IndieWire's The 50 Best Movie Musicals of All Time, Ranked

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From “Swing Time" to "In the Heights" and everywhere in between, these films represent the height and the incredible range of the genre.
By David Ehrlich, Christian Blauvelt, Kate Erbland

Jun 13, 2021 11:00 am

The musical often feels like a relic of a long-dead Hollywood studio system, but it remains a genre that captures movies’ ability to create story worlds that move freely between reality and fantasy. The worst examples come from filmmakers who give license to music, color, and movement run amok; the best musicals transcend artifice and integrate songs that become expressions of pure character emotion. It offers endless possibilities, but success demands a complete mastery of the medium.

Very few current stars could learn the choreography of Busby Berkeley, Jerome Robbins, or Bob Fosse, and adapting a medium developed and most suited for the stage requires innovative direction. In translating the joy of a live musical to the magic of cinema, some things are easily lost in the shuffle

From “Swing Time” to “In the Heights” and everywhere in between, here are 50 musicals that represent the height and the incredible range of the genre.

Eric Kohn, Anne Thompson, Ryan Lattanzio, Jude Dry, Kristen Lopez, Jenna Marotta, Jamie Righetti, Michael Nordine, and Siddhant Adlakha contributed to this list.

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  1. 1 new

    Singin' in the Rain

    1952, in 37 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    All That Jazz

    1979, in 19 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    Sholay

    1975 — a.k.a. Embers, in 11 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    Dancer in the Dark

    2000, in 9 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    The Band Wagon

    1953, in 14 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    Les parapluies de Cherbourg

    1964 — a.k.a. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, in 18 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    The Wizard of Oz

    1939, in 38 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    Nashville

    1975, in 20 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Cabaret

    1972, in 24 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    West Side Story

    1961, in 22 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    A Star Is Born

    1954, in 13 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    Phantom of the Paradise

    1974, in 5 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    The Lion King

    1994, in 24 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    Swing Time

    1936, in 13 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    Mary Poppins

    1964, in 15 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    Purple Rain

    1984, in 3 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Love Me Tonight

    1932, in 11 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    Hedwig and the Angry Inch

    2001, in 10 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    The Sound of Music

    1965, in 25 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    Moulin Rouge!

    2001, in 17 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    A Hard Day's Night

    1964, in 19 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Inside Llewyn Davis

    2013, in 8 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Mughal-E-Azam

    1960 — a.k.a. The Emperor of the Mughals, in 8 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    42nd Street

    1933, in 12 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    Beyoncé: Lemonade

    2016, in 0 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Golden Eighties

    1986, in 1 top list Check
  27. 27 new

    Tokyo Tribe

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Kiss Me Kate

    1953, in 2 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Stormy Weather

    1943, in 4 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    Once

    2007, in 4 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    On an Island with You

    1948, in 0 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    A Star Is Born

    2018, in 6 top lists
    Check
  33. 33 new

    Les demoiselles de Rochefort

    1967 — a.k.a. The Young Girls of Rochefort, in 12 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Cabin in the Sky

    1943, in 3 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    Hoshikuzu kyôdai no densetsu

    1985 — a.k.a. The Legend of the Stardust Brothers, in 0 top lists Check
  36. 36 new

    Las cosas del querer

    1989 — a.k.a. The Things of Love, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    New York, New York

    1977, in 5 top lists Check
  38. 38 new

    It's Always Fair Weather

    1955, in 3 top lists Check
  39. 39 new

    In the Heights

    2021, in 0 top lists
    Check
  40. 40 new

    Funny Face

    1957, in 6 top lists Check
  41. 41 new

    Fiddler on the Roof

    1971, in 8 top lists Check
  42. 42 new

    Dreamgirls

    2006, in 2 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    Beauty and the Beast

    1991, in 19 top lists Check
  44. 44 new

    Peau d'âne

    1970 — a.k.a. Donkey Skin, in 3 top lists Check
  45. 45 new

    Pyaasa

    1957, in 10 top lists Check
  46. 46 new

    Meet Me in St. Louis

    1944, in 15 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Words and Music

    1948, in 0 top lists Check
  48. 48 new

    Blinded by the Light

    2019, in 0 top lists
    Check
  49. 49 new

    Une femme est une femme

    1961 — a.k.a. A Woman Is a Woman, in 4 top lists Check
  50. 50 new

    God Help the Girl

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
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Last updated on Jun 27, 2021; source