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Limelight

Limelight

Romance · Drama · Music · 1952

A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.

Movie details

Limelight

“The masterpiece of laughter and tears from the master of comedy!”

1952 Romance · Drama · Music 2h 17m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.9 / 10

Community rating

A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Limelight?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Feel the Beat

Feel the Beat

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After failing to make it on Broadway, April returns to her hometown and reluctantly begins training a misfit group of young dancers for a competition.

High Strung Free Dance

High Strung Free Dance

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Zander Raines, a dazzling and tempestuous young choreographer, gives the break of a lifetime to two hopeful artists when he casts a stunning contemporary dancer, Barlow, and innovative pianist, Charlie, in New York’s most-anticipated new Broadway show: Free Dance. But the move throws off the show’s delicate creative balance when Charlie falls hard for Barlow, while Zander embraces her as his muse.

Take the Lead

Take the Lead

Drama · 2006

A former professional dancer volunteers to teach dance in the New York public school system and, while his background first clashes with his students' tastes, together they create a completely new style of dance. Based on the story of ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulane.

Rosaline

Rosaline

Romance · 2022

Left heartbroken after Romeo begins to pursue her cousin Juliet, Rosaline schemes to foil the famous romance and win back her guy in this comedic twist of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

High Strung

High Strung

Music · 2016

When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.

The Goodbye Girl

The Goodbye Girl

Comedy · 1977

After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.

One Chance

One Chance

Drama · 2013

This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.

Step Up All In

Step Up All In

Romance · 2014

All-stars from previous installments convene in glittering Las Vegas, battling for a victory that could define their dreams and their careers.

The High Note

The High Note

Romance · 2020

Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis, a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights. Maggie is Grace’s overworked personal assistant who’s stuck running errands, but still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.

Bootmen

Bootmen

Comedy · 2000

Sean Odkin loves to dance—much to his fathers distain. When the woman he loves cannot return his love, he goes in search of the only thing that can make him whole again—dancing.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Charlie Chaplin

Written by

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Calvero

Claire Bloom

Claire Bloom

Thereza 'Terry' Ambrose

Nigel Bruce

Nigel Bruce

Postant

Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton

Calvero's Partner

Sydney Chaplin

Sydney Chaplin

Neville

Norman Lloyd

Norman Lloyd

Bodalink

Andre Eglevsky

Andre Eglevsky

Dancer - Harlequin

Court is in session

Put Limelight on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.