You probably know the movie. Even if you’ve never seen it, you’ve probably heard it referred to as one of the greatest musicals in history, heard the main musical and heard about the controversial fame that ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ of 1952 was given 19 years later by ‘A Clockwork Orange’ of 1971.

If you’re into movies and movie history, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ is a must-see. Not just because it’s a vivid musical with great musical numbers, but because it’s a vivid film about the history of the film industry facing the arrival of sound cinema in the 1920s.

The plot of the tape is quite simple and naive – a couple of silent film stars suddenly discover that, after the triumph of the first sound film, The Jazz Singer, in 1927, they too need to learn to talk in front of the camera. A seemingly easy task. But in fact not all silent film actors with an exaggerated manner were able to fit into the restrained world of sound cinema. Here are the heroes of ‘Singing in the Rain’, which shone in the world of silent movies, it turns out not know how to act. And the woman and really terrible voice.

At the same time and on the set of a huge change. Strung out and almost desperate director begs the actors not to turn their heads, and speak only in the bush – there is a hidden microphone. And he himself hides in a glass booth, where behind the glass is a movie camera. All of this – a great comedic moments of the film, which, moreover, is quite consistent with reality.

And on the whole, ‘Singing in the Rain’ is a pretty funny light comedy that makes fun of actors, directors, producers, movie fans and the industry as a whole in a kindly way.

The musical and dance numbers, of course, will not seem spectacular enough to today’s viewers. But this is certainly the fault of the technical limitations, but not of the actors – they are just showing master class with their amazing numbers. If you watched, for example, the recent 2016 ‘La La Land’, you can easily see that the modern cinema is much more colorful and spectacular, but the dancing actors do not have even half of the stunning talent that Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds demonstrate.

‘Singin’ in the Rain’ is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. It’s a great excuse to experience an optimistic, beautiful old musical that can immerse you in a bygone era.