Compare & Contrast: SOUND OF MUSIC vs CABARET
“We are not so different, you and I…”
-- every supervillain to every superhero
Rarely do we enjoy comparing and contrasting two films so seemingly diametrically opposed yet surprisingly so closely matched in so many ways.
Both The Sound Of Music (1965) and Cabaret (1972) are based on hit Broadway musicals (The Sound Of Music in 1959 and Cabaret in 1966) that in turn were based on earlier movies (The Trapp Family and I Am A Camera) that in turn were based on autobiographical works (The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp and The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood). Both were crowd pleasers, both were nominated for and won a buttload of awards, both are filled with great performances and great songs, and both deal directly with how average people responded to the Nazis rise to power in the 1930s.
It's especially interesting to compare and contrast the seven year lag between the two productions, both on screen and on Broadway. It reflects the enormous cultural sea change America and the rest of the world was undergoing at the time, with Broadway clearly six years ahead of Hollywood.
Basically, The Sound Of Music offers hope -- sugar coated hope, but hope nonetheless. The film ends with the von Trapps crossing the Alps on their way to eventual freedom in the United States. American audience -- both on Broadway and in neighborhood movie theaters -- wanted to believe that.
And you know what? Believing in that ideal of freedom, that hope for a better life tomorrow away from the forces of oppression is a belief worth having.
Cabaret, on the other hand, is a bitter pill to swallow -- but it’s good medicine. Arriving as the folly of the Vietnam War became increasingly apparent, it reminds us how fragile freedom is, and how easily it is to be corrupted by power and pleasure.
And you know what? Hope needs to always be accompanied by a cautionary tale to remind us not to be cavalier and indifferent to our personal responsibilities to keep freedom and justice alive.
Let the competition begin!
Songs
“The Sound Of Music” vs “Cabaret”
winner: The Sound Of Music
Julie Andrews spins right ‘round, baby, right ‘round,
like a record, baby, right ‘round, ‘round, ‘round
“Willkommen” vs “So Long, Farewell”
winner: Cabaret
“My Favorite Things” vs “Money, Money”
winner: Cabaret
“Do-Re-Mi” vs “Two Ladies”
winner: The Sound Of Music
“Something Good” vs “Maybe This Time”
winner: Cabaret
“Sixteen Going On Seventeen” vs “Mein Herr”
winner: Cabaret
“The Lonely Goatherd” vs “Tiller Girls”
winner: Cabaret
In any competition between
a half-assed puppet show
and Joel Grey in drag,
go with Grey.
“Edelweiss” vs “Tomorrow Belongs To Me”
winner: Cabaret
In any competition between
sugary schmaltz and a gutslammer,
back the gutslammer.
Over All Musical Competition Winner
Cabaret contains the stronger songs but The Sound Of Music offers more and all of theirs are safe to sing in public.
Singing Female Characters
“Each and every one of them is a wirgin”
The Sound Of Music: Indubitably
Cabaret: Dubious
Best Nanny Candidate
Julie Andrews vs Liza Minelli
winner: (tie)
Andrews gets parents’ vote,
Minelli gets kids’ vote
Sleazy Showbiz Sidekick
Richard Haydn as Max Detweiler vs Joel Grey as Master of Ceremonies
winner: Holy %#@&, are you blind?
Grey by a country mile
Costumes
Curtains vs garters and fishnet stockings
winner: Cabaret
Academy Award nominations
Ten each
winner: (tie)
Academy Award wins
The Sound Of Music:
Best Picture
Best Director – Robert Wise
Best Editing
Best Scoring
Best Sound
(Lost: Best Actress – Julie Andrews, Best Supporting Actress – Peggy Wood, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume)
Cabaret:
Best Director – Bob Fosse
Best Actress – Liza Minnelli
Best Supporting Actor – Joel Grey
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Scoring
Best Sound
(Lost: Best Picture, Best Screenplay Adaptation)
winner: You make the call.
Cabaret won 8 of its 10 nominations,
but lost Best Picture even though
Fosse, Minnelli, and Grey took home Oscars;
Julie Andrews went home empty handed but
while The Sound Of Music lost 5 out of 10,
it won the big kahuna with Best Picture.
Box Office
The Sound Of Music: $2,366,000,000 (worldwide adjusted gross in 2014)
Cabaret: $18,175,000 (as of 1973)
winner: Ain’t even close
© Buzz Dixon
