Cabaret (Film) Literary Elements

Cabaret (Film) Literary Elements

Director

Bob Fosse

Leading Actors/Actresses

Liza Minelli, Michael York

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Marisa Berenson, Fritz Wepper, Joel Grey

Genre

Musical

Language

English

Awards

Academy Awards - Best Actress : Liza Minelli, Best Supporting Actor - Joel Grey, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Original Song Score & Adaptation, Best Film Editing

Date of Release

February 13th 1972

Producer

Cy Feuer

Setting and Context

Berlin, 1931, as the Nazi regime is starting to exert its stranglehold on Berlin

Narrator and Point of View

No specific narrator, story from the point of view of those whose lives will be devastated by the Nazi regime

Tone and Mood

Partly flamboyant and fun, partly threatening with the flamboyance and fun taking place against the backdrop of the growing threat of the rise of the Nazi regime

Protagonist and Antagonist

Sally and Brian are both protagonist and antagonist to each other

Major Conflict

There is a major conflict between Sally and Brian when both reveal that they have been sleeping with Max

Climax

At the end of the movie we see a row of Nazi officers in the front at the Kit Kat Klub, which suggests the end of the flamboyant and free lifestyle being enjoyed in Berlin

Foreshadowing

The rural biergarten scene shows just the face of a singing boy. He is singing seemingly innocuous lyrics (Tomorrow Belongs To Me) but as the camera pans back we see that he is wearing a brown Hitler Youth uniform, and the lyrics of the song he is singing take a darker perspective and overshadow what is shortly about to happen in Berlin as the National Socialist Party take power

Understatement

The danger presented by the Nazi regime is ever present but understated

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

no specific filming techniques or innovations

Allusions

The threat of the Hitler government is alluded to, but never named specifically. It is for the audience to draw a difference in the power of the uniformed characters as the movie progresses

Paradox

Fritz thinks that he is improving his life by admitting his ethnic heritage and marrying Natalia whereas in fact he would have been much safer continuing to pass as a Christian and protecting himself from the National Socialist regime

Parallelism

There is a parallel between Sally's relationship with and expectations of Max, and Brian's relationship and expectations of him, as well as a parallel between the way in which Max views both of them as expendable gigolos

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