Best Actress: Liza Minnelli

Can anyone watch this without getting 'Mein Herr' or 'Money Money Money' in their head? Hit me up in the comments and share your secrets.

via thefemalepope

I remember years and years ago, when I first saw Cabaret, that my takeaway was "I like upbeat musicals," because I'm Joe Pasternak's and Arthur Freed's dream movie-goer, but even then I couldn't deny what was plain to see: Liza Minnelli is a generational talent and her turn in this film was every inch Oscar-worthy. 

Told in Weimar Republic-era Berlin, Liza stars as Sally Bowles, a cabaret performer who takes a liking to newcomer Brian Roberts (played by Michael York, who, despite everything else he starred in, will forever always be Basil from the Austin Powers series to me). They romp around Berlin, getting into affairs, falling in love, having an abortion, and all the while, outside the confines of the story, some weird things are happening in Berlin. 

It's clear that Liza inherited her mother's screen presence and learned a lot from her director father. She's got the vocals, she's got the talent. You want to watch her. You want to see heartbreak and anger flash through those gigantic eyes. You want to see her dance through Fosse's choreography. You root for her when she does questionable things, and when she belts out the notes of the finale song, 'Life is a Cabaret', you don't want the curtain to come down.

Cabaret also felt very timely, considering what's happening the world today. The way 'Tomorrow Belongs to Me' sneaks towards its denouement always induces a shudder. The bait-and-switch, and Joel Grey's eerie smirk, the 'You fell for it, didn't you?' got me. 

Outside of Liza's performance, I do just want to take the time to say how much I love Bob Fosse both as a director and a choreographer. Hell, even when he was still dancing in '50s musicals. One of my favourite films is All That Jazz, and the choreography from all those dances live rent-free in my head. I love the way he saw his films and the way he could tell stories. 

Liza was nominated against Diana Ross (Lady Sings the Blues), Maggie Smith (Travels with My Aunt), Cicely Tyson (Sounder), and Liv Ullmann (The Emigrants). I've only seen Travels with My Aunt out of this bunch, and it was fun, but I liked Liza's performance more. I'm definitely interested in seeing the rest of the nominated performances, though!

DID I LIKE CABARET? I did!
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Did you like Cabaret? What are your thoughts on Liza Minnelli's Oscar win?

Keep up with all my Rewatching the Best Actresses posts here!