Mo' Music: Busby Berkeley SXSW

Happy New Year and Magnetic Fields

"...Book of Love", and my highlight of the night, "Busby Berkeley Dreams", which I never fully appreciated until now...."

March 19, 2012 Qmmunity Post by Rob Cohen

Stick It

Bring It On's scribe Jessica Bendinger writes and directs this teen movie set in the world of competitive gymnastics, and features leotard-clad girls who learn to stick together to fight injustice.

"...completely diversionary interludes that ape the elaborate choreography of Busby Berkeley sequences are delightfully out of place, although playful..."

April 28, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Ice Age: The Meltdown

An exercise in the superfluous, this sequel lacks the original film’s geniality – and all of its pro-environment stumping.

"...here. The voice work is still tops, and a Busby Berkeley homage with preying vultures belting out “Food Glorious..."

March 31, 2006 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Tank Girl

A movie that combines Busby Berkeley chorus lines with killer mutant kangaroos and the wildest female action hero this side of La Femme Nikita.

"...What can you say about a movie that combines Busby Berkeley chorus lines with killer mutant kangaroos and the..."

March 31, 1995 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Gold Diggers of 1933

On the surface, Gold Diggers is fluffy musical fare with Busby Berkeley's delightfully surreal production numbers, but the Great Depression left its mark on the film.

"...musical fare with contemporary favorite stars and, of course, Busby Berkeley's delightfully surreal production numbers. A Broadway production is..."

June 1, 2001 Screens Review by Jerry Renshaw

Robot Dreams

Dog and Robot find companionship in this lovely and touching Oscar-nominated animated film

"...Robot Dreams is less showy (well, excepting a delightful Busby Berkeley homage). It’s such a sweet curio, I don’t..."

June 14, 2024 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Don't Worry Darling

Even Florence Pugh can't save this heavy-handed thriller

"...starts to have a recurring vision ripped straight from Busby Berkeley’s 1930s film playbook. The location projects mystery, too:..."

Sept. 23, 2022 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

In the Heights

An explosion of dance and song in this vibrant stage-to-screen adaptation

"...also delves into the Hollywood classics. Clear bows to Busby Berkeley abound, especially in a pool routine for "96,000"..."

June 11, 2021 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Hamilton

Lin-Manuel Miranda's era-defining political musical brings hope home on Disney+

"...when to deploy an alternative view: an overhead shot, Busby Berkeley-style, of the revolving stage and busy ensemble dancers,..."

July 3, 2020 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

The Lure

The Polish Mermaid musical you never knew you needed

"...boatload of seriously eye-popping set-pieces that’d do a warped Busby Berkeley proud. This is one fish tale that’s well..."

April 21, 2017 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Beauty and the Beast

A live-action remake of the Disney film

"...Potts (Thompson), and the cranky clock Cogsworth (McKellen). Channeling Busby Berkeley, with a passing nod to Gene Kelly, it’s..."

March 24, 2017 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Muppets Most Wanted

This re-energized franchise has found its second wind: The Muppets' eighth movie proves that eight is not enough.

"...The film’s elaborate opening musical number (a nod to Busby Berkeley, except a female pig is involved) acknowledges the..."

March 21, 2014 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2014: Animation

Five works of superior, ambitious animation.

"...“Sorcerer’s Apprentice” fever dream of multiplying objects engaging in Busby Berkeley dance numbers. Visually magnificent, "Possessions" is an explosion..."

Feb. 7, 2014 Movie Review by Louis Black

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away

In this 3-D spectacle, the wan drama takes a back seat to the Cirque's acrobatics.

"...thrilling, with influences extending from steampunk to glam rock, Busby Berkeley to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But when the..."

Dec. 28, 2012 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Brother Can You Spare a Ticket?

Paramount Theater's Summer Film Series 2009

"...of Astaire and Rodgers or the choreographic dazzle of Busby Berkeley, and had their funny bones fractured and heart-strings..."

April 24, 2009 Screens Post by Marc Savlov

Meet the Robinsons

While Disney’s latest animated feature might not be a sign of the apocalypse, it’s at least a sign that Disney needs to find some decent writers.

"...Cousin Tallulah dresses like a chorus girl from a Busby Berkeley musical. While it’s kind of funny, there’s absolutely..."

April 6, 2007 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

Kung Fu Hustle

Stephen Chow's chop-socky offering is a manic, hyperentertaining blend of classic kung-fu tropes, special effects, and outrageous comedy.

"...Wile E. Coyote will come to mind, as will Busby Berkeley numbers, torrid Hollywood romances, and any number of..."

April 22, 2005 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Home on the Range

It’s fitting that this is Disney’s last traditionally animated feature; the whole affair has a warm, nostalgic feel.

"...a yodeling number that turns into a psychedelic bovine Busby Berkeley riot, and an animated Steve Buscemi pops up..."

April 2, 2004 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

The Radical Context

The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center's Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1893-1941

"...against surreal, cubist backdrops; even the kaleidoscopic madness of Busby Berkeley musicals. In terms of genre, the Unseen films..."

Feb. 13, 2004 Screens Feature by Rachel Proctor May

42nd Street

This quintessential backstage musical features great Busby Berkeley production numbers, and such tunes as "You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me" and "Shuffle Off to Buffalo."

"...Leonard Maltin states, "the definitive backstage musical." Featuring great Busby Berkeley production numbers starring Ruby Keeler, 42nd Street also..."

July 15, 2002 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Sugar & Spice

"...red, white, & blue cheer rags.) There's even a Busby Berkeley homage, a fur-clad Winter Extravaganza with legs kicking..."

Jan. 26, 2001 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Love's Labour's Lost

"...the moves of Rogers & Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Busby Berkeley are spirited flights of fancy that convey the..."

Aug. 4, 2000 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Big Lebowski

A case of mistaken identity embroils the supremely go-with-the-flow character of the Dude (Bridges) in an intersecting mix of kidnapping, pornography, German nihilists, sultry women, gumshoes, missing money, and missing toes.

"...wild and elaborate fantasy/dream sequences, one of them a Busby Berkeley bowling/porn phantasmagoria more outsized and ambitious than anything..."

March 6, 1998 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business

"...ever more exaggerated and over-the-top, perhaps best exemplified in Busby Berkeley's 1943 film The Gang's All Here. Bananas Is..."

Nov. 1, 1996 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Joe's Apartment

"...is easy -- they tend to break into elaborate, Busby Berkeley-esque chorus numbers at a moment's notice). While out..."

Aug. 2, 1996 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Lion King

"...Marata” is a thinly reworked “Bare Necessities.” And the Busby Berkeley choreography… sure it was fun in The Little..."

June 24, 1994 Movie Review by Robert Faires

Movie Duos, Rude Little Pigs, and More Events for the Week Ahead

Time to reflect and project

"...Busby Berkeley was doing sexy work in the early Thirties...."

Jan. 17, 2025 Arts Feature by James Scott

The Last Laugh: Deluxe Restored Edition

Best known for his vampires, devils, and death-dealers, F.W. Murnau traffics here in the evils of capitalism and human cruelty

"...The Busby Berkeley Collection, Vol. 2 (Warner Home Video): Four musical..."

Sept. 26, 2008 Screens Review by Wells Dunbar

Arts Review: Austin Opera’s Carmen

Love and death mingle in a classic, crowd-pleasing opera

"...workers at the tobacco plant. It’s presented like a Busby Berkeley musical, lithe smoking women descending stairs while the..."

May 10, 2024 Arts Feature by Cat McCarrey

Olivia Rodrigo, at the Precipice of Rock and Pop Stardom

Singer teeters on poise and rowdiness for fourth GUTS tour stop

"...from her circular platform, in one of a few Busby Berkeley-esque choreo moments (think the gutterballs scene from The..."

Feb. 29, 2024 Music Post by Rachel Rascoe

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