Cabaret was far different that the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical films like The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins or Oklahoma. This film was decadent for the time of Berlin before Hitler's rise to power. As the Nazi movement was gaining power, Berlin residents like Sally Bowles played by the one and only Liza Minnelli had relationships with men and lived on her singing at nightclubs until she meets Michael York (When will he be knighted?) anyway he plays the writer. Joel Grey won an Oscar as the Maestro. I loved the movie and won't bother to see the musical whether it's Judi Dench or anybody else playing Sally Bowles. THere was only one person who played Sally Bowles to me and that was the divine Liza with a Z. She totally becomes the character. When you see this film version, any musical whether the West End in London or Broadway in New York City will always be second rate to this cast. Of course, the fact that Bob Fosse directed this gem and changed the musical films forever from light and happy to dark and sad like in Cabaret. It's eerie to think that the people in the Cabaret have no idea of the horror that lies ahead with World War II and that's terrifying in general. I won't give away much but that this is Liza at her finest and best.