Search - Cabaret on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content Movie Release: 1972 DVD Release: 04/29/1998 Format: DVD - Soft-Matted WSE for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered,Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 4 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Musical, Period Film, Musical Drama See Also: Cabaret [Repackaged]

Originally a 1966 Broadway musical, this groundbreaking Bob Fosse musical was in turn based on Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin, previously dramatized for stage and screen as I Am a Camera with Julie Harris as Sally Bowles. Fosse uses the decadent and vulgar cabaret as a mirror image of German society sliding toward the Nazis, and this intertwining of entertainment with social history marked a new step forward for the movie musical. Michael York plays a British writer who comes to Berlin in the early 1930s in hopes of becoming a teacher. He makes the acquaintance of flamboyant American entertainer Sally Bowles, played by Liza Minnelli. Sally works at the Kit Kat Klub, a George Grosz-like Berlin cabaret where each night the smirking, androgynous Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey) introduces a jazz-driven "girlie show" to his debauched audience. Virtually all the film's musical numbers are staged within the confines of the Kit Kat Klub, and each song comments on the plot and on Germany's "progression" from hedonism to Hitlerism. Most of the Broadway score by John Kander and Fred Ebb was retained, with the welcome addition of "The Money Song." Although it lost Best Picture to The Godfather, Cabaret won eight Oscars, including awards to Minnelli, Grey, and Fosse. A heavily expurgated 88-minute version of Cabaret has been prepared for commercial TV presentations, regarded by many as dramatically inferior to the full cut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Liza Minnelli - Sally Bowles
Michael York - Brian Roberts
Joel Grey - Master of Ceremonies
Helmut Griem - Maximilian von Heune
Marisa Berenson - Natalia Landauer
Fritz Wepper - Fritz

Universal's Special Edition DVD release of the 1972 classic Cabaret comes loaded with bonus features destined to please even the most diehard of fans. The film is presented in its original widescreen format and comes with English, Spanish, and French subtitles. The production notes are very detailed, including biographies and filmographies on the cast and crew, location notes, and the story of the development of the film, from its earliest incarnation as several short stories through its Broadway production to its final celluloid form. Further notes include a history of the film's much-celebrated composers, John Kander & Fred Ebb. The DVD also comes with two documentaries: Cabaret: A Legend in the Making (1997) and The Recreation of an Era(1972), offering different perspectives from different time periods on the film's history. Also included are the original theatrical trailer, a list of all the film's awards, genre, and actor recommendations, and nostalgic anecdotes from the cast and crew, including the film's fabled stars, Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey. All in all, a complete package, resulting in more than just a simple film on DVD, but an actual, well-rounded experience. ~ Jose Promis, All Movie Guide