Not Only Wicked: 5 Best Musicals With High Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Musicals came to the movies from the theater, so most films are adaptations of productions. It is always a big, exciting spectacle that can lift the spirits of even the gloomiest of days.

1. Les Misérables, 2012

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%

An adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel with an incredibly talented cast. The events take place at the beginning of the 19th century.

Convict Jean Valjean, after 19 years of imprisonment for stealing bread, wins his freedom, but because of being an outcast, he cannot integrate into society or find a job. Forced to commit a crime, he robs a bishop, who forgives the thief his sin.

Because of the bishop's kindness, Valjean decides not to give up but to start a new life. Years later, the man becomes the mayor of the city and helps those in need. But Valjean's world crumbles when Inspector Javert, who served as a warden in the very colony where Jean spent the most miserable years of his life, arrives in town.

2. Cabaret, 1972

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

Singer Sally Bowles performs in a Berlin cabaret during the Weimar Republic. The nightclub remains a haven of eternal joy and liberation while Nazi sentiment rages outside.

Sally's passionate performance is attended by an English teacher, Brian. The characters become friends, and Sally teaches the teacher to live life to the fullest and not to be ashamed of entertainment.

In this film, Bob Fosse succeeded in integrating dance numbers into the narrative – songs and dances do not stand out from the plot, but coexist with dialogues and main events.

3. Moulin Rouge!, 2001

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

In 1899, the popular cabaret Moulin Rouge attracts all the lonely and sad in search of love and beauty into its velvet and silk embrace. The club's brightest star, Satine, is so beautiful that she breaks men's hearts with a single look.

One day, a poor Englishman and poet, Christian, who has accidentally wandered into the walls of the club, falls under her spell. Meanwhile, the theater is falling on hard times, and Satine is forced to seduce the rich Duke to raise money for a future production whose plot strangely echoes her life.

As in the script of the musical, Satine herself falls in love with the poor poet and invites him to join the production. But the woman's greedy, jealous patron is willing to do anything to interfere with their love.

4. My Fair Lady, 1964

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

Henry Higgins, a linguist, decides to teach Eliza, a simpleton, the correct way to speak and to turn her into a real lady of high society. In a comic story full of puns, jokes and embarrassing situations, love gradually appears – Higgins falls in love with Eliza's spontaneity and smile.

My Fair Lady won eight Oscars and has truly stood the test of time – even today it looks like a modern movie. It is a cozy and friendly rom-com with sweet musical compositions.

5. The Sound of Music, 1965

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

The action takes place on the eve of World War II in the Austrian city of Salzburg. Maria was left without parents and ended up in an orphanage in a convent, deciding one day to become a nun.

But life turns out differently – the woman goes to live with the widowed officer von Trapp as a governess for his seven children. In order to win over the kids, Maria decides to turn to the power of music – she teaches the children to sing and becomes imbued with feelings for their father.