Liza Minnelli in New Documentary CABARET: The Musical that Changed Musicals

By: Feb. 04, 2013
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Liza Minnelli and the cast of CABARET are featured in the new doucmentary CABARET: THE MUSICAL THAT CHANGED MUSICALS. The film is included as part of the 40th anniversary Blu-ray release available from Warner Brothers beginning tomorrow, February 5th. Click here to get a first look!

"I had no idea what that movie was going to turn out to be. None of us did," says the Tony-award winning star in the film. "You know, they didn't believe in this movie. A musical about the Nazis, uhhhhh. Musicals were not popular. They had failed. Cabaret was a huge hit."

CABARET, Bob Fosse's ground-breaking Oscar-winning musical drama starring Liza Minnelli (Arthur, The Sterile Cuckoo), Michael York (the Austin Powers films), Joel Grey (TV's "Oz"), Helmut Griem, and Marisa Berenson (I am Love), celebrates its 40th anniversary with a Blu-ray debut on February 5, 2013.

Remastered for The First Time in over 20 years, Cabaret is presented in its original aspect ratio (16 x 9 format). Winner of eight Academy Awards, including Director (Fosse), Actress (Minnelli), and Supporting Actor (Grey), the film will be offered in a premium Blu-ray Book format ($27.98 SRP), which contains 40 pages of insightful photos and text. A new documentary, "Cabaret: The Musical That Changed Musicals" will be featured, along with vintage documentaries "Cabaret: A Legend in the Making," "The Recreation of an Era," a multi-part memory gallery and more. A DVD version will also be available ($14.97 SRP).

Cabaret was adapted from the Tony -winning stage production, which was in turn inspired by Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories and the play and movie I Am a Camera. This remarkable musical turns the pre-war Berlin of 1931 into a sexually charged center of decadence. Liza Minnelli gives a bravura performance as nightclub entertainer Sally Bowles, and Joel Grey is The Master of ceremonies at the nightclub, also acting as the storyteller for the audience, exposing the seediness of the cabaret world. The superb songwriting team of Kander and Ebb contributes a string of memorable songs that not only entertain but also provide social commentary on the events of the time. Under the helm of director-choreographer Bob Fosse (All that Jazz), Cabaret becomes both a devastating drama and top-rate entertainment, and the result is one of the most memorable and meaningful screen musicals ever made.

In 1995, Cabaret was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2006, Cabaret ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals.

Synopsis:
Flamboyant and eccentric American entertainer Sally Bowles (Minnelli) sings in Berlin's decadent Kit Kat Club, even as Nazism rises in Germany in 1931. She falls in love with a British language teacher (York) - whom she shares with a homosexual German baron (Griem). But Sally's insular, carefree, tolerant and fragile cabaret world is about to be crushed under the boot of the Nazis as Berlin becomes a trap from which Sally's German friends will not escape.

Special Features:
· Commentary by Stephen Tropiano
· Cabaret: The Musical That Changed Musicals New Featurette!
· Cabaret: A Legend in the Making
· The Recreation of an Era
· Marisa's Close-up Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Liza Minnelli Remembers...
· Sally's Look Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Liza Minnelli Remembers...
· Observing The Master Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Liza Minnelli Remembers...
· Challenges Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Joel Grey Reminisces...
· Collective Memory Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Joel Grey Reminisces...
· Strange Inspiration Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Joel Grey Reminisces...
· A Called Bluff Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Michael York Remembers...
· Risk Taking Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Michael York Remembers...
· Rush(es) Hour Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Michael York Remembers...
· A Happy Accident Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Michael York Remembers...
· Rock 'N' Roll Editing Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Martin Baum Reminisces...
· Isherwood's Surprise Reaction Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Martin Baum Reminisces...
· Smithsonian Honor Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Martin Baum Reminisces...
· Tomorrow Belongs to Me Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Cy Feuer Remembers...
· Taking on 'The Godfather Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Emanuel L.Wolf Reminisces...
· Timeless Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Emanuel L. Wolf Reminisces...
· Playing 'What If?' Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery; John Kander Remembers...
· Almost a Nervous Breakdown Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: John Kander Remembers...
· Sneaking a Peek Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: John Kander Remembers...
· Play vs. Book Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Jay Presson Allen Reminisces...
· Recruiting Hugh Wheeler Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Jay Presson Allen Reminisces...
· Screening Blues Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Fred Ebb Remembers...
· Screening Hues Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Fred Ebb Remembers...
· Theatrical Trailer

Academy Awards Wins (1972, 45th)

Actor in a Supporting Role - Joel Grey "The Master of Ceremonies"
Actress in a Leading Role - Liza Minnelli "Sally Bowles"
Art Direction - Art Direction: Rolf Zehetbauer, Jurgen Kiebach; Set Decoration: Herbert Strabel
Cinematography - Geoffrey Unsworth
Directing - Bob Fosse
Film Editing - David Bretherton
Music (Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score) - Adaptation Score by Ralph Burns
Sound - Robert Knudson, David Hildyard



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