What do you think?
Rate this book
Dangerous Rhythm: Why Movie Musicals Matter
Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music, Camelot--love them or love to hate them, movie musicals have been a major part of all our lives. They're so glitzy and catchy that it seems impossible that they could have ever gone any other way. But the ease in which they unfold on the screen is deceptive. Dorothy's dream of finding a land "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was nearly cut, and even a film as great as The Band Wagon was, at the time, a major flop.
In Dangerous Rhythm: Why Movie Musicals Matter, award winning historian Richard Barrios explores movie musicals from those first hits, The Jazz Singer and Broadway Melody, to present-day Oscar winners Chicago and Les Miserables. History, film analysis, and a touch of backstage gossip combine to make Dangerous Rhythm a compelling look at musicals and the powerful, complex bond they forge with their audiences. Going behind the scenes, Barrios uncovers the rocky relationship between Broadway and Hollywood, the unpublicized off-camera struggles of directors, stars, and producers, and all the various ways by which some films became our most indelible cultural touchstones -- and others ended up as train wrecks.
Not content to leave any format untouched, Barrios examines animated musicals and popular music with insight and enthusiasm. Cartoons have been intimately connected with musicals since Steamboat Willie. Disney's short Silly Symphonies grew into the instant classic Snow White, which paved the way for that modern masterpiece, South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut. Without movie musicals, Barrios argues, MTV would have never existed. On the flip side, without MTV we might have been spared Evita.
Informed, energetic, and humorous, Dangerous Rhythm is both an impressive piece of scholarship and a joy to read."
In Dangerous Rhythm: Why Movie Musicals Matter, award winning historian Richard Barrios explores movie musicals from those first hits, The Jazz Singer and Broadway Melody, to present-day Oscar winners Chicago and Les Miserables. History, film analysis, and a touch of backstage gossip combine to make Dangerous Rhythm a compelling look at musicals and the powerful, complex bond they forge with their audiences. Going behind the scenes, Barrios uncovers the rocky relationship between Broadway and Hollywood, the unpublicized off-camera struggles of directors, stars, and producers, and all the various ways by which some films became our most indelible cultural touchstones -- and others ended up as train wrecks.
Not content to leave any format untouched, Barrios examines animated musicals and popular music with insight and enthusiasm. Cartoons have been intimately connected with musicals since Steamboat Willie. Disney's short Silly Symphonies grew into the instant classic Snow White, which paved the way for that modern masterpiece, South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut. Without movie musicals, Barrios argues, MTV would have never existed. On the flip side, without MTV we might have been spared Evita.
Informed, energetic, and humorous, Dangerous Rhythm is both an impressive piece of scholarship and a joy to read."
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 8, 2014
7 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
did-not-finish
July 15, 20245/20/18 - I started this on a day I wasn't allowed an e-reader since I own in in hardcover, and it's interesting, but I don't know when I'll be picking it back up since I do so much of my reading elsewhere now.
7/15/24 - DNF summer continues, time to rehome this book to someone else.
7/15/24 - DNF summer continues, time to rehome this book to someone else.
May 6, 2014
Not satisfied with just writing about the birth of musical films (A Song in the Dark - 1995), Richard Barrios looks at the importance of movie musicals of all types via a kaleidoscope of lenses. In twelve short chapters, an introduction, and epilogue, he discusses the past and future of movie musicals, the origination of the concept of the musical, who have been the stars, the role of music versus plot, etc., not neglecting animated musicals and television musicals.
The book and the chapter titles all come from song titles or lyrics sung in a movie musical which is an example of how Barrios infuses a quirky viewpoint into this series of essays. He also provides informative footnotes that add interest without slowing the reader with extraneous information. Each chapter is a different lens on movie musicals with focus on a specific aspect such as animated musicals or musicals on television; the reader is not compelled to read the chapters in sequence, but is free to skip to what interests them.
Dangerous Rhythm reads easily and has appropriate and interesting illustrations. Barrios writes well for the general reader, providing a list of his sources but not documenting enough to be considered as a serious scholarly tome. He has his own lists of movie musicals he like and dislikes. As is often the case in these types of books, he does miss certain musicals. How important that is depends upon your love for that musical.
In the end, Dangerous Rhythm provides provides plenty of fodder for discussions. Read it, and start yours!
The book and the chapter titles all come from song titles or lyrics sung in a movie musical which is an example of how Barrios infuses a quirky viewpoint into this series of essays. He also provides informative footnotes that add interest without slowing the reader with extraneous information. Each chapter is a different lens on movie musicals with focus on a specific aspect such as animated musicals or musicals on television; the reader is not compelled to read the chapters in sequence, but is free to skip to what interests them.
Dangerous Rhythm reads easily and has appropriate and interesting illustrations. Barrios writes well for the general reader, providing a list of his sources but not documenting enough to be considered as a serious scholarly tome. He has his own lists of movie musicals he like and dislikes. As is often the case in these types of books, he does miss certain musicals. How important that is depends upon your love for that musical.
In the end, Dangerous Rhythm provides provides plenty of fodder for discussions. Read it, and start yours!
October 25, 2014
A very disappointing book coming after 2 books by Barrios that I liked quite a bit. This one is a mess from beginning to end. Occasionally he makes an interesting observation about musicals, especially ones of the 20s and 30s, but there are three huge problems: 1) There is no strong thesis except for that given in the subtitle, and I don't think he succeeds in proving that they DO matter [I firmly believe they do, but not because of anything in this book]; 2) The structure is thematic (music, actors, material, race and sex) rather than chronological or by movie, so there is a LOT of repetition--he tells us how great Wizard of Oz is and how terrible Paint Your Wagon is in almost every chapter; 3) There are virtually no plot summaries or even descriptions of production numbers or sets--he is assuming an audience who has seen every movie he has. Two sections of the book are interesting: one on the largely unseen Porgy and Bess, and mentions of recent productions such as Were the World Mine and the TV shows Glee and Smash. I can't recommend this--instead, I highly recommend his earlier book A Song in the Dark, about the origins of the movie musical.
July 29, 2024
forgot to add this one after i read it for us film history. super helpful for my project but i wouldve preferred more history and less opinion-based reviews (HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE MAMMA MIA T^T)
June 26, 2014
"Dangerous Rhythm" is an extremely enjoyable book. It is the equivalent of listening to an interesting person talk about a subject he is passionate and well-informed about.
The book covers the movie musical from the Twenties to "Les Miserables," but instead of taking a chronological approach, Barrios looks at key themes: the role of a director, Broadway to Hollywood adaptations, flops, the best musicals, animated musicals and the impact of TV on the musical. (This last was a topic I hadn't even seen anyone consider in earlier books.)
Apart from a vague sense that Barrios either doesn't like Gene Kelly or thinks public/critical opinion has turned decisively against Kelly, I found "Dangerous Rhythm" a true delight to read. If you are interested in movie musicals, this book will be a delight both to the novice and the long-time fan.
The book covers the movie musical from the Twenties to "Les Miserables," but instead of taking a chronological approach, Barrios looks at key themes: the role of a director, Broadway to Hollywood adaptations, flops, the best musicals, animated musicals and the impact of TV on the musical. (This last was a topic I hadn't even seen anyone consider in earlier books.)
Apart from a vague sense that Barrios either doesn't like Gene Kelly or thinks public/critical opinion has turned decisively against Kelly, I found "Dangerous Rhythm" a true delight to read. If you are interested in movie musicals, this book will be a delight both to the novice and the long-time fan.
January 18, 2016
To begin with, I'll say that Barrios is obviously knowledgeable and passionate with definite opinions when it comes to movie musicals. The good thing about a book like this is that it introduce me to many movies that I'd never heard of, so it will fun to track them down. The problem I had with "Dangerous Rhythm" is that for the first half of the book, Barrios is so negative in his opinions about musicals, that it's hard to believe he likes them. I kept wondering what his criteria for excellence were and it seems the only one is "if it works, it's good; if it doesn't, it's not." The second half gives a much clearer idea as to what he looks for in a movie musical. A minor quibble: He never really gives his reasons as to why movie musicals matter. But, that's OK.
Want to read
December 8, 2021I've met Richard Barrios at Cinevent, and he is a very knowledgeable, enthusiastic person. He will be doing a book signing in Columbus, Ohio at the Columbus Moving Picture Show in May.
September 20, 2017
For a book written by a man who is known for writing such in-depth pieces about musicals, much of Dangerous Rhythm sounds like an attack on almost every musical ever put on film. Sure, he heaps major amounts of praise on the expected classics, but most of the comments skew towards deriding most of the genre's output.
That said, it does include a lot of information and it does pose a valid point about the cookie cutter, factory style look and feel of a lot of old-school musicals. Barrios also does a fantastic job of firmly placing the "classics" within the period they were created in and setting up a link between their success (or failure) and the state of the world at the time.
It definitely gives one a lot to think about, but I would have liked it a bit more if it didn't skew so much towards giving reasons why musicals are so often seen as bad films.
That said, it does include a lot of information and it does pose a valid point about the cookie cutter, factory style look and feel of a lot of old-school musicals. Barrios also does a fantastic job of firmly placing the "classics" within the period they were created in and setting up a link between their success (or failure) and the state of the world at the time.
It definitely gives one a lot to think about, but I would have liked it a bit more if it didn't skew so much towards giving reasons why musicals are so often seen as bad films.
August 9, 2018
This book was recommended in the recent TCM/Ball State online course on musicals. I was expecting something a bit more enthused about musical films. The back story info was interesting, just not enough of it. I did discover a few more films I'd like to watch.
July 29, 2018
Fascinating and personal take on film musicals from a guy who really knows the topic.
April 9, 2024
A good look at the wonderfulness and weirdness of movie musicals, from the beginning (pre-Jazz Singer) to Les Miz (when the book came out).
The writer obviously loves musicals but isn't too high and mighty about them. He talks up the best, pokes holes in the worst, and has good things to say about animated musicals too, from Snow White to South Park.
There are looks at the development of musicals, about the film history, financing, stars (Astaire, Kelly) and composers (Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein). Also about the trends, the cyclical rise and fall and rise and fall again of the films.
There are also chapters on the aforementioned animated features, on African-Americans, on sexuality and more.
A pretty comprehensive, loving look that makes me want to go find them on streaming.
The writer obviously loves musicals but isn't too high and mighty about them. He talks up the best, pokes holes in the worst, and has good things to say about animated musicals too, from Snow White to South Park.
There are looks at the development of musicals, about the film history, financing, stars (Astaire, Kelly) and composers (Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein). Also about the trends, the cyclical rise and fall and rise and fall again of the films.
There are also chapters on the aforementioned animated features, on African-Americans, on sexuality and more.
A pretty comprehensive, loving look that makes me want to go find them on streaming.
December 14, 2016
Don't go into this book expecting a clear explanation of the subtitle, or even a clear explanation of anything! I think this book is what it might be like to hang out with Richard Barrios for a couple of hours over coffee, listening to him expound on one hundred years of movie musicals. He's totally biased, but he's so smart and witty that I can forgive him for taking jabs at my faves, Judy Garland and Gene Kelly (as the cover image implies, Barrios is an Astaire loyalist all the way). It took a while to get used to Barrios's freewheeling style, but after a chapter or two I was hooked. A must read for any serious movie musical nerd.
October 12, 2015
For those of us who love movie musicals, the sad reality is that most of them aren't very good, a few are sublime and the rest have their moments. Richard Barrios does an excellent job of explaining why some musicals work so well and others flop. Each chapter looks at how different aspects of musicals have evolved through movie history including stars, budgets, adaptation styles, the animated musical, and the role of race and sexuality. This book is undoubtedly written for movie buffs who have seen a large number of the films described. It's also the product of strong research, but is thankfully jargon free and very accessible to a non-academic audience.
October 3, 2014
Like an actor whose voice is dubbed by a singer, this is a case of musical-style trickery: catty coffee talk posing as academia. But it's a dubbing that works marvellously, Barrios' sweet'n'sour sounding-off connecting dots from MGM to MTV with lightning-fast facility and memorable wit (The Sound of Music: "Schmaltz as Olympus.")It's a tad repetitive and it never truly affirms its thesis but, like the fare it so involvingly lauds and lashes, it's irresistibly showy.
June 17, 2014
Dangerous Rhythm is a valuable book because of its numerous enlightening observations about musicals. If you are interested in musicals or want a better understanding of film history as a whole, then this book is essential reading.
Read full review here: http://www.outofthepastblog.com/2014/...
Read full review here: http://www.outofthepastblog.com/2014/...
March 27, 2015
An enjoyable read but I'm not sure he answered his subtitle. Possibly spent too much time on his personal favourites - sure we all love Singin' in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz but other films are worthy of comment. It was obvious that he hated A Chorus Line but I'm not sure he articulated why. It doesn't go without saying.
April 6, 2017
As a film historian, Richard Barrios has few peers. As a critic, he leaves something to be desired. This consideration of the artistic merits of the musical is a disorganized arrangement of opinions with little specific evidence given to back them up. Although I agree with a lot of his statements, I wish there were some explanation of what led him to them. Barrios occasionally draws interesting connections between films from different periods, but other than that, there's not a lot of meat to this slim volume.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews