Cabaret (1972)
89%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: Won 8 Oscars
39 wins & 18 nominations total
Great performances and evocative musical numbers help Cabaret secure its status as a stylish, socially conscious classic.
Cabaret is a timeless classic that still manages to captivate audiences today. The music is catchy, the choreography is mesmerizing, and the performances by Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey are nothing short of electrifying. Director Bob Fosse’s chaotic style adds to the film’s charm, and the themes of political complacency and the power of style still resonate with viewers. It’s no wonder Cabaret has won numerous accolades and remains a beloved musical after all these years. So come on, life is a cabaret, old chum, and this film is a must-see for any musical lover.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures,
Distributor
Allied Artists Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Berlin, Germany
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1972
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 4m
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Language(s):English, German, Hebrew, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 13, 1972 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 19, 2003
Genre(s)
Musical
Keyword(s)
starring Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Fritz Wepper, Marisa Berenson, directed by Bob Fosse, written by Christopher Isherwood, John Van Druten, Joe Masteroff, Jay Presson Allen, musical, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Guy Lodge, Kevin Maher, Sara Michelle Fetters, Kim Newman, PG rating, Cy Feuer produced, Allied Artists Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo distributed, Sally Bowles, Brian Roberts, Maximilian von Heune, Weimar Republic, rise of Nazi party, love triangle, cabaret singer, British academic, playboy, decadent, politically conscious, socially conscious, great performances, evocative musical numbers, stylish, Berlin, 1931, original language English, 2h 4m runtime, surround sound mix
Worldwide gross: $23,745
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $188,465
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,941
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 20,552
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Joel Grey – Master of Ceremonies
Michael York – Brian Roberts
Helmut Griem – Maximilian von Heune
Fritz Wepper – Fritz Wendel
Marisa Berenson – Natalia Landauer
Director(s)
Bob Fosse
Writer(s)
Christopher Isherwood, John Van Druten, Joe Masteroff, Jay Presson Allen
Producer(s)
Cy Feuer
Film Festivals
Berlin
Awards & Nominations
Won 8 Oscars
39 wins & 18 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (3)
It’s hard to believe it’s half a century since Cabaret first sashayed into cinemas: in look, sound and sensibility, it still feels fresh and daring, expanding the possibilities of what musicals can do and say at every turn.
May 31, 2022
Guy Lodge
Film of the Week
TOP CRITIC
It repeatedly castigates political complacency and boasts one of the most chilling camera movements in cinema history…
May 6, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The music is great, yes, but it is the themes at the center of Isherwoods remembrances that hold the most power.
March 3, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Sara Michelle Fetters
MovieFreak.com
TOP CRITIC
Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey are electrifying; director Bob Fosse’s choreography and the camera work are scintillating.
June 12, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Bob Fosse’s direction is as chaotic as it was in his previous Sweet Charity, a desperate scramble after a style.
August 12, 2008
Jay Cocks
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The screenplay, which never seems to talk down to an audience while at the same time making its candid points with tasteful emphasis, returns the story to a variety of settings.
June 27, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Episode 39: Ma / The Souvenir / Lenny / Cabaret
October 4, 2021 | Rating: 90/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
I was an instant convert to Fosse’s Cabaret: it was and is nothing but the movie for me. It concentrates Fosse’s interest in stories about style-its power to define and transform, to dominate and subdue.
September 18, 2020
Michelle Orange
4Columns
The main characters’ inebriated antics never seem to amount to anything potent or moving or simply involving.
August 27, 2020 | Rating: 3/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The bright, manic glee is countered by small moments of stunning brutality, moments that increase in frequency, size, and viciousness as the film progresses.
July 16, 2020 | Rating: B+
Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
If brash Minnelli seems a mite too talented for the Sally Bowles character, it really doesn’t matter: she is, quite simply, magnificent in this role.
June 12, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Tony Sloman
Radio Times
Cabaret (1972) is director/choreographer Bob Fosse’s defining, decadent, award-winning musical which popularized the phrase: “Life is a Cabaret.” It was only Fosse’s second film, but won numerous accolades…
September 29, 2019 | Rating: A+
Tim Dirks
Filmsite…
Plot
Cambridge University student Brian Roberts arrives in Berlin in 1931 to complete his German studies. Without much money, he plans on making a living teaching English while living in an inexpensive rooming house, where he befriends another of the tenants, American Sally Bowles. She is outwardly a flamboyant, perpetually happy person who works as a singer at the decadent Kit Kat Klub, a cabaret styled venue. Sally’s outward façade is matched by that of the Klub, overseen by the omnipresent Master of Ceremonies. Sally draws Brian into her world, and initially wants him to be one of her many lovers, until she learns that he is a homosexual, albeit a celibate one. Among their other friends are his students, the poor Fritz Wendel, who wants to be a gigolo to live a comfortable life, and the straight-laced and beautiful Natalia Landauer, a Jewish heiress. Fritz initially sees Natalia as his money ticket, but eventually falls for her. However Natalia is suspect of his motives and cannot overcome their religious differences. Also into Sally and Brian’s life comes the wealthy Baron Maximilian von Heune, who has the same outlook on life as Sally, but who has the money to support it. Max is willing to lavish his new friends with gifts and his favors. Around them all is the Nazi uprising, to which they seem to pay little attention or care. But they ultimately learn that life in all its good and particularly bad continues to happen to them and around them.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey are both perfect, giving two of the greatest performances ever captured on film.
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