All Time Favorites: 10 Most Engaging Musical Movies That Hit the Right Note

It's fair to say that there are two groups of people. One doesn't really like musicals. The other is perhaps too keen on them. If you belong to the latter, here's a list of the ten most notable musicals that have defined the genre over the decades that you might consider streaming on Amazon Prime.

Chicago (2002, 7.2 on IMDb)

The big-screen adaptation of the 1975 stage musical of the same name, based on the 1926 play, is a scandalous tale of corruption and fame set in Jazz Age Chicago. The musical film stars Renée Zellweger as housewife Roxie Hart and Catherine Zeta-Jones as vaudevillian Velma Kelly, who are both accused of murder and vie for fame as the last resort that can save them from execution.

Les Misérables (2012, 7.5 on IMDb)

The film adaptation of the stage adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel of the same name boasts an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried and Helena Bonham Carter. The movie follows Jackman's Jean Valjean, a man who spent nineteen years in prison for stealing bread and was released on parole, as he evades the French police in the early nineteenth century while trying to take care of a factory worker's daughter.

West Side Story (1961, 7.6 on IMDb)

This adaptation of the eponymous Broadway musical tells the story of the rivalry between two teenage gangs on New York's Upper West Side as they vie for control of the area. Inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the story centers on Tony and Maria, members of the rival gangs who fall in love at first sight and try to keep their love alive against all odds.

Moulin Rouge! (2001, 7.6 on IMDb)

Set in Paris at the turn of the 20th century, Baz Luhrmann's musical romantic drama centers on Christian (played by Ewan McGregor), an English writer who meets and falls in love with Moulin Rouge cabaret actress and prostitute Satine (played by Nicole Kidman). Released nearly a quarter of a century ago, this musical still impresses with grandiose sets, spectacular visuals, a bohemian atmosphere, and a poignant finale.

My Fair Lady (1964, 7.7 on IMDb)

Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion and adapted from the 1956 stage musical, this comedy-drama stars Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolitle and Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins, a working-class Cockney girl and an upper-class professor of phonetics whose paths cross by chance. Higgins makes a bet with his friend that he can teach Eliza to speak properly and begins to give her lessons. Along the way, the two characters fall in love.

Mary Poppins (1964, 7.8 on IMDb)

Adapted from P.L. Travers' series of novels of the same name, this classic musical fantasy comedy stars Julie Andrews as the title character, who comes to the rescue of the Banks children when their widower father needs a new nanny for them. The film won five Academy Awards in 1965, including Best Actress for Andrews, even though it was her film debut.

La La Land (2016, 8.0 on IMDb)

Damien Chazelle's musical romantic drama, starring Ryan Reynolds and Emma Watson, follows Sebastian Wilder, a professional jazz pianist with dreams of running his own club, and Mia Dolan, an aspiring actress juggling her day job as a barista and auditions, as they cross paths and fall in love in Los Angeles. The movie tells the story of their relationship, which gradually takes a backseat as they build their careers.

The Wizard of Oz (1939, 8.1 on IMDb)

Starring Judy Garland, this musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz follows Dorothy Gale, a young girl from Kansas, on her amazing adventures in the land of Oz after a tornado carries her and her dog, Toto, there. In Oz, Dorothy makes new friends with whom she searches for a way to return home.

The Sound of Music (1965, 8.1 on IMDb)

Another Oscar-winning musical starring Julie Andrews, this classic of the genre is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical of the same name, based on Maria von Trapp's memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. The film follows Andrews' Maria as she is hired as a governess for the von Trapp children, with whom she forms a deep bond and falls in love with their father in the midst of the Anschluss of Austria, which causes them all to flee the country across the Alps.

Singin' in the Rain (1952, 8.3 on IMDb)

The iconic musical comedy starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds offers a light-hearted look at events in Hollywood in the 1920s, when silent films gave way to talking pictures that changed the industry forever. Following the fictional star of silent film, Don Lockwood, the musical tells the story of his personal tragedy as he recalls the beginning of his career and its seeming end with the advent of the new movies.