Get ready for a musical journey through Hollywood's most celebrated song and dance spectacles! We're counting down the most iconic Oscar-winning musicals that have captured hearts, won awards, and defined the genre across decades of cinematic history.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Outside it may be raining, but in here it's entertaining!"
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:08for the greatest movie musicals that took home Oscar gold.
00:20Number 10. All That Jazz
00:22Bob Fosse's masterful opus is part showbiz musical, part philosophical fantasy,
00:28based very closely on his own life. All That Jazz shows the choreographer-director
00:33grappling with his own mortality in solipsistic ways.
00:58It's showtime, folks!
01:26Main character Joe Gideon is a stand-in for the director,
01:29with all his womanizing, self-destructive, and perfectionist tendencies. Fosse even gave parts
01:35to some of the actual people in his life and career. Dancer and actress Anne Reinking
01:40essentially plays a character inspired by herself. All That Jazz was nominated for nine Oscars and
01:53Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing.
01:58Its reputation has only grown stronger in the years since.
02:02Number 9. An American in Paris
02:27Gene Kelly starred in and created some of the choreography for this Paris-set musical
02:31about a war veteran who falls for his pal's girlfriend, played by the charming Leslie Caron.
02:36An American in Paris is distinctive for its ambitious dance numbers and ballet sequences
02:41set to George and Ira Gershwin tunes. Kelly is at the height of his powers and charms.
02:59The movie won six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
03:04Shockingly, Gene Kelly's even more famous and beloved follow-up,
03:07Singing in the Rain, did not win any Oscars, although it was nominated for two.
03:12Come on now, snap out of it. You can't let a little thing like this get you down.
03:16Why, you're Donald Lockwood, aren't you? And Donald Lockwood's an actor, isn't he?
03:20But what's the first thing an actor learns? The show must go on!
03:23Number 8. Fiddler on the Roof
03:26Tradition clashes with modern ways in this adaptation of the Broadway hit.
03:30Our traditions. Nothing must change. Everything is perfect, exactly the way it is.
03:34We like our ways.
03:35Our ways are changing all over but here.
03:38Fiddler on the Roof takes place in early 20th century Imperial Russia.
03:42Best actor nominee Chaim Topol plays Tevye, a Jewish milkman who struggles with a changing
03:46world as his daughters insist on marrying the men they love, regardless of custom.
03:51How can I accept them? Can I deny everything I believe in?
04:00On the other hand, can I deny my own daughter?
04:06Fiddler is funny, exuberant, and tragic in equal measure. Critics were mixed to positive when it
04:12was released, but its reputation has only improved with time. It frequently makes appearances on
04:17lists of the best movie musicals ever for its enduring power and themes of community and
04:22oppression that are as relevant as ever.
04:24And you love me.
04:29I suppose I do.
04:33And I suppose I love you too.
04:40Number 7. The Sound of Music
04:43In only her third film role, Julie Andrews shines as the young
04:46but eager governess to a stern captain's seven children. She wins them over with music.
05:05The Sound of Music is based on the real-life story of the von Trapp family,
05:09who escaped Austria during the Nazi occupation. The film took home five Oscars,
05:14including Best Picture and Best Director. It isn't the only Academy-acclaimed musical
05:18that Andrews is starred in. She won Best Actress for Disney's Mary Poppins,
05:27which took home another four Academy Awards on top of that. She also starred in the underrated
05:32genderbender Victor Victoria, which picked up the Oscar for Best Original Song Score or Adaptation
05:38Score.
05:52Number 6. My Fair Lady
05:54In this delightful classic, Professor Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can transform
06:11a cockney flower girl into a refined woman who speaks refined English. Best Actor winner Rex
06:17Harrison reprised the role he played on Broadway, but stage star Julie Andrews was replaced by Audrey
06:22Hepburn, although it's Marnie Nixon's voice in the songs. The result is a charming, entertaining,
06:43and beautifully designed production that exemplifies the classic movie musical.
06:47My Fair Lady won eight Oscars, including Best Picture,
06:50and still remains one of the most successful stage-to-screen transfers ever made.
07:06Number 5. Dreamgirls
07:17Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson star in this story of a girl group's
07:22meteoric rise to fame. Inspired by Motown group The Supremes, Dreamgirls charts their rise,
07:28the ousting of one of its original members, and a series of affairs and betrayals.
07:33Hudson's Oscar-winning performance as Effie White is a tour de force.
07:47Another thing that sets the movie apart is its stellar soundtrack,
07:50with wall-to-wall bangers that sound and feel like they're actually from the 1960s and 70s.
07:56Dreamgirls is full of great performances, outstanding visual design,
08:00and songs you'll be humming long after the movie's over.
08:03Number 4. The Wizard of Oz
08:17In this timeless classic, Dorothy Gale and her house are picked up by a tornado,
08:21and she's dropped in the magical land of Oz.
08:28MGM's big-budget musical was a marvel of early technicolor photography.
08:33Stunning visual effects and gorgeous production design,
08:36Judy Garland's performance and voice have captivated audiences for decades ever since.
08:41Over the rainbow, skies are blue,
08:50and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
09:00Gone with the Wind ate up a lot of the attention at the Oscars that year,
09:03but Over the Rainbow won Best Original Song,
09:06MGM composer Herbert Stothert took home Best Original Score,
09:10and Garland was given an Academy Juvenile Award.
09:13The broom, may we have it?
09:16Please, and take it with you!
09:17Oh, thank you so much!
09:19Number 3. Chicago
09:21It's all a circus. A three-ring circus. It's trials the whole world. It's all show business.
09:30Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, and Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones lead an incredible cast
09:36of singing and dancing murderers, con artists, and fame-chasers in 1920s Chicago.
09:41Roxy Hart and Velma Kelly are two jazz performers on death row,
09:44trying to capitalize on their fame from prison.
09:47With all the publicity that's piled up between us and when Billy gets us off,
09:51would we be a natural to do an act together?
09:54You think so, huh?
09:56With its tongue-in-cheek themes of criminals becoming celebrities,
09:59it's still pretty relevant more than 20 years later.
10:02The movie musical was all but dead in the early 2000s.
10:05Chicago revitalized the entire genre,
10:08and became the first musical to win Best Picture in over 30 years.
10:12Thank you! Believe us! We could never have done it without you!
10:31Number 2. Cabaret
10:33With its themes of corruption, fascism, and decadence in 1930s Berlin,
10:50Cabaret was not a musical that was about forgetting your troubles.
10:54Nonetheless, taking viewers into the world of the seedy Kit-Kat Club,
10:58Cabaret is a stylish and evocative film that pushes boundaries.
11:02Its electrifying musical numbers are equal parts sexy and disturbing.
11:13Despite the godfather-winning Best Picture, Cabaret won eight Oscars that same night,
11:18including Best Director for Bob Fosse and Best Actress for Liza Minnelli.
11:22Couldn't it have been a tie?
11:32Number 1. Moulin Rouge
11:34Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:38Moulin Rouge. This post-modern musical broke hearts and took home Oscars for its sets and costumes.
11:44The King and I. This sweeping and deeply romantic Broadway adaptation won five Oscars.
12:03Beauty and the Beast. This Disney classic became the first animated film nominated for Best Picture
12:18and won for Best Original Score and Song.
12:33Oliver. Dickensian poverty and musical numbers are a great combination in this Best Picture winner.
12:58The Lion King. An epic story set to Elton John's unforgettable music.
13:03Winning both Best Original Score and Song.
13:16Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
13:21our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
13:27If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
13:32Number 1. West Side Story. After changing American theater forever, this modernized
13:38Romeo and Juliet landed on the silver screen. The result was 1961's best and highest grossing film.
13:56Starring Natalie Wood, Richard Boehmer, and Oscar winners Rita Moreno and George Sikiris,
14:01the story of lovers from rival ethnic gangs is full of explosive dances and tragic romance.
14:07Mix this with some incredible technicolor visuals and you have a true musical masterpiece.
14:22Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake carved out its own spot on a list of great musicals,
14:27but the original still remains a singular achievement in the genre.
14:31West Side Story won a whopping 10 Oscars,
14:34and more than that, it's endured as one of the very best movie musicals of all time.
14:52Did your favorite award-worthy musical make the list? Tell us in the comments.
15:02Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
15:10and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.