Cabaret
original movie poster
Directed by	Bob Fosse
Produced by	Bob Fosse
Written by	Christopher Isherwood John Van Druten
Starring	Liza Minnelli Michael York Joel Grey Helen Vita
Distributed by	MGM
Release date(s)	October, 1972
Running time	124 min.
Language	English German Hebrew
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Cabaret is a 1972 film. It was directed by Bob Fosse and it stars Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931 prior to the coming to power of the Nazis under Adolf Hitler. Image File history File links 183526. ... Bob Fosse, early promotional image. ... Christopher Isherwood (left) and W.H. Auden (right), photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Christopher Isherwood (prior to 1946 Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood) (August 26, 1904 – January 4, 1986), Anglo-American novelist, was born in the ancestral seat of his family, Wybersley Hall, High Lane, in the north west of... John William Van Druten (1 June 1901–19 December 1957) was an English dramatist, best known for writing light comedies. ... Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning American actress and singer. ... Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson, March 27, 1942) is a prolific British actor, more recently best known among mainstream audiences for his role of Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers series of films. ... Joel Grey (born 11 April 1932 as Joel Katz in Cleveland, Ohio, United States) is a Jewish-American stage and screen actor. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... Bob Fosse, early promotional image. ... Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning American actress and singer. ... Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson, March 27, 1942) is a prolific British actor, more recently best known among mainstream audiences for his role of Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers series of films. ... Joel Grey (born 11 April 1932 as Joel Katz in Cleveland, Ohio, United States) is a Jewish-American stage and screen actor. ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler... National Socialism redirects here. ... Hitler redirects here. ...

It is based loosely on the 1966 Broadway musical Cabaret by Kander and Ebb, which was in turn based in part on the Berlin stories of Christopher Isherwood. It follows the plotline of the play I Am a Camera thereby altering the plot of the stage version considerably, making it much more risqué and hard-hitting, but omitting the MC's incisive remarks. Only a few numbers from the stage score are used, but the new songs are also written by Kander and Ebb. In the traditional manner of Broadway musicals, characters in the stage version of Cabaret tend to burst into song anytime, anywhere, and nearly all the characters sing, yet in the filmed version, musical numbers are confined to the stage of the cabaret and to a beer garden. Aside from a chorus in the beer garden scene, only two of the film's major characters sing any songs. The film version of Cabaret is one of the few musicals considered much superior to its stage original. Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Cabaret is a 1966 Broadway musical, based on John Van Drutens play I Am a Camera, based in its turn on stories by Christopher Isherwood, with book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, produced and directed by Hal Prince and starring Bert Convy... Kander and Ebb is the songwriting team of composer John Kander, born March 18, 1927 and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1933 - September 11, 2004). ... Christopher Isherwood (left) and W.H. Auden (right), photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Christopher Isherwood (prior to 1946 Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood) (August 26, 1904 – January 4, 1986), Anglo-American novelist, was born in the ancestral seat of his family, Wybersley Hall, High Lane, in the north west of...

The film is largely made in low light and has a film noir feel, although it was filmed in color. This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ...

The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ...

In 2006 this film ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. The American Film Institute (AFI) is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

Storyline

Sally Bowles is an American singer in the cabaret at the Kit Kat night club in early 1930s Berlin. A new tenant, Brian Roberts, moves into a room in Sally's apartment building. A reserved English academic and writer, Brian gives English lessons to earn a living while completing his German studies. She unsuccessfully tries to seduce him and suspects he may be gay (Christopher Isherwood, on whose semi-autobiographical book the film is indirectly based, was indeed gay and reportedly "went to Berlin in search of boys to love"). Brian tells her that he has indeed tried to have romantic relationships with women, all of which have failed. They become friends, and Brian is witness to Sally's anarchic, bohemian life in the last days of the German Weimar Republic. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... Christopher Isherwood (left) and W.H. Auden (right), photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Christopher Isherwood (prior to 1946 Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood) (August 26, 1904 – January 4, 1986), Anglo-American novelist, was born in the ancestral seat of his family, Wybersley Hall, High Lane, in the north west of... Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler...

The Nazis' violent rise is a powerful, ever-present undercurrent in the film. Though explicit evidence of their actions are only sporadically presented, one can track their progress through the changing actions and attitudes of the major and minor characters. While in the beginning of the film Nazis are sometimes harassed, towards the end one scene is presented where everyday Germans rise in song to rally around Nazism. Although the songs allude to and advance the narrative of the film, every song except "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" is executed in the context of a Kit Kat Club stage performance. The realism and seriousness of the movie is enhanced by limiting the musical numbers to the club stage instead of presenting characters who burst into song as they go about their usual business. National Socialism redirects here. ...

Despite their earlier reservations, Sally and Brian eventually become lovers, and Brian concludes with irony that his previous failures with women were because they were "the wrong three girls".

Sally befriends a rich playboy baron named Maximilian von Heune, who takes them to his country estate. It becomes ambiguous over which of the duo Max is seducing, which is epitomized by a central scene in which the three dance intimately together in a wine-induced reverie. Image File history File links Cabaret02. ...

Max eventually loses interest with the two, and leaves them back in Berlin. It is then revealed that he had slept with not only Sally, but Brian as well. After the ensuing argument, Brian storms off and picks a fight with a group of Nazis, who proceed to beat him senseless. Brian and Sally make up in the hospital, where Sally reveals that Max has left them an envelope of money.

Later on, Sally finds out that she's pregnant and she's unsure of whether Brian or Max is the father. Brian offers to marry her and take her back to his university life in Cambridge. Sally realizes they could never coexist in such a life, and goes ahead with a planned abortion. The film ends with Brian departing for England by train, and Sally continuing her life in Berlin. Shown within Cambridgeshire Geography Status: City (1951) Region: East of England Admin. ...

The club's (unnamed) master of ceremonies is seen only in his stage persona, but provides repeated knowing looks to the camera that the party is about to end. A brief sequence which might be Sally's reminiscence or fantasy indicates that she had sexual relations with him at some time, or alternately that she fantasies of having such.

A subplot concerns a Jewish man, Fritz Wendel, who had been passing as a Christian, who falls for and marries Natalia Landauer, a wealthy Jewish heiress. Although they marry, we are left wondering what their ultimate fate will be.

The score

• Willkommen - performed by the Emcee and the Cabaret Girls
• Mein Herr - performed by Sally Bowles
• Two Ladies - performed by the Emcee and the Cabaret Girls
• Maybe This Time - performed by Sally Bowles
• Tiller Girls - performed by the Emcee and the Cabaret Girls
• Money, Money - performed by the Emcee and Sally Bowles
• If You Could See Her - performed by the Emcee and someone in a gorilla suit
• Tomorrow Belongs To Me - performed by one of the Hitler Youth
• (Life is a) Cabaret - performed by Sally Bowles

MC redirects here. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning American actress and singer. ... MC redirects here. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning American actress and singer. ... MC redirects here. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... MC redirects here. ... Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning American actress and singer. ... MC redirects here. ... Type species Troglodytes gorilla Savage, 1847 distribution of Gorilla Species Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei The gorilla, the largest of the living primates, is a ground-dwelling omnivore that inhabits the forests of Africa. ... The Hitler Youth (German: Hitler-Jugend, abbreviated HJ) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that existed from 1922 to 1945. ... Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning American actress and singer. ...

Trivia

• Brian expresses surprise that Sally Bowles is an American, a sly reference to the fact that in the musical on which the movie is based, Sally is British.

• The song "Married", originally in the Broadway version, was cut from the movie. It can be heard playing on a radio in the background during the scene where Brian and Sally are discussing marriage, sung in German (the title thus becoming "Heirat".) The song "Sitting Pretty," replaced in the film by "Money," can also be heard several times coming from record players, including the scene in which Sally and Brian first go to Max's house.

• In an interview given at the time of the film's release, Liza Minnelli said you could tell she was the star of the cabaret the movie is set in because she's the only performer with shaved armpits.

• Cabaret has the distinction of winning the most Oscars (8) not one of which included the Best Picture Oscar

• Billy Wilder and Gene Kelly turned down the offer to direct the project before it was accepted by Bob Fosse.

• Selected in 2003 by the Smithsonian Institution as one of eight films being preserved for future generations.

• Liza Minnelli designed all her own hair and make-up with the help of her father, famed musical director Vincente Minnelli.

• In preparation for his revival of the role of the MC (Master of Ceremonies) in the film, Joel Grey did extensive research in order to achieve a completely authentic German accent.

• "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb in the style of a traditional German song ( Die Wacht am Rhein and Horst Wessel Lied[1][2]), sung by the Nazi Youth in the movie, to stir up patriotism for the "fatherland". It has often been mistaken for a genuine "Nazi anthem" and has led to the songwriters being accused of anti-Semitism. In fact, both composers are Jewish (This fact has not stopped openly racist and anti-Semitic rock groups, like Skrewdriver, from recording the song and performing the song at White Power rallies). It is also the only song sung outside of the cabaret setting to survive the transition from stage to film.

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Image:JohnKander. ... Fred Ebb (April 8, 1933 - September 11, 2004) was a musical theatre lyricist. ... Die Wacht am Rhein (English: The Watch/Guard on the Rhine) is a German patriotic anthem. ... Horst Wessel The Horst-Wessel-Lied (Horst Wessel Song), also known as Die Fahne hoch (The flag on high, from its opening line), was the anthem of the National Socialist German Workers Party from 1930 to 1945. ... Flag of the Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (German: Hitler-Jugend, abbreviated HJ) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that existed from 1922 to 1945. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Skrewdriver was a punk rock band formed in Blackpool in 1976 by Ian Stuart Donaldson. ... White Power is an ideology and a political slogan describing the views of white supremacists. ...

Books that inspired the film

• The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood 1945
• Sally Bowles by Christopher Isherwood 1937
• The Berlin of Sally Bowles by Christopher Isherwood 1975

Christopher Isherwood (left) and W.H. Auden (right), photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Christopher Isherwood (prior to 1946 Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood) (August 26, 1904 – January 4, 1986), Anglo-American novelist, was born in the ancestral seat of his family, Wybersley Hall, High Lane, in the north west of... Christopher Isherwood (left) and W.H. Auden (right), photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Christopher Isherwood (prior to 1946 Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood) (August 26, 1904 – January 4, 1986), Anglo-American novelist, was born in the ancestral seat of his family, Wybersley Hall, High Lane, in the north west of... Christopher Isherwood (left) and W.H. Auden (right), photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Christopher Isherwood (prior to 1946 Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood) (August 26, 1904 – January 4, 1986), Anglo-American novelist, was born in the ancestral seat of his family, Wybersley Hall, High Lane, in the north west of...

See also

• 1930s Nostalgia Films
• Chicago

Cycle of films taking place during the 1930s that was started by Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and lasted until the mid-1970s. ... Chicago is a movie adaptation, released in 2002, of the musical Chicago, about celebrity and scandal in Jazz age Chicago. ...

External links

• Cabaret at the Internet Movie Database