Cabaret

In Berlin in 1931, Sally Bowles, an American singer at the Kit Kat Klub, and Brian, an English academic, carry on a relationship while the Nazis rise outside. Bob Fosse's most radical decision is structural. Almost every song happens inside the club; nobody bursts into song in the street. The club becomes a metaphor for the decay of Germany in the thirties. There are serious departures from the stage musical. Sally was made American rather than English and Brian English rather than American, and subplots from the original novel that the musical had dropped were restored, producing a darker adaptation that is closer to its source. Liza Minnelli sings on screen for the first time and won Best Actress, having deliberately modelled her look on the silent star Louise Brooks. Joel Grey returns to his stage role as the Master of Ceremonies and won Best Supporting Actor. Fosse won Best Director over Coppola's The Godfather, which carried extra weight after the failure of Sweet Charity. The film took eight Oscars without winning Best Picture, and it still holds the record for the most awards by a film that did not. Who it is for: people who do not like musicals but are willing to try one. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a warm one. The film deliberately withholds joy as it goes on.