Cabaret (1972)

Synopsis of Cabaret

Originally a 1966 Broadway musical, this groundbreaking Bob Fosse musical was in turn based on Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin, previously dramatized for stage and screen as I Am a Camera with Julie Harris as Sally Bowles. Fosse uses the decadent and vulgar cabaret as a mirror image of German society sliding toward the Nazis, and this intertwining of entertainment with social history marked a new step forward for the movie musical. Michael York plays a British writer who comes to Berlin in the early 1930s in hopes of becoming a teacher. He makes the acquaintance of flamboyant American entertainer Sally Bowles, played by Liza Minnelli. Sally works at the Kit Kat Klub, a George Grosz-like Berlin cabaret where each night the smirking, androgynous Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey) introduces a jazz-driven "girlie show" to his debauched audience. Virtually all the film's musical numbers are staged within the confines of the Kit Kat Klub, and each song comments on the plot and on Germany's "progression" from hedonism to Hitlerism. Most of the Broadway score by John Kander and Fred Ebb was retained, with the welcome addition of "The Money Song." Although it lost Best Picture to The Godfather, Cabaret won eight Oscars, including awards to Minnelli, Grey, and Fosse. A heavily expurgated 88-minute version of Cabaret has been prepared for commercial TV presentations, regarded by many as dramatically inferior to the full cut. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Theatrical Feature Running Time:

124 mins

Director(s):

Bob Fosse

Writer(s):

Jay Presson Allen, Hugh Wheeler

Producer(s):

Cy Feuer

Theatrical MPAA Rating:

PG(Drug Content, Sexual Situations, Substance Abuse, Profanity, Adult Situations, Adult Humor)

Categories:

Music & Performing Arts

• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Soundtrack
• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Soundtrack
• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Soundtrack
• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Most Promising Newcomer
• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Cinematography
• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Picture
• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Actress
• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Director
• 1972 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Art Direction
• 1972 - Golden Globe - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
• 1972 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
• 1972 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
• 1972 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
• 1994 - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
• 1972 - National Board of Review - Best Supporting Actor
• 1972 - National Board of Review - Best Picture
• 1972 - National Board of Review - Best Director
• 1972 - National Board of Review - Best Supporting Actress

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