In 1895, French inventors Auguste and Louis Lumière premiered the first ever motion picture at the Grand Café in Paris and the world has never been the same. In 1929, the first movie musical called “The Broadway Melody” set the standard for the modern movie musical and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since then, movies like “The Sound of Music,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Singin’ in the Rain” have gone on to set the precedent for successful movie musicals.
However, some argue that singing and dancing only belong on the stage. Some of the most successful movies of all time are “Avatar,” “Titanic” and “Star Wars” — all of which are not musicals. Some iconic movies like “No Country for Old Men” have no songs, or even a soundtrack, but rely solely on eerie silence and powerful dialogue to tell the story. For this edition of Double Take, the debate between movies versus musicals is on the table.
PRO MOVIE MUSICALS: BY JOLEE SKINNER
