Do you remember the work of Ken Russell, the ugly-awkward, enfant terrible of Sixties and Seventies British film, he who produced the utterly bizarre The Devils? The man was a crazed, unhinged, larger than life, master of the lavish and spectacular, but one who sailed so close to the wind that he often toppled equally spectacularly over the edge into parody and total lack of control.
Russell was the man entrusted with the task of turning Pete Townshend’s rock opera Tommy into a fully fledged cinematic epic, and revelled in the mashed up madness, painting an exotic and anarchistic panorama of passion and silliness, with the bizarre high jinks of Keith Moon, Oliver Reed and Tina Turner, and the unseeing but smugly self satisfied Roger Daltrey falling over themselves in a blissful musical orgy. He took one of the first (and probably best)
of the genre and turned it into a full blown masterpiece, as memorable as it was bizarre.
I would also ask you to think about the world created by Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey as they led their band of freaks in the Kitkat Club which hosted the world of Cabaret, with Sally Bowles and the MC equally daubed and made up, vying with each other for who could be the more appealing icon for the gay world.
Cabaret was a sharply focused, masterly denunciation of fascism and prejudice, but did so with a surreal black humour and vitality which left you little choice but to embrace their sleazy little back alley world.
Now think about what would happen if Russell took the nightmarish world of the Kitkat, transported it to the technicolour gaudy streets of Paris and had the pick of all the greatest pop songs the world has ever known. Consider also that Kenny could enjoy the quality of the enticing Nicole Kidman as his replacement for Minnelli.
When you have that mix firmly embedded in your mind’s eye, consider how you would view such a spectacle if you were under the influence of the most mind bending of hallucinogenics. Then you may have just the slightest notion of exactly what you should be prepared to witness when first you experience the extraordinary delights of Moulin Rouge, quite simply one of the most breathtaking movies of all time.
This is a stupendous rush of emotion and spectacle, extraordinarily staged and realised, at the same time both completely meaningless and totally meaningful, vacuous and yet packed to the gills with themes and insights.
It was nothing like I imagined it was going to be, and for long stretches, I despised it. But it is an extraordinary piece of work and for even longer periods I simply adored it, although the most lasting impact was simply being bowled over by the sheer impact and scale of it all.
I hate musicals as a rule, because of their preoccupation with the song and the setpiece as their entire reason for life, but there is little that can equal a really powerful musical. And MOULIN ROUGE COULD WELL BE THE GREATEST MUSICAL EVER CREATED.
It contains some wonderful, brilliant songs, powerfully staged and performed, and the contribution of its key players is equally astounding, with the inestimable Jim Broadbent as vital a component as the star names Kidman and Ewan McGregor.
It’s bizarrely silly, of course, but enormously good fun and a thoroughly enjoyable piece of high comedy drama, with one of the biggest challenges to work out where all the songs originate. You get Your Song, Roxanne, The Show Must Go On, Children of the Revolution, Heroes and Lady Maramalade among a host of classics, which are uniquely and engagingly staged.
However, there’s much more here than a collection of hit singles, with a wonderfully assured performance from Kidman as the doomed and consumptive courtesan whom McGregor falls for. Ewan has rarely convinced me as an actor, apart from in Trainspotting and is as wooden as normal here, but Kidman dominates proceedings completely, although Broadbent gives a performance par excellence as the impresario Sidler.
Please, please, please, please, believe the hype, and make sure you see this entrancing film.
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Production Year: 1999 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Donny Osmond, Joan Collins, Richard Attenborough
er...I take it you liked this movie?! Lol, my husband said he loved it and wanted to see it again...so I bought him the DVD...has he watched it? Nope...not even un wrapped the cellophane. Good op:)
Collingwood21 18.03.2003 14:51
I was utterly amazed at this film - it was like watching something set entirely with an art nouveu picture. The DVD is also excellent, and you get plenty of extras on the musical production, set design, interviews with cast and crew and the music video for the released verion of "come what may".
Coxecal 16.03.2003 19:54
i agree that this movie is wonderful... definately beats grease and oklahoma anyday... take care... 'peaches n beans'
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...
![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)")
Mar 15th, 2003
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