Singing A New Tune: The Rebirth of the Modern Film Musical from Evita to De-Lovely and Beyond

by John Kenneth Muir

(Applause Books). Critics the world over have often loudly lamented that the movie musical is a dead art form. However, while it is true that the musical no longer occupies the cherished place of prominence in American cinema that it once did, the old razzle-dazzle has had a comeback. Author and film expert John Kenneth Muir faces the music in Singing a New Tune , a rollicking study that traces the rebirth of the film musical from the dark days of the early 1990s when all the musical numbers were cut from the film I'll Do Anything due to preview audience hostility to the current heyday of Moulin Rouge, Chicago (Academy Award winner for Best Picture 2002), and Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera . Examining over a dozen musical films from the last decade, Muir explains how first-class artists have marshaled everything from spectacle ( Evita ) to humor ( South Bigger, Longer and Uncut ); tragedy ( Dancer in the Dark ) to Shakespeare ( Love's Labour's Lost ); and even psychology and sexuality.

1 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2005

About the author

John Kenneth Muir (born 1969) is an American literary critic. He has written as of 2023 thirty two books, many in the fields of film and television, with a particular accent on the horror and science fiction genres. He has been described as one of the horror genre's "most widely read critics", and as an "accomplished film journalist". He is the creator of the 2023 audio drama Enter the House Between, as well as the new novellas based on the series.

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge musical fan it gave insight to some musical movies over the last few years.