Moulin Rouge 

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DVD Moulin Rouge (Five Star Collection) Awesome 2 Disc Set with two Commentaries (Scripting and Production) both with Baz Luhrman and friends, a definite winner. - CDM	The Books Moulin Rouge: The Splendid Illustrated Book That Charts the Journey of Baz Luhrmann's Motion Picture by Baz Luhrmann	- Soundtrack: Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge 1954 Movie	VHS On it's way...

Movie Stills:

     Beautiful Chaos: Moulin Rouge
by Christian De Matteo

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            As a director, Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet) amazes me, mixing frenetic, chaotic blurred images filled with cuts, with heavy, intense and emotional moments.  His movies come off as the most beautiful and important freak shows you could ever attend, and I mean this as a serious and very high compliment.

            Tonight I have seen Moulin Rouge for the second time, and enjoyed it as much as I did the first time, only four days ago.  Hysterically funny at parts and emotionally poignant at others, everything fits perfectly into place, one element never taking away from the other.  Luhrmann’s sense of humor is so quirky that one would expect it to totally devalue any drama, but it only serves to enhance it, attacking the audience’s sense from every angle. 

(Watch for the “Like A Virgin” sequence that manages to be the funniest moment in the film and also hold a major dramatic revelation, each powerful in the right way though the scenes are edited together.)

As always, Luhrmann’s feeling for music enhances the film perfectly, and in Rouge’s case, is integral to the film.  Though the film takes place in Paris, 1900, it is Luhrmann’s Paris 1900, one where Nirvana and Elton John provide the music.  But this is acceptable, because when in a Baz Luhrmann film, you are just that: in a Baz Luhrmann film.  This is his world where a Bohemian ideal seeking writer can be the lyricist behind “The Sound of Music.”  Accept it, enjoy it and you won’t be disappointed.

Luhrmann also has an uncanny sense for acting and picks unlikely candidates to be his key players.  He’s never, ever wrong.  Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary) amazes with proof that his singing voice is quiet excellent as does Nicole Kidman (Eyes Wide Shut) who does a beautiful rendition of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”.  Both handle the switches from bizarre comedy to tragedy wonderfully, which is a blessing because the acting is an integral element to validating Luhrmann’s oddball vision.  John Leguizamo (who was excellent in Romeo + Juliet) plays the dwarf Toulouse-Lautrec (no relation to the famed artist), does a great job as the voice of truth, beauty, freedom and love, all the Bohemian ideals the film is proudly founded on.

One thing to know is that I generally don’t like musicals at all.  And I loved almost every moment of the film (okay, I wasn’t nuts about “One Day I’ll Fly Away,” though Kidman did it very well), the musical numbers working perfectly in the context of the film.  Never once did one feel forced, just for the sake of singing.  Luhrmann uses music to enhance the drama, not the other way around like so many musicals that seem like excuses for people to burst into song for no apparent reason.  “El Tango De Roxanne” is the best example of this, sung hauntingly by actor Jacek Koman, upping the tension exponentially in a beautifully edited and plot important sequence.  The scene also contains one of the most brilliant moments of movie wisdom ever, as Koman tells Ewan, “Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself.  It always ends BAD.”

I may try and see it again before it leaves theaters, just to soak in that surround-sound experience and will definitely be purchasing the DVD which I can only hope has full commentary.

Moulin Rouge is an extravaganza and a film not to be missed.

Musically Moulin
by Michael Flanagan

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Perhaps it is with guilty conscience that I should state that I love the movie musical.  I have always loved Singin’ in the Rain, and Fiddler on the Roof still gives me chills that the stage version has yet to do.  And let us not forget the classic Sound of Music, with all its wonderful songs, perfect casting, and scenery that rivals Lord of the Rings.  Moulin Rouge does not let us forget it.  Nor any other musical.  Nor any other music.  Moulin Rouge is a collage of the music world, combining Broadway with the West End, throwing in a little burlesque, and mixing up into it modern pop culture rock music from Nirvana to Elton John.

Baz Luhrman’s direction is stunning, frequently using the play within a play technique to perfection, even in the telling of the story itself.  The digital camera pull-aways to reveal 1899 Paris and then the quick zoom into the room of destinty is as effective as it is tantalizing.  The show dares you to look away, showing you that a glance at your watch will cause you to miss anything from a musical romp to an essential plot device.  The film moves quickly, and only slows in the moments of the present where an older Ewan McGregor is painfully working his way through the tale.  This suggests a juxtaposition between the brevity and speed of youth and innocence and the long, long days spent mourning the lost past.

Moulin Rouge is the next generation of movie musicals.  What courage it took to reinvent it, and to use great music in new ways and make it even greater, and to tell a story so bright and vibrantly, when the core is anything but.  Moulin Rouge shows us that behind the lights, glamour, dancing, and the show itself lies humanity, striving to bind reality with the stage, and always coming up short.  Why a musical, it asks.  And it answers, why not.

DVD Update

What an amazing DVD for an amazing movie.  The first of the two discs contains not one but two commentaries specifically designed to concentrate on certain aspects.  One features the writers talking about writing while the other features the production folk talking about…productioning.  Also, there’s one of those “when blank pops up on the screen hit the enter button for more features” things.  It’s very involved, so leave four hours free to watch this one.  With so much on one disk, you’ll be able to watch Moulin Rouge four times in four different ways before you even go back to watch it again!

The second disk contains…well, a lot.  HBO Special, deleted scenes, music videos, interviews, mini-docs, and the standard DVD fare that’s better-than-usual on this disk.  The best feature on this disc, though, is the extended dance numbers.  Three dance numbers from the movie are edited here in their entirety, and you can even play with the angles if you want to.  What a DVD!  Get this one, whether you like musicals or not!  HUGE

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