i have to agree with SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as the best one-film intro to
musical, but we've also used MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (to introduce genre and
ideology; i suppose WIZARD OF OZ would work too) and talked about using
GREASE (generic transformation and the New Hollywood).
 
also, i just left THE BIG LEBOWSKI-- has anyone else seen it yet? while i
definitely see THE BIG SLEEP in it, is this arguably the coen bros.
attempt at a hollywood musical (as in godard's A WOMAN IS A WOMAN)? i
didn't like the cowboy voice-over/ character as much, but i think the film
recalls nicely the narrative "pause" that is inevitably part of the
musical (like Indian cinema?).
 
aimee hall
indiana university dept of comparative literature and film studies
 
----
Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the
University of Alabama.