A Hollywood silent film star has to get through the industry's switch to sound. It is complicated by his leading lady, who can't sing, and by his love for a chorus girl. As cliche as it sounds, this is the most purely pleasurable film ever made about cinema. It is also the most technically accomplished movie musical.
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 comedy, musical and romance film directed by Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 narrative, 1 cinematography and 1 sound), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Life is Beautiful uses several of the same techniques.
Making a film that criticizes the film industry from the inside. It shows the cruelty under the glamour of stardom and how easily talent gets thrown away.
How this film uses it
The film is relentlessly accurate about Hollywood's vanity, about studios manipulating people and about the gap between the legend of a star and the reality. Lina Lamont is a precise portrait of a star whose image was built entirely by publicity, and she is fairly close to the real thing. The film laughs at Hollywood from inside Hollywood, which is the best place to tell the joke from.
Where to see it
The 'Dignity, Always Dignity' montage. Don narrates his own rise while you see what really happened. The gap between the legend he tells and the truth on screen is the film's main joke.
Giving a film 2 very different tones, such as comedy and tragedy, often split into halves. Each makes the other hit harder, and the film never blends them into 1.
How this film uses it
The film's criticism of Hollywood is sharp and accurate, and its musical sequences are glorious. Donen and Kelly never let the satire make the joy feel ironic. They never let the joy make the satire feel toothless either. The 'Singin' in the Rain' sequence is plainly joyful and the Lina scenes are plainly cutting. Keeping both intact is the film's achievement.
Where to see it
The title sequence. Don is simply happy in the rain. The satire stops for a moment so the musical's most famous stretch of sincere pleasure can happen.
Borrowing the physical comedy of silent films, such as pratfalls, precisely timed gags and expressive body language. It is a nod to where cinema came from.
How this film uses it
Kelly and O'Connor's physical comedy comes straight from Keaton and Chaplin. You see the exact control of the body in space, props used as extensions of character and gags built on perfect timing with no need for dialogue. The tribute is built into the film itself. The film is about silent cinema, and it grieves for that style by performing it.
Where to see it
'Make 'Em Laugh'. In O'Connor's sequence with the dummy and the wall, the physical comedy is as exact as anything in the silent film tradition.
Repeating one piece of music until it is tied to a memory or feeling. Each time it returns, it brings back everything you and the characters have been through.
How this film uses it
The title song is the centerpiece of the film and the key to its emotions. Whenever it is mentioned or replayed, it brings back the sequence in the rain and Don's joy. It also brings back the film's claim that real feeling is possible even inside a cynical industry. The song does what the film says Hollywood at its best can do: create a real moment.
Where to see it
The title number. The song becomes the film's emotional signature. From then on, the melody carries the weight of the whole sequence whenever it comes back.
Questions
Singin' in the Rain: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Singin' in the Rain use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Singin' in the Rain (1952): Hollywood Self-Indictment, Tonal Bifurcation, Silent Comedy Homage and Musical Memory Trigger.
Who directed Singin' in the Rain?
Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly directed Singin' in the Rain, released in 1952. CineCode also covers On the Town (1949).
What films are similar to Singin' in the Rain?
Films that share techniques with Singin' in the Rain include Life is Beautiful (1997), Casablanca (1942), Sunset Boulevard (1950), WALL-E (2008).
