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176 films

Musical

In the musical, song and dance carry story and feeling. Hollywood's sound era made it a studio staple, from Busby Berkeley's geometric spectacles to the Astaire–Rogers films and the Technicolor masterpieces of Vincente Minnelli, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. The form flourished in India, where song is part of most popular films, and returned in the 2000s with Chicago and La La Land. Choreography, camera movement and editing are all designed to move with the music.

Where
The United States, India, France, Britain
When
From 1927; classic Hollywood peak 1930s–50s
Key figures
Busby Berkeley, Vincente Minnelli, Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen, Jacques Demy, Raj Kapoor
Landmark films
Top Hat (1935), Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
Legacy
Made movement and music a way of telling story that other genres borrow

What to look for

  • Numbers that advance character or plot
  • Choreography built for the camera
  • Bold colour, costume and set design
  • Songs that express what dialogue cannot
  • Ensemble finales

Directors with the most films in this genre

Raj Kapoor6 filmsGene Kelly5 filmsJacques Demy5 filmsCarlos Saura4 filmsChen Kaige4 filmsGuru Dutt4 filmsRené Clair4 filmsVincente Minnelli4 filmsBaz Luhrmann3 filmsBob Fosse3 filmsChetan Anand3 filmsGeorge Cukor3 filmsMani Ratnam3 filmsMehboob Khan3 filmsMiloš Forman3 filmsPablo Larraín3 filmsTsai Ming-liang3 filmsAki Kaurismäki2 filmsAlan Parker2 filmsChantal Akerman2 filmsDamien Chazelle2 filmsFrancis Ford Coppola2 filmsGiuseppe Tornatore2 filmsJacques Audiard2 films
See all 139 directors
Krzysztof Kieślowski2 filmsLeo McCarey2 filmsMani Kaul2 filmsMichael Curtiz2 filmsMiklós Jancsó2 filmsPowell & Pressburger2 filmsRichard Lester2 filmsRobert Altman2 filmsSpike Lee2 filmsThe Coen Brothers2 filmsTodd Haynes2 filmsWim Wenders2 filmsZoya Akhtar2 filmsAbderrahmane Sissako1 filmAbel Gance1 filmAgnès Varda1 filmAlain Gomis1 filmAlain Resnais1 filmAlberto Lattuada1 filmAndrei Konchalovsky1 filmAndrzej Wajda1 filmArthur Penn1 filmBertrand Tavernier1 filmBille August1 filmBilly Wilder1 filmBob Rafelson1 filmBrady Corbet1 filmCarol Reed1 filmChaitanya Tamhane1 filmCharlie Chaplin1 filmChristian Petzold1 filmClaude Lelouch1 filmClaudia Llosa1 filmDeepa Mehta1 filmDouglas Sirk1 filmElia Kazan1 filmEmilio Martínez-Lázaro1 filmEmir Kusturica1 filmErnst Lubitsch1 filmEttore Scola1 filmFederico Fellini1 filmFernando Pérez1 filmFernando Solanas1 filmFlora Gomes1 filmFrancesco Rosi1 filmFred Zinnemann1 filmG. Aravindan1 filmGillian Armstrong1 filmGlauber Rocha1 filmGovind Nihalani1 filmGuy Maddin1 filmHal Ashby1 filmHans-Jürgen Syberberg1 filmHoward Hawks1 filmIngmar Bergman1 filmIstván Szabó1 filmJames Whale1 filmJane Campion1 filmJean Renoir1 filmJean-Luc Godard1 filmJean-Marie Straub1 filmJim Jarmusch1 filmJohn Cassavetes1 filmJosef von Sternberg1 filmJoseph L. Mankiewicz1 filmJoseph Losey1 filmJulien Duvivier1 filmJulio Medem1 filmKarel Reisz1 filmKing Vidor1 filmKon Ichikawa1 filmKumar Shahani1 filmLars von Trier1 filmLeos Carax1 filmLorenzo Vigas1 filmLukas Moodysson1 filmManoel de Oliveira1 filmMarcel Camus1 filmMark Dornford-May1 filmMartin Scorsese1 filmMax Ophüls1 filmMed Hondo1 filmMetod Pevec1 filmMichael Cacoyannis1 filmMichael Haneke1 filmMohsen Makhmalbaf1 filmNabil Ayouch1 filmNadav Lapid1 filmNicolas Philibert1 filmPaolo Sorrentino1 filmPaweł Pawlikowski1 filmPhilippe Garrel1 filmPreston Sturges1 filmRadu Mihăileanu1 filmRichard Attenborough1 filmRichard Linklater1 filmRitwik Ghatak1 filmRoman Polanski1 filmRoy Andersson1 filmRuy Guerra1 filmSatyajit Ray1 filmSergei Parajanov1 filmSidney Lumet1 filmSofia Coppola1 filmStanley Kwan1 filmStephen Daldry1 filmStephen Frears1 filmSteven Soderbergh1 filmTerence Davies1 filmTerrence Malick1 filmTheo Angelopoulos1 filmTodd Phillips1 filmTrần Anh Hùng1 filmWerner Herzog1 filmWes Craven1 film

Often combined with

Drama Comedy Romance Biography Crime Fantasy

Top 100 rated films

  1. The Pianist 2002 · Roman Polanski · IMDb 8.5
  2. Whiplash 2014 · Damien Chazelle · IMDb 8.5
  3. Amadeus 1984 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 8.4
  4. Singin' in the Rain 1952 · Gene Kelly · IMDb 8.3
  5. Ennio 2021 · Giuseppe Tornatore · IMDb 8.2
  6. Some Like It Hot 1959 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.2
  7. A Face in the Crowd 1957 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.1
  8. Autumn Sonata 1978 · Ingmar Bergman · IMDb 8.1
  9. Farewell My Concubine 1993 · Chen Kaige · IMDb 8.1
  10. The Red Shoes 1948 · Powell & Pressburger · IMDb 8.1
  11. La La Land 2016 · Damien Chazelle · IMDb 8.0
  12. Limelight 1952 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.0
  13. The Burmese Harp 1956 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 8.0
  14. The Legend of 1900 1998 · Giuseppe Tornatore · IMDb 8.0
  15. Dancer in the Dark 2000 · Lars von Trier · IMDb 7.9
  16. Fitzcarraldo 1982 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.9
  17. Stella 1955 · Michael Cacoyannis · IMDb 7.9
  18. All That Jazz 1979 · Bob Fosse · IMDb 7.8
  19. Cabaret 1972 · Bob Fosse · IMDb 7.8
  20. Cléo from 5 to 7 1962 · Agnès Varda · IMDb 7.8
  21. The Travelling Players 1975 · Theo Angelopoulos · IMDb 7.8
  22. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 1964 · Jacques Demy · IMDb 7.8
  23. Three Colours: Blue 1993 · Krzysztof Kieślowski · IMDb 7.8
  24. Billy Elliot 2000 · Stephen Daldry · IMDb 7.7
  25. Duck Soup 1933 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.7
  26. My Fair Lady 1964 · George Cukor · IMDb 7.7
  27. The Young Girls of Rochefort 1967 · Jacques Demy · IMDb 7.7
  28. Buena Vista Social Club 1999 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.6
  29. Every Little Thing 1997 · Nicolas Philibert · IMDb 7.6
  30. Le Bal 1983 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 7.6
  31. Nashville 1975 · Robert Altman · IMDb 7.6
  32. Parsifal 1982 · Hans-Jürgen Syberberg · IMDb 7.6
  33. Pina 2011 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.6
  34. Running on Empty 1988 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 7.6
  35. The Blue Angel 1930 · Josef von Sternberg · IMDb 7.6
  36. The Commitments 1991 · Alan Parker · IMDb 7.6
  37. The Double Life of Véronique 1991 · Krzysztof Kieślowski · IMDb 7.6
  38. White Christmas 1954 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.6
  39. A Hard Day's Night 1964 · Richard Lester · IMDb 7.5
  40. A Star Is Born 1954 · George Cukor · IMDb 7.5
  41. Cold War 2018 · Paweł Pawlikowski · IMDb 7.5
  42. Don Giovanni 1979 · Joseph Losey · IMDb 7.5
  43. Hair 1979 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.5
  44. Life Is a Miracle 2004 · Emir Kusturica · IMDb 7.5
  45. Moulin Rouge! 2001 · Baz Luhrmann · IMDb 7.5
  46. The Concert 2009 · Radu Mihăileanu · IMDb 7.5
  47. The Piano 1993 · Jane Campion · IMDb 7.5
  48. The Piano Teacher 2001 · Michael Haneke · IMDb 7.5
  49. Black Orpheus 1959 · Marcel Camus · IMDb 7.4
  50. Blood Wedding 1981 · Carlos Saura · IMDb 7.4
  51. Carmen 1983 · Carlos Saura · IMDb 7.4
  52. Carmen (1984) 1984 · Francesco Rosi · IMDb 7.4
  53. Distant Voices, Still Lives 1988 · Terence Davies · IMDb 7.4
  54. Flamenco 1995 · Carlos Saura · IMDb 7.4
  55. High Fidelity 2000 · Stephen Frears · IMDb 7.4
  56. Inside Llewyn Davis 2013 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 7.4
  57. Oliver! 1968 · Carol Reed · IMDb 7.4
  58. Round Midnight 1986 · Bertrand Tavernier · IMDb 7.4
  59. Shadows in Paradise 1986 · Aki Kaurismäki · IMDb 7.4
  60. Show Boat 1936 · James Whale · IMDb 7.4
  61. The Band Wagon 1953 · Vincente Minnelli · IMDb 7.4
  62. The Hole 1998 · Tsai Ming-liang · IMDb 7.4
  63. Together 2002 · Chen Kaige · IMDb 7.4
  64. Unfaithfully Yours 1948 · Preston Sturges · IMDb 7.4
  65. You, the Living 2007 · Roy Andersson · IMDb 7.4
  66. À nous la liberté 1931 · René Clair · IMDb 7.4
  67. Elvis 2022 · Baz Luhrmann · IMDb 7.3
  68. French Cancan 1954 · Jean Renoir · IMDb 7.3
  69. Innocent Sorcerers 1960 · Andrzej Wajda · IMDb 7.3
  70. Le Million 1931 · René Clair · IMDb 7.3
  71. Les Uns et les Autres 1981 · Claude Lelouch · IMDb 7.3
  72. On the Town 1949 · Gene Kelly · IMDb 7.3
  73. Phoenix 2014 · Christian Petzold · IMDb 7.3
  74. Rouge 1987 · Stanley Kwan · IMDb 7.3
  75. Same Old Song 1997 · Alain Resnais · IMDb 7.3
  76. Taking Off 1971 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.3
  77. The Scent of Green Papaya 1993 · Trần Anh Hùng · IMDb 7.3
  78. Twist and Shout 1985 · Bille August · IMDb 7.3
  79. Youth 2015 · Paolo Sorrentino · IMDb 7.3
  80. Bound for Glory 1976 · Hal Ashby · IMDb 7.2
  81. School of Rock 2003 · Richard Linklater · IMDb 7.2
  82. Shadows 1959 · John Cassavetes · IMDb 7.2
  83. Strictly Ballroom 1992 · Baz Luhrmann · IMDb 7.2
  84. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 2018 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 7.2
  85. The Beat That My Heart Skipped 2005 · Jacques Audiard · IMDb 7.2
  86. West Indies 1979 · Med Hondo · IMDb 7.2
  87. An American in Paris 1951 · Vincente Minnelli · IMDb 7.1
  88. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1953 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.1
  89. Guys and Dolls 1955 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · IMDb 7.1
  90. Has Anybody Seen My Gal? 1952 · Douglas Sirk · IMDb 7.1
  91. Hello, Dolly! 1969 · Gene Kelly · IMDb 7.1
  92. Help! 1965 · Richard Lester · IMDb 7.1
  93. Orchestra Rehearsal 1978 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.1
  94. Tangos: The Exile of Gardel 1985 · Fernando Solanas · IMDb 7.1
  95. The Red Squirrel 1993 · Julio Medem · IMDb 7.1
  96. The Tales of Hoffmann 1951 · Powell & Pressburger · IMDb 7.1
  97. Variety Lights 1950 · Alberto Lattuada · IMDb 7.1
  98. We Are the Best! 2013 · Lukas Moodysson · IMDb 7.1
  99. Yellow Earth 1984 · Chen Kaige · IMDb 7.1
  100. Behind the Candelabra 2013 · Steven Soderbergh · IMDb 7.0