Been thinking a lot about why old movie musicals are simply better than new ones (I don't find this distinction is useful for any other genre,) and I have determined a number of, probably not that revelatory, things:

1) So many older movie musicals leaned into broadway talent rather than ascribing to the "actor that can sing" mindset that inevitably leads to stunt casting (Into the woods, Les Mis and, I am sorry to say it, La La Land)

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are great actors but you don't need to settle for actors that can dabble in singing and dancing, broadway stars are trained in all three!!! and not for nothing but some of the best onscreen musical performances of all time

came from seasoned broadway actresses (Babs! Liza! Julie!) who knew how to handle the overblown emotion of musical theatre and wield it deftly, refusing to shy away from the unwavering focus of the camera (my man! maybe this time!)

2) Seeing professional dancers dance well simply never gets old. There is nothing like it! Well choreographed scenes can cover over a host of mistakes. Someone pointed out to me how jarring it was to see Taylor Swift, (not a professional dancer,)

dancing alongside all the other cats/ performers/ cat-performers in 2020's best horror film Cats. (Granted the dancing was the least of Cats worries. But still.) Another argument against stunt casting and an argument in favour of TRUSTING the creative team.

A 10 minute dance sequence is interesting enough to hold the audiences attention if it reflects or feeds into the story. Which brings me to my next point!

3) Hiring directors that understand the medium of theatre (this is obvious but someone's still not getting it because SOMEONE is still hiring Tom Hooper!!!)

The best movie musicals were directed by directors that made the audience feel like they were sitting in a theatre while also participating in the moment. E.G. dance at the gym in west side story. there is clarity and colour and movement in

the moments where the jets and sharks are having an impromptu dance off; we are witnessing something. Then the world literally fades when tony and maria spot each other; we are drawn into their fantasy. Onlookers and then participants.

Part of this is the director realising that musical theatre is an inherently silly thing that doesnt need to look silly. This is where ALL disney live action adaptations go wrong. Symbolic meaning is lost in favour of hyper realism that just looks terrifying.

A lot of this is rambling but I feel passionately that movie musicals can be great and they just aren't anymore! This happened in the late 60s and they made a comeback so hopefully a director (GRETA!) will save us from our musical theatre misery :(