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Cabaret (1972)

 

October 6th marks the 50th anniversary of the premiere of "Cabaret" in Spain.  This movie is not just a happy-go-lucky musical, but a dramatic story of how violence can shake the foundations of a free, democratic society when intolerance, defamation and poverty strike, as in Berlin in the1930's. 

It is worthwhile to watch Cabaret again, so here you can find a Worksheet and Viewing Guide with a Key, to help B2 students discuss some scenes in the movie (with subtitles), and here you can read a recent article from BBC Culture entitled "Cabaret: How the X-rated musical became a hit", where you will find interesting words like: a ground-breaking [film], to take on, a hit, a chilling [message], release, against the backdrop, uncompromising [hate], acclaim, packed audiences, in pursuit of, vibrant [gay scene], a misfit, the likes of [Sally Bowles], a supporting actor, a magnet, to barrel [into the abyss], to treble, to be purged, grim, prescient, doom, to pervade, on the fringes [of history], to debut, camp, debauched, to dim, grime, bewitching, an outsider, hedonistic, free-spirited, oblivious, a breakout [role], divergence, to be trapped, a gaze, taboo, creeping [fascism], to embrace, explicitness, matter-of-fact, depiction, queerness, a riot, a [Pride] parade, a portrayal, stuffy, [Iserwood's] alter ego, a glance, an utterance, to star [eddie Redmayne], to be cast, quaint, to underscore, a mainstream [film], androgynous, unapologetically, rake-thin, smothered, chalky, raucous, a drag, depravity, to strut [across stage], seediness, gleeful, abandon, to goosestep, to don [a military helmet] a fake [gun], to be embodied, buoyant, to hold [your] breath, [political] apathy, unwittingly, to facilitate, a sledgehammer, to pan out, a paean, to be enraptured, destitute, stark, to depict, to tackle, garish, sleazy, to be burdened, to dread,, burgeoning, an outcry, 

Below you can watch a clip with the song "Tomorrow belongs to me", which starts as a romantic lyrical song in the countryside, and ends up with a suffocating chorus, that compels the protagonists to flee the scene. There are no subtitles, but the close-up shots need no further explanation.


And here you can watch the famous song "Money makes the world go round".  No need for subtitles, again, because the choreography is quite revealing:


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