Moulin Rouge (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

 

 

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Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor embark upon a dangerous love story in "Moulin Rouge." A courtizan and penniless writer, the two must battle for their love, defying men at the nightclub, a jealous duke, and a fatal illness. Their love story is enveloped within extraordinary musical performances and tantalizing dance scenes, and the lovers' songs live on long after the movie has ended. I think the work as a whole is phenomenal!

....a chick flick in the most negative sense of the term. It uses a shallow plot (that's baby-pool-shallow, folks) as the infrastructure to carry out the murder of an array of classic rock and roll songs, songs which clash jarringly with the prewar-Paris setting of this musical. The film appears to be intended as a sensory feast, both visually and aurally. For me, the musical aspect simply does not work, although I know many people who really enjoyed the soundtrack. The visual bombardment is technically well-done, and if you like frenetic and gawdy light and color superimposed on a Paris cabaret movie set which NEVER attempts to convince you that it is anything more real than a set on a sound stage, then you may well find the movie an exciting and stimulating experience. Fans of maudlin filmmaking will enjoy the climactic tragedy of the affair between the poor young musical poet and the courtesan whose armored heart is finally breached by love, an affair that is doomed to end amidst a flood of tears gushing out from beneath the pancake makeup of the cabaret cast of the Moulin Rouge. Heck, I don't know, maybe this movie is really somewhat faithful to the Bohemian pseudo-life of Paris nightclubs back in the day. I sure did not like it much, though.

I absolutely love Moulin Rouge. I have never seen anything at all like this movie; it is nothing short of indescribable. Previews and descriptions offer only the smallest glimpse into the epic world of intense human emotion, amazing sets, and incredible music that is Moulin Rouge. The setting is Paris in 1900, where the Moulin Rouge is the place to be, a spectacularly unreal world wherein inhibitions are left at the door and beauty, truth, freedom, and love are pursued on an epic scale. Ewan McGregor plays Christian, a young, idealistic, penniless poet who has come to Paris to embrace the bohemian spirit flourishing there. He soon finds himself writing songs for a lavish production alongside a truly unforgettable cast of characters led by Toulouse Lautrec (John Leguizamo). His new friends are awestruck by the lines and lyrics he comes up with, all of which are drawn from the pop culture of our own modern day. A shot of absinthe and a vision of the Green Fairy (played by the lovely Kylie Minogue) later, he finds himself inside Moulin Rouge. Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) leads the way for one of the most lavish musical production numbers ever created on film, topped off by the appearance of Satine (Nicole Kidman) on a huge swing above the amazingly enthusiastic audience. Despite the odds, Christian and Satine fall in love, but they must keep their love hidden because the club's wealthy patron, The Duke (Richard Roxburgh), wants Satine for himself and is willing to make her the real actress she longs to be in return for her affections. I was rather surprised to discover such a deeply emotional tale at the heart of this movie; it is a beautiful but tragic love story that outshines even the incredibly lavish production numbers for which this film is most famous.

I love musicals, but I had come to doubt the ability of modern moviemakers to make one worth seeing. What director Baz Luhrmann has done is to actually reinvent the musical as audiences know it. It sounds strange to say that the music for a movie set in 1900 consists of modern pop, opera, hip-hop, and other songs of the late twentieth century, but it really works beautifully and draws the modern viewer more deeply into the world of "real artificiality" Luhrmann succeeded in creating. If you had asked my thoughts on having two guys who look like David Spade and Rip Taylor singing Madonna's Like a Virgin in a movie, I would have laughed you out the door, yet it actually works in Moulin Rouge. Each of the terrific songs included here does serve rather than detract from the story itself. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman do actually sing their own songs, it is important to note, and I was amazed to discover that Kidman's singing voice is as beautiful as she is herself. Dialogue alone could never manufacture the power unleashed by the music of Moulin Rouge, and the great tragedy of the story is made even more poignant by songs such as the haunting Come What May. Don't think this movie uses its garish production numbers as a means of hiding a weak story because the love story of Christian and Satine is nothing short of breathtaking, heartbreaking, and somehow wondrously beautiful all at the same time.

A terrific movie deserves a terrific DVD release, and Moulin Rouge features more extras than I could even watch all at once. When you watch the movie, you will marvel at the sets and costumes and wonder how on earth this movie was made. There are features on just about every aspect of the making of Moulin Rouge included on Disc Two. I love the commentaries and interviews, but what I really love are the uncut dance sequences. The dance numbers in this movie are just beautiful and beyond amazing, but they cannot be shown uncut in the film itself because things are happening story-wise at the same time and those scenes take precedence over the dances. Here, not only can you watch each of these musical production numbers in its completeness, you can even watch each one from multiple camera angles.

I know there are some people who dismiss this movie out of hand because it is a musical or because the hedonistic themes revealed in the movie previews give the impression of gaudiness over substance. This is not a musical in the traditional sense of the word, and the sets, while opulently lavish, are actually less stunning than the plot itself. This is a love story for the ages, sprinkled with comedy but dominated by the deepest of human emotions. Even though I was interested in this movie from the time it was released, I myself did not expect story itself to be as powerful and moving as it is. Moulin Rouge is, in almost every conceivable way, one of the best motion pictures I have ever seen.

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1.0 out of 5 stars a disjointed,frenetic experience
talk about bizarre.this thing was all over the place.disjointed is an

understatement.i sat through 45 min of this thing,and couldn't go any

farther. Read more

Published on Oct 24 2007 by falcon

4.0 out of 5 stars Very odd and anachronistic, I think I liked it
What a messed up movie!

It was just so odd. I think I liked it, I'm not sure though. I know the songs are still stuck in my head. Read more

Published on Feb 11 2007 by Maurice G. Tousignant

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect
No matter how many times I watch this movie I'm still moved by it. It is absolutely fantastic!

Published on April 18 2006 by L. Unrau

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely good.
I love this movie. It's not because the actors are beautiful, which they are. It's not because the special effects are breath-taking, however great they seem to me. Read more

Published on April 6 2006 by Nyx

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST MOVIE EVER
Ok, so in my opinion, this is the best movie ever made. Anyone who did not watch it all the way through, shame on you, you missed out on a lot. Read more

Published on Feb 27 2006 by Theresa Procter

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love this movie
This movie is a classic! It doesnt matter how many times you see it, you will still enjoy it every time.

Published on Feb 5 2006

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
I absolutely loved this movie. If you enjoy musicals, this is a great pick.

Published on Nov 23 2005 by T. Klak

1.0 out of 5 stars garb
I couldn't sit through this contrived piece of garbage

Published on May 11 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Come what may...indeed...
Frankly, the first reaction for this movie is, musical...cheezy! I have to admit, it is hard to look for a really good musical nowadays, or at least up average would be fine for... Read more

Published on July 15 2004 by Norliza Ismail

1.0 out of 5 stars This Proves That Oscars Are Bought
I wish I could have given this no stars. Unquestionably one of the 10 worst movies ever made, although it doesn't even deserve to be called a movie. Read more

Published on July 11 2004 by M. DALTON

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