Why Do Some Movies Have Overtures?

These opening sequences offer the chance to rediscover music as a kind of cinematic storytelling, to think about the ways form dictates content, or to simply reflect. For moviegoers, the overture is a bridge between real life and the story they're about to enter; filmmakers should consider bringing it back.

When did movies stop having overtures?

Overtures were popular in 1950s and 1960s Hollywood musicals (particularly those of Rodgers and Hammerstein) but have become less common since. In many cases, these overtures have been cut from TV and video releases and can only be found on "restored" DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray versions, if at all.

Why do musicals have overtures?

The overtures served to establish the musical themes that would evolve throughout the opera, and as operetta and eventually musical comedy evolved, most musical theatre overtures became medleys of the key musical numbers that the audience will hear during the course of the show.