Life is a Cabaret, My Friends!

I saw Cabaret (1972) when I was younger. And after having just watched it again I can say that I remembered most of it fairly accurately. I remembered the singing and dancing, I remembered some of the relationship dynamics, and I remembered the movie being slightly frenzied.

Cabaret is set in pre-WWII Germany. The Nazi party is on the rise and Jews are beginning to be persecuted. It's here that we find the two main characters, Sally and Brian, played by Liza Minnelli and Michael York. She, an American, is a cabaret performer, and he, a Brit, is an English teacher. We see them through the rise and fall of their relationship and all of the intricacies in between. They are joined by a colorful cast of characters, including the Master of Ceremonies at the cabaret, who is played fantastically by Joel Grey.

I didn't remember everything though. And I'm finding that to be a common occurrence when re-watching movies that I saw before I was an adult. What I didn't remember from before was the ever-increasing Nazi brutality toward Jews and any others who didn't like their politics or methods. I also forgot the fact that after becoming pregnant, Sally eventually decides to have an abortion to save herself and Brian from what she sees as a bleak future. And, I didn't catch before the way in which the movie deals with the sexuality of Michael York's character. It's all of these things, and more, that make the movie so interesting.

When I saw Cabaret on the list, I don't think I really understood why it was there. I thought, yeah, sure, it was good, but one of the top 100? I don't know about that. But, I can say now that I agree with AFI. I think it should be on the list. The acting, themes, costumes, music, choreography, directing, etc. are all great. In fact, the movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, and took home 8, including best director, best actress, best supporting actor (Al Pacino was robbed), best cinematography, best editing, best music, best art direction, and best sound. It only lost best picture and best screenplay to The Godfather. Not too shabby.

My overall recommendation: You should definitely pick it up the next chance you get.