'Top movie musical of all time' from Oscar-winning director is coming to Netflix

A movie musical regarded as one of the "best of all time" has been praised for its "timeless" story and "lively, inspirational" music - and it can now be streamed on Netflix from this week. In the Heights, which was released in 2021, is based on the stage musical of the same name and is directed by the Oscar-winning director Jon M Chu. It tells the story of a corner of a predominantly Dominican community in Washington Heights, New York, where each of the characters has a dream for a different life.

The movie is written by Quiara Alegria Hudes, who wrote the stage musical. Meanwhile, Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda, who created the concept, music and lyrics for the musical, serves as a producer. Miranda also played the lead role of Usnavi in the Broadway version, but Anthony Ramos took over the part for the movie.

Alongside Ramos is a stellar cast including Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, Jimmy Smits, Stephanie Beatriz, and Marc Anthony.

The music is a blend of Latin styles like salsa and merengue, and hip-hop, with Miranda's signature rap elements present throughout. Miranda, who began creating the musical while at college in 1999, said of the project, per Billboard: "It was, in many ways, an attempt to write what I saw was missing, both in terms of representation and in terms of stories about [Latinos] in popular culture."

In the Heights is considered one of the best musicals of all time and has made it onto a number of lists, including Time Out's 'The 40 Best Musical Movies of All Time".

It was also featured in Screen Rant's list of the 20 best musicals, and IndieWire's Top 60 list, as well as The Washington Post's and /Film's greatest movie musicals of the 21st century lists.

While the film didn't perform well at the box office, director Chu told The Hollywood Reporterthat it achieved something more important.

He said: "The biggest accomplishment [is] putting joy out into the world with a movie that has not existed before, that shows the precedent of a studio that can do this and throw down for a story like this, with heroes that don't look like the heroes that Hollywood usually delivers."

In The Heights has an impressive 7.2 star rating on IMDb, with one reviewer writing: "I absolutely loved this one! The casting was on point. The choreography and songs were an absolute delight. The story was great and it was beautifully directed! A must see for all!"

Another said: "In the Heights is a wonderful, timeless, transcendent human story. The cinematic visuals and dance are like candy to the eyes. The music is lively, inspirational, fun - just plain good! I had modest expectations going into this but came out highly impressed. A+."

A third dubbed the directing and casting "perfection", adding: "The feel is uplifting without being over the top sunshiny. Loved the whole film." Meanwhile, someone else wrote: "From the start you know you are in for a treat, especially for the fans of the musicals. Every song hits the chord, has catchy tunes. The production for this movie is mind-blowing, so many colors, brilliant choreography, exciting direction. The cast is fantastic all around, especially Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera shine in lead."