An American in Paris (1951)

I love the glitz and excess of "The Musical" as it as been mythologized in the public consciousness and especially in the movies. However, with an industry wide shift in the 70's toward realism ,"the Musical" became less popular as a film genre to the point where musicals really only exist in the modern industry as gritty dark awards bait films like Les Miserables. It seems they can only exist if their song and dance is balanced out with a realistic narrative, characters, and visual style. An American in Paris is very much not that.