Complete list - the 25 greatest movie musicals of all time

NEWS RELEASE

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE

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Singin' in the Rain tops AFI's list of 25 greatest movie musicals of all time

LOS ANGELES - American Film Institute (AFI) revealed the top 25 movie musicals of all time in The Big Picture - AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals, a one-night only presentation produced by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association in cooperation with AFI.

A jury of over 500 film artists, composers, musicians, critics and historians selected the Gene Kelly song-and-dance classic Singin' in the Rain as the most memorable movie musical of all time.

Spanning a century of film music and counting down from 25 to Number 1 throughout the evening, Director John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra performed excerpts from each of the winning musicals, many of them accompanied
by favorite movie scenes shown on the bowl's big video screens.

While television broadcasts have announced the previous nine installments of AFI's 100 Years series, following the success of last year's AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores, this is now the second time an AFI countdown was revealed before a live audience.

The honorees are

1 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
1952
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

2 WEST SIDE STORY
1961
United Artists

3 WIZARD OF OZ, THE
1939
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

4 SOUND OF MUSIC, THE
1965
Twentieth Century-Fox

5 CABARET
1972
Allied Artists

6 MARY POPPINS
1964
Disney

7 STAR IS BORN, A
1954
Warner Bros.

8 MY FAIR LADY
1964
Warner Bros.

9 AMERICAN IN PARIS, AN
1951
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

10 MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
1944
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

11 KING AND I, THE
1956
Twentieth Century-Fox

12 CHICAGO
2002
Miramax

13 42ND STREET
1933
Warner Bros.

14 ALL THAT JAZZ
1979
Twentieth Century-Fox, Columbia

15 TOP HAT
1935
RKO

16 FUNNY GIRL
1968
Columbia

17 BAND WAGON, THE
1953
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

18 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY
1942
Warner Bros.

19 ON THE TOWN
1949
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

20 GREASE
1978
Paramount

21 SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS
1954
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

22 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
1991
Disney

23 GUYS AND DOLLS
1955
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

24 SHOW BOAT
1936
Universal

25 MOULIN ROUGE!
2001
Twentieth Century Fox

Created as a sidebar to AFI's popular AFI's 100 Years series, AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals continues the mission of this program - to reignite an interest in classic American cinema.

This theme additionally befits the Hollywood Bowl's annual movie night, which brings to life the music of the world's most beloved films.

AFI's 100 Years series has garnered considerable attention from movie lovers around the world - and consistently sparks national discussions of America's film history.

Previous programs within this series have included AFI 100 Years ... 100 Movies (1998), 100 Stars (1999), 100 Laughs (2000), 100 Thrills (2001), 100 Passions (2002), 100 Heroes & Villains (2003), 100 Songs (2004), 100 Movie Quotes (2005) and 100 Cheers (2006).

About the American Film Institute

AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media.

AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world-renowned Conservatory, maintains America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and explores new digital technologies in entertainment and education through the AFI Digital Content Lab and K-12 Screen Education Center.

As the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the US, AFI ON SCREEN encompasses the annual AFI Fest presented by Audi: AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival - as well as year-round programming at ArcLight Hollywood and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, including SilverDocs: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival.

AFI Awards, the annual almanac for the 21st Century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, while AFI's 100 Years series has ignited extraordinary public interest in classic American movies.

And, during the past 34 years, AFI's Life Achievement Award has become the highest honor for a career in film.

Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com

About the Hollywood Bowl

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California.

The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue.

To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts.

While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 38th season.

Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded.

In February 2006, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the second year in a row at the 17th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers and Disneyland.

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