Just started University and am back on the 'net after a pretty long lay off.
Just started University and am back on the 'net after a pretty long lay off.
Member since:08.02.2001
Reviews:124
Members who trust:12
It seems that every review I read or saw about this film was a good one, so if you were hoping to find something different here, then I’m sorry to disappoint you.
I was curious about how Mr. Luhrmann was planning to reinvent the genre (as he did so well with Romeo and Juliet and Strictly Ballroom) with this one. I have never been a fan of musicals, but then I was probably born in the wrong decade to actually appreciate them – so I was indeed intrigued if Luhrmann could turn my eye so well to a genre I had previously dismissed once again (as he did with Romeo and Juliet).
One of the comments made by various reviewers that really caught my eye was that this film was an ‘event’. Okay, so the promoters of Pearl Harbour *tried* to make out like Pearl Harbour (the film that is) was an event, but having seen it, I can safely say it wasn’t, nor did I expect it to. Something told me, however, that this film was going to be different.
If you have seen Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet (sorry to keep mentioning it) then you might think you will be ready for the man’s somewhat unorthodox camera panning/ zooming/ swirling etc. etc. I can tell you now that you probably won’t be. If you got motion sickness from watching Blair Witch Project, than chances are you might want to empty your popcorn bag and use it for something else.
The film begins at quite a pace, Ewan McGregor as Christian narrating at speed the beginning (and end) of his story. He is a penniless writer, come to live the Bohemian life style in Paris, and this is where he meets a dwarf dressed as a nun (John Leguizamo) and an unconscious Argentinian(among others).
Boarded in a hotel across from the Moulin Rouge, a night club – host to some of the most colourful characters you are ever likely to meet – this is where Christian meets Satine – a beautiful courtesan and a wannabe actress who is willing to pay anything to realise her dream (i.e. marry a duke (Richard Roxburgh) who will give her fame). What she didn’t bargain on, however, was falling in love – with the wrong person.
Take these beginnings and mix in a wide range of memorable songs (Zidler’s rendition of Like a Virgin to the Duke is quite hilarious) such as ‘diamonds are a girls best friend’, ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’, ‘Roxanne’ but to name a few, sang by the cast (including McGregor and Kidman) and you do have a very contemporary musical that outshines by a million miles the current dross that is inhabiting our cinema screens if only because of its uniqueness and vivacity.
The speed and the cinematography are exceptional. I have never seen a film so excitingly captured on camera, but maybe that’s because I’ve not seen hundreds of films. When the scenery is bland (rainswept streets) you can somehow feel it, and when the screen is bursting with colour, it seems to do it tenfold over everything else. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman work exceptionally well together – their on screen chemistry is quite dazzling at times, a better on screen couple could not be stated. Every other actor/actress has their place and fits into what turned out to be a hectic, over-the-top and over zealously zany film perfectly.
It’s hilarious in parts, entertaining and at other moments heart wrenchingly sad – I really couldn’t recommend this as much as it should be. I can’t imagine everyone loving it as much as I did, but then what girl can say no to two and a half hours with Mr. McGregor (and the blokes can have Nicole Kidman in undoubtedly the best role I have ever seen her in).
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Production Year: 1999 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Donny Osmond, Joan Collins, Richard Attenborough
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total immersion cinema and while you're experiencing it ("watching" is too passive a word) you can't imagine that cinema could be for anything else. In the harsh, obj...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Watching Baz Luhrmann's award-winningMoulin Rougeis a lot like falling in love. It is ... more
total immersion cinema and while you're experiencing it ("watching" is too passive a word) you can't imagine that cinema could be for anything else. In the harsh, obj...
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![Moulin Rouge -- Two-Disc Set [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78237871.jpg "Moulin Rouge -- Two-Disc Set [DVD] [2001]")
![Moulin Rouge! [Special Edition] (2001)](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/97375302.jpg "Moulin Rouge! [Special Edition] (2001)")
Sep 13th, 2001
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