Since it release nearly a half century back Cabaret remains the last great American musical (Singing' in the Rain and West Side Story were made previous). As relevant now as it was then, carrying a tune and warning of creeping fascism, it's staying power is not only in its message but the bite of the music and two of the most memorable musical performances in film history with Liza Minelli as Sally Bowles and Joel Grey as the "Emcee."University student Brian Roberts ( Michael York) freshly arrived in Berlin (Weimar Germany 1931) to complete his studies makes the acquaintance of Kit Kat Club performer Sally Bowles who shows him the ropes. Taken back by her brash personality at first he eventually warms to Sally and they become involved, he more serious than her. Together they encounter and share new friends but Brian comes to the realization that Sally is not about to give up a life of "divine decadence." Meanwhile in the streets, the parks, the clubs the Nazi Party and its brand of thuggery is becoming more prevalent.Outside of a pace slowing subplot regarding two older students Robert is tutoring Cabaret is flawless film making in nearly every area with Minelli excelling in three (acting, singing, dancing) requirements and Grey's mischievously haunting master of ceremonies delivering a character for the ages. Director Bob Fosse working in a confined space smaller than a broadway stage for his musical numbers, the color muted by club smoke, delivers one excellently edited solid number after the next without betraying the mood with slick, flashy choreography on a stage the size of an aircraft carrier that lesser musicals depend on. Instead it maintains the funk of people dancing on a volcano in search of distraction from the impending doom they face. Musicals by nature are usually optimistic and upbeat. Sober Cabaret goes against the grain and succeeds beyond expectation as one of the finest musicals in film history.

Welcome to the Kit Kat Club with all the dancing, debauchery, and drama!Fantastic song & dance interspersed with a dramatic story of who loves who and who sleeps with whom.Too much drama for me.

The opening scene of Cabaret is quite a contrast to a movie like The Sound of Music. The colours are dark, and it seems there is an unveiling. There is Jazz music and the sound of laughter, so it is not peaceful and serene as the Hills and Julie Andrews singing. When we meet the first actor, it is evident that is it a more comical movie, whereas Julie Andrews is more serious and solitary in the opening scene of The Sound of Music. Cabaret is more sexual, playful and colourful. The colours are rich and dark compared to the soothing blues and greens in The Sound of Music, indicating that this movie is darker in nature, appealing to more sexual and naughty pleasures. There are costumes and make up, revealing a sort of covering which does not occur in the free, real scenes at the beginning of The Sound of Music. Cabaret indicates a sense of absence of morality, as opposed to modesty and innocence.

It's pre-war Berlin. The country is in a depression struggling between Communists and Nazis. Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) is a flamboyant bohemian American singer performing at the Kit Kat Klub with MC (Joel Grey). British academic Brian Roberts (Michael York) from Cambridge moves in to finish his doctorate. She falls for him despite him being adverse to women. He teaches English to earn money and one of his students is a rich Jewish heiress Natalia Landauer. She is uncertain about the advances of Fritz Wendel. Sally and Brian are befriended by rich playboy Maximilian von Heune who seems to be interested in both.Liza Minnelli is brilliant. Joel Grey is magnificent. Michael York is put in a tougher spot as a bi-sexual. I buy him more as a homosexual and I like his friendship with Sally more than his romance with her. The biggest deficiency is Helmut Griem as Max. The role needs to be a matinée idol and played by a superstar. It's minor but very important to see both Sally and Brian tripping over themselves for the guy. He needs to be magnetic. The Bob Fosse songs are incredible. The inter-cut scene between the stage and the beating by the Nazi thugs is truly compelling. The pacing does go flat at times and it probably could be trimmed a little. Overall this is a great musical and social drama.