- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Rough Guides; 1 edition (31 May 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843536501
- ISBN-13: 978-1843536505
- Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 17.9 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
364,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #31 in Books > Reference > Consumer Guides > Film
- #98 in Books > Reference > Consumer Guides > Music
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The perfect companion to cinema's most spectacular genre, The Rough Guide to Film Musicals reveals how an escapist entertainment became Hollywood's most ingenious art form. From such enduring classics as Singin' In The Rain and West Side Story to recent successes like Evita and Chicago, this book reviews 50 essential musicals, including several forgotten gems. There are profiles of musical icons such as Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and George Gershwin and details of musicals from around the world. Complete with a list of the best soundtracks, websites and books for further reading, this Rough Guide takes a behind the scenes look at this magical movie genre.
About the Author
David Parkinson is a film critic and historian, who has written several books and reviews regularly for Empire and the Radio Times.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If I were reviewing this classy book for American fans, I would certainly give it five stars. The coverage of Hollywood movies is both thorough and sensible. Admittedly, most readers will be surprised at the inclusion of a few cult movies like "Cabaret", "Nashville" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in the list of 50 Essential Film Musicals, but most of the well-known and highly popular films that don't make this list are covered elsewhere in the book. I personally am disappointed that no Alice Faye vehicle is included in this "canon" and she herself receives only one page in the bio section and not a single photo in the whole book. But that's just a personal grievance. What I think will most disappoint British readers is that, although this is a British book, the coverage of British musicals is given extremely short shrift, to say the least. Less than four pages out of 326! The same number, in fact, as German musicals!
On the front cover of my own book, plainly titled Hollywood Movie Musicals, the publisher has a lovely photo of Zsa Zsa Gabor in the 1953 "Moulin Rouge" (which of course is covered inside in the book itself). Although ostensibly a bio of Toulouse-Lautrec, this movie was extensively sold and promoted as a musical. Which it is. One of the songs was top of the Hit Parade for over eight months! Yet this British film, that was equally successful in America, is not even mentioned in the Rough Guide. Nor is "Car of Dreams" (also featured in my book), one of the top ten British musicals ever made. Icons like Jessie Matthews, George Formby, Gracie Fields receive little more than a passing reference, while many like Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen simply don't figure in the Rough Guide at all! Perhaps "rough" is the right word. It's a shame, however, to find such a small regard for British contributions to "Film Musicals" in an otherwise extremely detailed and well-informed survey of the genre.
On the front cover of my own book, plainly titled Hollywood Movie Musicals, the publisher has a lovely photo of Zsa Zsa Gabor in the 1953 "Moulin Rouge" (which of course is covered inside in the book itself). Although ostensibly a bio of Toulouse-Lautrec, this movie was extensively sold and promoted as a musical. Which it is. One of the songs was top of the Hit Parade for over eight months! Yet this British film, that was equally successful in America, is not even mentioned in the Rough Guide. Nor is "Car of Dreams" (also featured in my book), one of the top ten British musicals ever made. Icons like Jessie Matthews, George Formby, Gracie Fields receive little more than a passing reference, while many like Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen simply don't figure in the Rough Guide at all! Perhaps "rough" is the right word. It's a shame, however, to find such a small regard for British contributions to "Film Musicals" in an otherwise extremely detailed and well-informed survey of the genre.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Cursory Look at the Film Musical Genre Still a Fun Read
30 April 2008
Format:Paperback
As part of the expanding Rough Guide series covering the entertainment field, Empire Magazine film critic and historian David Parkinson has done a smart, admirable job documenting the history of the film musical genre within the book's 326 pages. The key to its success is the way he divides the volume, first with a cursory look at the stage shows and minstrel revues that preceded film, the concept of silent musicals before talkies arrived, and tracking how the musical film has evolved over the last century. Parkinson spotlights iconic figures both in front of and behind the camera. The usual suspects are here - Astaire, Kelly, Garland, Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein - but also "underused" figures like the Nicholas Brothers and Ethel Waters.
The most interesting section describes how musicals work in terms of plot devices and visual style. Obviously, no guide is complete without a list of the fifty essential cinematic musicals, a relatively sturdy list that combines indisputable classics (Singin' in the Rain, Swing Time, the 1936 version of Show Boat) with long-forgotten gems (Summer Holiday, The Love Parade) and films of a more recent vintage (Chicago, Evita). There is a quick rundown of international musicals broken down by country, as well as lists of the best soundtracks, genre Web sites and books for further reading on the subject. My one overriding criticism is the overly jaundiced comments Parkinson makes about musicals he considers essential but obviously detests (High Society, West Side Story). Regardless, this is a fun read for aficionados of the genre.
The most interesting section describes how musicals work in terms of plot devices and visual style. Obviously, no guide is complete without a list of the fifty essential cinematic musicals, a relatively sturdy list that combines indisputable classics (Singin' in the Rain, Swing Time, the 1936 version of Show Boat) with long-forgotten gems (Summer Holiday, The Love Parade) and films of a more recent vintage (Chicago, Evita). There is a quick rundown of international musicals broken down by country, as well as lists of the best soundtracks, genre Web sites and books for further reading on the subject. My one overriding criticism is the overly jaundiced comments Parkinson makes about musicals he considers essential but obviously detests (High Society, West Side Story). Regardless, this is a fun read for aficionados of the genre.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Some good information, confusingly arranged
3 Jan 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has quite a lot of good information but its format is quite confusing mixing a chronological format with a dictionary format and not succeeding quite as either. Despite my forgivings, this book is a welcome addition to the non-academics who are interested in learning more about film musicals.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A Stimulating Introduction to the Hollywood Film Musical!
29 Nov 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Like my own HOLLYWOOD MOVIE MUSICALS, this book is somewhat light on illustrations but heavy on text. It follows the usual "Rough Guide" format with a comprehensive historical survey, followed by a more detailed examination of "50 Essential Film Musicals", and then a brief selection of biographical entries, followed by a rather cursory chapter on musicals other than those made in Hollywood. It is undoubtedly the "50 Essentials" that will excite most comment and I must admit there are both surprising inclusions and exclusions in the author's list. The author also seems to have a bias against more than a few of the top box-office names in musical comedy. Icons like Alice Faye, Nelson Eddy, Bebe Daniels, Dixie Lee, Moira Shearer, Artie Shaw, Patricia Ellis, Lawrence Tibbett, Lucille Ball, Virginia O'Brien, Dennis Morgan, Rosemary Clooney, Kenny Baker, Frankie Laine are either given little space or, in most cases, none at all! Admittedly, you can't fit everybody into 326 slightly larger than pocket-sized pages, which is why I saved many of my own favorites for my follow-up book, MORE MOVIE MUSICALS.
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