Where does one begin to describe the glory that was this particular movie musical? It wasn't just the very wise choice of allowing Dick Van Dyke to reprise his role as songwriter and failed chemist Albert Peterson. It wasn't just the selection of Ann-Margret to portray Kim McAfee, the girl kissed by an Elvis-ite character on Ed Sullivan's show. It wasn't even the queenious Paul Lynde, somehow completely believable in the role of a husband and father. It was every single bloody element, highlighted by the score of Lee Adams and Charles Strouse. And it will always remain timeless. Period.
15. All That Jazz (1979)
Just when the world thought that Bob Fosse couldn't possibly top himself as a storyteller through dance and direction, he took the horrific story of his heart attack and transformed it into a glorious musical that not only won numerous Oscar nominations and other awards, but cemented himself as a legend for all time. There will never be anything, but anything, like the initial audition sequence or watching Leland Palmer, Ann Reinking and Erszebet Foldi making Joe Gideon's life pass before his eyes along with a bevy of fan-dancing vixens. The only thing that might have topped it would have been a musical number by Jessica Lange as the Angel of Death, but it would have been wholeheartedly unnecessary.