Cabaret (1972), directed by Bob Fosse, is a landmark musical film that redefined the genre by blending dazzling performance with political and emotional depth.
Its significance lies in how it uses the decadent world of the Kit Kat Klub in 1931 Berlin to mirror the rise of Nazism and the collapse of the Weimar Republic, juxtaposing personal liberation with looming societal repression.
Fosse stripped away traditional musical conventions, making nearly all songs diegetic—performed within the club—giving the film a gritty realism.
Based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin, which chronicled his experiences in Weimar-era Berlin, it was adapted into the 1951 play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten, then into the 1966 Broadway musical by Kander, Ebb, and Masteroff.
The visual style of Cabaret—with its smoky lighting, angular choreography, and diegetic musical numbers—has rippled through modern musicals in striking ways
Instead of characters bursting into song, Cabaret confined musical numbers to the Kit Kat Klub stage, turning performances into ironic echoes of the plot. This technique inspired films like Chicago to use music as thematic punctuation rather than narrative propulsion.
Bob Fosse’s signature style—isolated movements, inverted knees, and jazz hands—redefined how dance could express character psychology. You see echoes of this in Fosse/Verdon, Burlesque, and even Beyoncé’s Single Ladies video.
Fosse’s use of low camera angles and rhythmic cuts gave performers a towering presence, turning dance into visual dominance. This cinematic language has influenced everything from La La Land to immersive theatre productions.
Cabaret proved musicals could be politically charged and emotionally raw. Its juxtaposition of razzle-dazzle with fascist undertones paved the way for darker, more socially conscious musicals like Rent, Spring Awakening, and Hamilton.
