It is 1972. That’s the year The Godfather dominated the cinematic landscape, right? Sure, that won the Best Picture Oscar, but Bob Fosse’s Cabaret took more Oscars home that night, and rightfully so. The film is a unique piece of cinema, unlike any musical and, of course, unlike any movie.
If you aren’t familiar with the story, it revolves around the eccentric singer Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli), an American (British in the show) expatriate living in Weimar, Germany, and Brian Roberts (Michael York), a visiting English writer. While their troubled relationship commands most of the film, there is also the tale of Fritz Wendel (Fritz Wepper), a Jew masquerading as a Christian. Wendel falls for Natalia Landauer (Marisa Berenson), a Jewish heiress. Of course, reality has to hit them at some point and throughout the film, the rise of the Nazi Party makes living more and more dangerous for all the characters in the film.
Fosse, the producers, and screenwriter Jay Allen, changed the story so much that it feels like an entirely different entity from the original show. Only a few songs from the show made the transition (in fact, John Kander and Fred Ebb even wrote new songs) and all songs are only performed in the Kit Kat Klub by the Emcee and Bowles. There are numerous other story changes, but the film is at least able to keep the essence of the original story.
Fosse was a man of the theatre (he directed Chicago, Damn Yankees and many, many more on Broadway), but that’s hard to tell considering the way he uses cinematic tricks to tell the story. The blending of the brutal reality of Nazis with the ironic Kit Kat Klub songs are tricks that could only be accomplished in the cinema.
Joel Grey’s performance as the Emcee is one of the greatest supporting roles ever. He is our host and the glue that holds the whole project together. He earned that Oscar, as did Liza Minnelli as the frantic Bowles. She won Best Actress.
The film, in total, won eight Oscars and probably would have won Best Picture if it weren’t for The Godfather. Cabaret is one of the great movies and it is really unfortunate that it hasn’t gotten the home video treatment it deserves. Still, if you have never enjoyed the film, “Come, hear the music play. Life is a cabaret, old chum. Come to the Cabaret.”