song of the Day #4,428: ‘On Broadway’ – George Benson

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

#24. All That Jazz – 1979
(#14 on the AFI list)

Director Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical musical drama is one of a few tragedies on this list. It depicts the death bed memories and fantasies of a womanizing choreographer played by Roy Scheider.

As this is a film about a Fosse-like character, it features a ton of Fosse’s signature dance routines — lots of hats and jazz hands.

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Song of the Day #4,427: ‘The Barn Dance’ – Cast of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Two and a half months ago, I wrote about my quarantine goal of watching the 25 movie musicals deemed essential by the American Film Institute. I had 11 under my belt then, including five I had already seen and six I had watched in recent weeks.

I am happy to announce that I have now accomplished my goal of watching all 25. And that includes revisiting the five titles I had already seen. Over the next month, I will present my countdown of those musicals from worst to best.

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