10 Best Movie Musicals Based On Books According To IMDb

10 Best Movie Musicals Based On Books, According To IMDb

From The Phantom of the Opera to Les Misérables, there are no shortage of stellar movie musicals based on books, according to IMDb.

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From the old silver screen to the modern big screen, movie musicals have been around since the entertainment industry added sound to film. They dominated Hollywood’s Golden Age and their charm has made the careers of countless actors and actresses.

While several Disney titles rank among history’s the best musicals, there are many others to consider when animated films aren’t factored into the conversation, such as those that are live-action films based on books. Whether these musicals first took a turn on Broadway or went straight from the page to the screen, all of them deserve to be timeless household names.

10 The Phantom of The Opera (2004) – 7.2

Based on the 1911 book by Gaston Leroux and 1986 Broadway show of the same name, The Phantom of the Opera is the story of a talented young singer and a “haunted” opera house. Every adaptation of the story centers on the titular Phantom’s tortured fixation on opera singer Christine.

Christine believes the Phantom to be her “Angel of Music,” delivering one of films the most memorable musical ballads before the score transitions to the classic “Phantom of the Opera” tune. Gerard Butler played the Phantom opposite Emmy Rossum’s Christine. Though Rossum was a trained singer, Butler had never had a singing lesson before landing his role.

9 The King and I (1956) – 7.4

The King and I was based on the 1944 book, Anna and the King of Siam, and originally brought to life on the stage by classic Broadway composing duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein in 1951. Due to its success, it was soon adapted into a movie starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr.

Both actors were nominated for Oscars for their performances – with Brynner winning Best Actor – and the film was nominated for Best Picture as well. The musical follows the life of a British schoolteacher who travels to Bangkok to be the governess to the children of the King of Siam.

8 Les Misérables (2012) – 7.6

Perhaps one of the most recognizable modern musicals, Les Misérables is the adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of the same name. Prominent actors such as Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Redmayne, and Amanda Seyfried populated the cast of the film adaptation.

The film was nominated for Best Picture, and Anne Hathaway won an Oscar for her role as Fantine. Les Mis tells the story of Jean Valjean, a former convict and escaped parolee, and the people Valjean comes into contact with throughout his life in nineteenth century France.

7 Cabaret (1972) – 7.8

Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Golden Age actress Judy Garland, won the Academy Award for Best Actress starring as the lead in this 1972 film. Cabaret is based on The Berlin Stories, a collection of novellas by Christopher Isherwood published in 1945. Isherwood based some of the stories on his own experiences in Berlin.

Interestingly, Cabaret’s lead character, Sally Bowles, is only featured in one of the book’s short stories. The film is set in a club in 1930s Nazi Germany and follows the romantic misadventures of Sally and her two lovers.

6 Mary Poppins (1964) – 7.8

After starring as the title character in Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews became an instant sensation and household name. The musical, based on P.L. Travers’ book series, was nominated for thirteen Oscars, including Best Picture. Julie Andrews won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the film won Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” performed by chimney sweep and legendary actor, Dick van Dyke.

The movie inspired also inspired the sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, with Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2018, but few musicals can compare to the magic of the original Mary Poppins.

5 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) – 7.8

Gene Wilder delivered an unforgettable performance as the eccentric candy maker Willy Wonka in this 1971 musical. Wilder added his own flair to the character by insisting Wonka first emerge from the factory with a limp and then somersault to meet the people at the gate.

Wilder’s performances were so convincing throughout the movie that he sometimes unnerved the other actors. The musical was based on Roald Dahl’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and actually includes lyrics from the story in the song Willy Wonka sings during the tunnel scene.

4 Fiddler on the Roof (1971) – 8.0

Fiddler on the Roof is a story of family, faith, and tradition in early nineteenth century Russia. Tevye, a Jewish man with three daughters, must come to terms with the fact that his girls are growing up and life is changing for the Jews in their little village. Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories by Russian empire born Yiddish author, Sholem Aleichem, inspired the film.

One of the most notable and quotable songs of the movie, besides “Tradition,” is “If I Were A Rich Man,” both sung by the character Tevye. Composer John Williams won the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring, and Original Song for the film.

3 The Sound of Music (1965) – 8.0

Another Julie Andrews’ classic, The Sound of Music is based on the memoirs of real-life singer Maria Von Trapp entitled: The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. The book was originally adapted as a Broadway musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The film features Andrews as Maria, who leaves her convent in 1930s Austria to be the governess of the widower Captain Von Trapp’s seven children.

Maria and the Captain, played by Christopher Plummer, eventually fall in love and marry before having to flee Austria with their children due to the Nazi invasion. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as receiving four other Oscars. In real life, the Von Trapps made their way to the United States after leaving Austria and continued performing across the country and the world before settling in Vermont.

2 The Wizard of Oz (1939) – 8.0

One of the most well-known musicals of all time, The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland is a timeless story based on L. Frank Baum’s book series. The first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was first published in 1900 and adapted to a Broadway musical in 1902.

In the movie, a young girl from Kansas is whisked away to the magical land of Oz where she must journey with her new friends to meet the wizard who will hopefully be able to send her back home. Lines such as, “We’re not in Kansas anymore” and “There’s no place like home” have reappeared countless times throughout other books, movies, and television shows in the past eighty years as popular culture’s nods to this classic film.

1 Honorable Mention: Hamilton (2020) – 8.4

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton premiered on Broadway in 2015 and became an instant sensation in the theatre world, but it grew to a cultural phenomena when a filmed version of the original cast’s stage production was released on Disney+ in 2020. With Broadway stages forced to be dark due to the pandemic, Hamilton brought a little bit of Broadway and the arts to the living rooms of new and formers fans alike.

The show tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant who eventually became the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton includes historical facts, rumors, and a little creative license as viewers see Alexander through the eyes of Aaron Burr, his nemesis. Miranda based his idea for the musical on an Alexander Hamilton biography by Ron Chernow. The show gets an honorable mention because of its brilliant story, score, cast, and rating, but as The Academy ruled, it is not technically a movie.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/ten-best-movie-musicals-based-books-according-imdb/

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