Cabaret (1972)

Cabaret is a 1972 American musical drama film directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse from a screenplay by Jay Presson Allen. It is based on the 1966 stage musical by Joe Masteroff (book) and the duo Kander and Ebb (music), which in turn was based on the 1951 play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten and the 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. It stars Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Marisa Berenson, and Joel Grey. The film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Director for Fosse, Best Actress for Minnelli, and Best Supporting Actor for Grey. Multiple numbers from the stage score were used for the film, which also featured three other songs by Kander and Ebb, including two written for the adaptation.

In the traditional manner of musical theater, most major characters in the stage version sing to express their emotions and advance the plot; in the film, however, the musical numbers are almost entirely diegetic and take place inside the club, with the exception of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me", which is not performed in the club or by the club characters, but is still diegetic, a nationalistic song sung by a Nazi youth and the German crowd.

Cabaret was released in the United States on February 13, 1972, by Allied Artists. The film received critical acclaim and eventually earned more than $42 million in the box office against a production budget of $4.6 million. At the 45th Academy Awards, the film won in eight categories – including Best Director (Fosse), Best Actress (Minnelli), Best Supporting Actor (Grey), and Best Score – holding the record for most Oscars earned by a film not honored for Best Picture. In 1995, Cabaret was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".