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Member since:25.06.2001
Reviews:96
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I first saw this film when it was released at the pics and this is by far the best way to view Baz Luhrmans masterpiece. The film is full of such fantastic colour, costumes and dazzling set design that the big screen really excentuates the brilliance of the film, however dvd on a wide screen tv is the next best option.
Brought to us by the fantastic Baz Luhrman, director of Strictly ballroom and Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge is in my opinion the best film of 2001. How Baz didn’t win the award for best director at the BAFTA’S I will never know but anyway………
We actually have an on going dispute in our household about what the title actually means in French. I believe that Moulin Rouge means Red windmill, I vaguely recall my GCSE French lessons and during one of them which I actually attended I have a hazy recollection of Madame McPhearson(we had a Scottish French tutor…tres confusant!) teaching us that Moulin meant Windmill. My mother however(who would argue that black is white, I hasten to add!) argues that Moulin does not mean windmill, she is not sure what the word means in French but it definatley isn’t that! If anybody actually knows what Moulin Rouge means in French please inform us so that we can settle this petty squabble
(or alternatvley just agree with me that it means red windmill otherwise I lose a tenner!) I would have thought that the fact the film focuses around a big Red windmill would have been a dead give away but anyway I digress………
The film is set at the turn of the centuary in gay Paris. Christian is a writer, poet and hopeless romantic. He spends his days writing a new play titles spectacular spectacular and recruits the help of a barmy midget and several other dubious looking individuals to help him along the way. Toulous(the barmy midget) introduces Christian to the wonderful world of the Moulin Rouge. A large red windmill which is a place for the rich to mingle with the bohemian writers/romantics and basically ogle a load of ladies kicking their legs up and showing off their knickers(a bit like the local Ritzy Discotheque on Friday night!) The can can dancers are named the diamond dogs and the most beautiful of them all is Satine. She is called the sparkling diamond and is also a courtesson (posh word for prostitute!).
The Moulin Rouge is set to become a large theatre but in order to do this it needs the backing of the duke and his wads of cash. Above all Satine wants to become a famous actress (Don’t we all love!). Christian visits the Moulin Rouge one night along with Toulous and co and falls drastically in love with Satine. Due to a string of misunderstandings Christian finds himself in Satines boudoir and Satine believes that Christisn is the duke and tries to woo him in order to get him to cough up the money for creating Moulin Rouge in t a theatre. However the duke is not Christian he is instead a slimy, disgusting old man with a dangerous jealous streak.
Satine must entertain the duke and be at his beck and call in order for him to fund the Moulin Roug. However it is Christians play spectacular spectacular! Which is to be performed at the theatre and Satine is the star of the show and as you can well imagine the two of them fall in love and much drama follows. The two lovers are indeed star crossed and fated not to be together and conduct a secret affair quite similar to Romeo and Juliet.
The film is absolutely fantastic and one which I don’t think that I could ever tire of watching. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman play the star crossed lovers and are indeed a perfect if not perculiar match. I would never have had Nicole down as being the right actor for the part of Satine but she stole the show! Also both of the leads have fantastic voices and actually sang live for the recording, the voices were not dubbed on in the editing suit.
The whole film is dazzling, the set design is spectacular especially the big elephant that Satines boudoir is positioned inside.
Moulin Rouge takes modern songs and gives them a really good twist. My favourites include Smells like teen spirit and Roxane. Other songs to feat inc: Your song, one day I’ll fly away, we could be heros, like a virgin and Diamonds are a girls best friend.
This film is really intense and drags you through one million different emotions. Some bits are comical whilst others will have you wiping a tear from your eye. I do admit to letting myself go in the cinema in the final scene and just having a good old sob!
Watch out for guest apperance from Kylie Minogue who seems to be getting her face on everything these days! She plays the green fairy on the absinthe bottle. My personal favourite is ofcourse Ewan McGregor and this boys acting ability is just outstanding. Who would have thought that the guy who made Renton in Trainspotting look so repulsive could make Christian in Moulin Rouge appear so romantic and damn right gorgeous! Well with a face like his anything is possible! No honestly Ewan really does play the poor penniless poet who is obsessed with love to the best of his ability and has a cracking voice thrown in to the bargain too. The chemistry between McGregor and Kidman is amazing.
Moulin Rouge is a film about truth, beauty, freedom and Love and well worth a watch. Some people may be put off thinking that it is simply a musical with the actors warbling the whole way through it (afterall has anyone actually recovered from Maddonas little dally in musical films with Evita?) but believe me you won’t be disappointed. The songs have a great modern twist to them and are mixed in with a gripping story line, fantastic scenary and brilliant acting.
Baz Luhrman never lets his audience down and if you liked the beautiful imagry of Romeo and Juliet and the stunning dance routines of Strictley ballroom then you will love Moulin Rouge. As Baz himself once said
TRUST ME I'M THE SUNSCREEN
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Production Year: 1999 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Donny Osmond, Joan Collins, Richard Attenborough
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...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Passion - filled poet falls for a breathtaking courtesan in this exotic musical love story ... more
from the unique and spellbinding imagination of visionary director Baz Luhrmann. Stunning performances from stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor fuel this movin...
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...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: As imaginative as Crouching Tiger or Being John Malkovich, highly original film-making Disadvantages: Self-limiting choice of genre and plot