50 Greatest Musical Numbers In Film History

10. Bye Bye Birdie - Bye Bye Birdie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t3cBTb3xPc Bye Bye Birdie makes this list for one reason and one reason only: Ann-Margret's winning performance as Kim in this title song. She's playing a teenager deep in the throes of celebrity crush drama (her all-time favorite singer has been drafted into the army), but there's something knowingly sexy about her performance. Everyone knows that if there's anything guaranteed to make men go wild, its the contradiction of a woman seeming all wide-eyed and innocent, but also having sex appeal. Just look at Marilyn Monroe. This song also serves as a fantastic bookend for the closing sequence, which is a reprisal of Bye Bye Birdie, but with different words and a markedly more mature Kim. It's a captivating performance, set against a bright blue background so that you can't take your eyes off her.

9. Festival Reprise - The Sound Of Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0iOOgVB9V8 There are so many great songs in The Sound of Music, it was impossible to choose just one. That's why the festival sequence is the best musical number of the show. Not only does it give viewers a medley of all the songs they fell in love with throughout the film, but it also plays a very important role in the story. Captain Von Trapp has been ordered to take a post in the navy of the Third Reich, and since he has no intention of doing this, he and his family must flee Austria. They're really only using the music festival as a way to escape, and this is them saying goodbye, possibly forever, to the country they love. Needless to say, emotions are running high. It's hard not to feel all verklempt when the Captain is so overcome that he can't finish singing Edelweiss, and the entire audience joins in with him. Truly a magical moment in film history.