Customer Reviews

Cabaret

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

While this is probably not a bone of contention with most viewers, I think it's worth noting for those that do pay attention to these things, especially if you base your purchases on them, as I did in this case. The packaging on this newer DVD edition of "Cabaret" states that it is an anamorphic transfer (i.e. "Enhanced for Widescreen TVs"). It is NOT. This is the SAME disc as before, with new a label on it.

They merely changed the packaging, I guess, so that they could mention "Chicago" in the description on the back cover and tie it into the heat for that film. Shame on you, Warner Bros. We all work hard for our money and deserve better than to believe we're buying a new anamorphic transfer, when you are really marketing the exact same discs as before.

A classic movie -- great songs and actors. The movie setting is pre-WWII however the changes that are happening in Berlin are seen as the Nazi party gets more powerful. Also the movie shows the misfits of society and how they cope with life (including cross-dressers and prostitutes).

As for musical-drama concerned... THIS IS IT! The producers of Chicago should have seen this(indeed they did - every major moment in that film is "stolen" from Cabaret) and put REAL musical stars in the film.

When u have Joel and Liza u are not let down... I give flowergreetings to the entire cast and crew... The filmversion of Cabaret has a lot of "new songs"(Maybe This Time, Mein Herr, The Money Song) and the plot follows the 1955-movie "I AM A CAMERA" more than the stage musical. Since then; the Liza-songs have found themselves in numerous revivals of this stageplay since this 1972-masterpiece. The film is still frightening and raw......Trivia: The scene in which Liza meets Marisa they talk about diseases... On video, here in Europe at least, that was cut....

CABARET is one of the greatest movie musicals ever. I adore it. It is flawless, IMHO.
Why, then am I giving it one star? Because, as others have said, Warners should be ashamed of themselves. This is not the first, but the SECOND release of this movie in a non-anamorphic transfer. I bought the original and was mighty p****ed because it was non-anamorphic. I thought they would have honored this magnificent film in the "anniversary" release. But no. It is, as stated by another reviewer, the same disc as before, in terms of picture quality.
On a small TV you won't notice. But if you care about these things, then believe me, this release sucks big time. As did the first one.
I'm angry, not at being ripped off (I sent this one back for a refund) but because a wonderful work of art has been abused by a greedy, careless film company. And I have been robbed of the chance to see the film in its glory.
Having said that, nothing could improve the truly dreadful sound quality - which was terrible from day one.
I don't suppose there ever will be another release of this movie. What a terrible shame.

Cabaret is a great musical with a very serious underlying commentary on the rise of the Nazi power. This is a film to have in your own library and it is disappointing that the transfer to DVD has been so incompetently done. The level of visual noise puts a constant crawling "haze" over the images, which is most noticeable over flesh tones. If image quality is important to you, then this production will be disappointing.

There is several recordings form stage to this movie out there. This movie has songs that you remember and probably sing in the shower. It is also the only movie production of the play therefore even though it is exceptional there is no comparison.

I appreciate books that become movies and movies that are novelized. So naturally I read Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories". They were o.k. However, it was not Cabaret by any stretch of the imagination.

What I found interesting is that I always heard that Germans liked to sing of things as the deer in the field and so forth. Here there was a perfect example when they broke into song with "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" You are swept up in it and forget that this is just a movie. The pacing and photography in the movie was excellent.

As long as you did not see the play you will not notice the absence of some songs such as "Don't Tell Mama" and thing that "Money Money" is a natural.

On the darker side the movie is more than just a musical romp through Germany. And the specter of the approaching NSDAP regime is also well portrayed.

I almost passed over this DVD because a couple of Amazon reviewers forcefully complained about the presentation. I'm glad I bought it. The widescreen was just as I expected, and picture and sound quality were fine. Anyone who's seen the movie knows how good it is. If you haven't seen it, you're in for a treat; and this DVD serves it well. (A five-star review is for the absolutely superlative.)

Liza Minelli's "Cabaret" -- and, for that matter, Bob Fosse's -- digresses somewhat from the original stage production, both in its plot as well as in its characterizations (Sally is American?). But whatever changes Fosse put into this masterpiece worked splendidly; not only did the fun and sexy atmosphere of the stage version get ratcheted up a notch, but the social commentary behind the fun also got subtly remastered (the last scene is very subtle, iconic, and powerful).

The color, the suggestive dancing, and the vocal performances are all top notch. And how can we forget the cinematography? Liza making love to the camera in "Maybe This Time" and "Cabaret," Joel Grey's ridiculously appealing Emcee in "Money, Money," and, as already stated the final money-winning shot are all wonderful. Where musicals like "Chicago" fail is where "Cabaret" succeeded: in creating a splendid mix of "razzle dazzle," heart, and social commentary. Indeed, THIS "Cabaret" improved on the originals musical and production values, paving the way for the 1998 revival -- and making cinematic history in the process.

I would like to begin by saying that this is a great movie and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys an engaging story of genuine human emotion and the need for fulfillment against the grain of common society. This is a very good movie. But I must admit that I have mixed feelings about this film. The story following the lives of an American expatriot cabaret singer and an expatriot English tutor in their struggles with love greed and survival in Weimer Republic Germany is honest and entertaining and the political subplot (I should really call it the major underlying theme) of the rise of Nazism and the dehumanization of Germany is thought provoking and sometimes tragic. The scene in which the youth gets up and sings the rousing patriotic song only to have the camera role back and disclose to the audience that he is a Hitler youth is almost frightening in the sharp change of emotions it ellicits from the viewer. The Cabaret song sequences serve to highlight certain themes and link the story together quite nicely. The ending is absolutely brilliant. And yet, with all these wonderful attributes I still can't decide whther or not I like this movie, and I can't explain why. I guess the only way to find out what you will think is to see it for yourself. I will say it's one of those movies that stays with you.

This great movie classic and several others by Bob Fosse are sold to the public in some of the lousiest DVD productions I've seen. There are hardly any extras, actually there are none, with the honorable exception of recently issued "All That Jazz". The whole idea with DVD's is to offer consumers and movie lovers something they did not have on VHS. Benefits of DVD technology are conspicuously missing with this DVD and many others. That is the only reason I am giving Cabaret one star. The review posted here should assist customers with their purchase and since this is such a poor DVD package, I refuse to buy it. I suspect there will be re-issues in several years which only means more money out of your pocket - just because the product was not offered in proper production the first time arround. If this sounds like deja vu, you're right - remember all the "remastered" audio CD's that you have to buy all over again. Shame on the entertainment industry and their lousy products. They are fighting the piracy but inviting it with such behavior.

Max