Likewise, film noir: once deemed a sleazy disreputable B-movie genre, and now reclaimed as the acme of respectability. That sucker will never die, though you’d think otherwise if you listened to anyone surprised by the success of La La Land, those fools who thought the musical had perished long ago. Always a protean genre, however, the musical simply mutated into spikier, more grownup forms like Cabaret and Saturday Night Fever. But if you broaden your definition of musical to include all films that have music or song in them, then the musical has enjoyed a parallel life in a kind of out-of-genre musical diaspora. and Jersey Boys; musicals about musicals like Saving Mr Banks; followed by the next trend, remakes of musicals (Mary Poppins Returns).

Source: The Guardian March 13, 2017 09:56 UTC