Moulin Rouge! (2001)

The bad commercial campaigns of the best movie of all time failed to give Moulin Rouge! worldwide recognition, but alas, this happens with many great movies (e.g. Requiem For A Dream, Donnie Darko). The whole comparison between this and the new musical blockbuster Chicago is useless since they are both great movies but not the same. Still, Moulin Rouge! remains in the first place on the Best Movies list. This musical, comical, dramatical and action packed hell of a movie will satisfy the whole audience. It just needs to be given a chance. Never have I seen an audience stand up and clap, with tears in their eyes, at the magnificent movie they have watched.

The story is very simple but very complicated at the same time, giving enough music, action and laughs for everybody's taste. The characters are very easy to relate to and the edge-of-your-seat directing gives edge to this masterpiece. Christian, a young writer arrives in Paris, against the will of his father, to seek a career as a writer. He meets a group of bohemians who are planning to set up a musical play at the famous club Moulin Rouge and they invite him to rewrite the story of their play but at the same time to lure the famous courtesan Satine as to star in their play. Satine confuses Christian with the Duke, who on the contrary is expected to sleep with Satine to finance the upcoming play. The confusion continues and finally Satine and Christian convince the Duke to accept to finance the play. As the play is made, Christian and Satine fall in love, but the Duke's rights to the play also count for the body of Satine. She is his. And so the lovers try to keep their love a secret before everything is lost. On the way, jealousy, betrayal and trust is needed for their love to be contained.

Satine is portrayed by the beautiful Nicole Kidman who delivers an astonishing performance. Her character has so much life inside her which makes you fall in love with her. Nicole was truly the one for Satine, for her beauty and character match like no other. She did, in fact, break two ribs during the making of Moulin Rouge! Ewan McGregor, one of the finest young actors on the Hollywood A-List, plays the writer Christian with success. Christian is a three-dimensional character with feelings and compassion. Both of these excellent actors' singing and dancing skills help in the portrayal of their characters.

The direction is simply amazing. With the best director there is, what can someone expect? Baz Luhrmann shows us his creative and brilliant ideas through his direction, cinematography, editing and camera work. All of these factors give you a dazzling effect. The editing gives you enough to be kept at the edge of your seat and also to feel those small goosebumps running up and down your back. The music is absolutely fantastic. The idea of mixing old songs together and forming this huge masterpiece is just amazing. The original music created by Craig Armstrong, one of the finest, also has atmosphere and is truly brilliant.

Mr. Luhrmann also takes us comprehend the importance of the visual world of movies with Moulin Rouge! The whole movie is a visual attack, giving you enough colours to come back begging for more. It dazzles you amazingly and twists you around. The costumes are excellent and the sets are simply fantastic. The mixture of all of these given to you by the editing will leave you speechless and coming back to watch it over and over again.

Moulin Rouge! is a movie for the people. It has something everyone c

Fmovies: This is a story about life. And about the artists who congregated in Paris in 1900, living a bohemian lifestyle and giving the world the fruits of their labor, of their art, for which they would gladly bleed and die. But mostly this is a story about love. Of a young man named Christian, a penniless writer, and a singer named Satine, who for a moment came together and tasted the nectar of the gods. `Moulin Rouge,' written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, takes you into a world that is bright and brilliant, fast and flashy and filled with all of the things that make life worth living. It's a fantasy world of song and color, of soaring hearts and aspirations-- but also of the reality upon which the illusion of it all is built. And the effects of that reality on Christian and Satine, whose love has been forbidden by that same reality they seek to dispel by impaling it with the artistic endeavors that give them life.

If Disney had commissioned a film to be written by Shakespeare, directed by Fellini and produced by Spielberg, this would be it. It's a dizzying, whirling burst of lights, colors, music, drama and comedy that assails the senses and will hold you spellbound from beginning to end. Like the bohemians he portrays, Luhrmann leaves convention behind and dips instead into his own inspired and highly imaginative formula to tell his story. The cinematography (by Donald McAlpine) and art direction (by Ann-Marie Beauchamp and Ian Gracie) are brilliant, as well as the production design (by Catherine Martin) and the sets (by Brigitte Broch). One of the many inspired touches Luhrmann employs here, is the use of different film speeds throughout, which, when combined with the superlative, quick-cut editing (by Jill Bilcock), makes it all transporting and surreal.

Ewan McGregor turns is a terrific performance as Christian, the young man who arrives in Paris with nothing more than spirit and a head filled with ideas and ideals. When artistic differences leaves Zidler (Jim Broadbent), proprietor of the Moulin Rouge, without a writer for a new show, `Spectacular, Spectacular,' Christian steps in. And so does McGregor, who shines in the part. And the boy can sing! He may not have the greatest voice in the world, but it's a good `stage voice,' and most importantly, he can sell a song, as evidenced by the scene in which he puts across Elton John's `Your Song.' McGregor has a charismatic screen presence, and in this role he really gets a chance to demonstrate his versatility as an actor.

As Satine, Nicole Kidman is saucy and sensuous, bringing her character vividly to life, this woman who makes her living by being every man's fantasy as she sings and sashays her way through this world of the Moulin Rouge. In her heart, she longs to be a serious actress, and if this new show is a success, she just may get her chance. But first, the show needs someone to finance the lavish production. They may have one-- the Duke of Worcester (Richard Roxburgh), has expressed interest, but he has one condition. If he pays for the show he wants something in return (besides a profit on his investment). He wants Satine. But so does Christian, who has nothing to offer the show but his talent, and nothing for Satine but his love. Zidler, meanwhile, aware of the Duke's demands, urges Satine to turn her back on Christian, to `save him.' And beyond and besides all that is happening, there is something else going on with Satine, something more personal, that ultimately will have an effect

I wonder if that line from the Duke "I don't care about your ridiculous dogma" was directed to Lars Von Triar. It could be, the film is full of knowing lines "He could make you a star and you're dallying with the writer!" or "They dressed me with the Argentinean's best clothes and passed me for a famous English writer" There is something of Ken Russell's second period in "Moulin Rouge" Everything is emphasized, underlined and repeated at least three times for safety. Excess seem a rather feeble term to describe it and yet, it works. The film, for the most part, is a delight. Nicole Kidman, ravishing and spectacular, spectacular. Ewan McGregor, superb, and so charismatic that no one would blame me if I confess I had a had crush on him as soon as he broke into "The Hills are alive with the sound of music..." Kidman and McGregor, this film proves it, are the closest thing we've had in years to the big stars of yesteryear. They could make anything shine and they have. Another detail that shouldn't go amiss, "Moulin Rouge" opened the door again for musicals and that's always a good thing even if we're bound to be bombarded by some terrible stuff. I say it doesn't matter as long as it allows glorious film talents of the caliber of Kidman and McGregor to give us the pleasures they have even in a bag of wind such as "Moulin Rouge"

Moulin Rouge! fmovies. I have now seen Moulin Rouge more times than I should say and I have noticed something new and unique every time. This film is so intricate (and beautiful) that you cannot possibly absorb it all in one viewing. Luhrman (along with his Bazmark production team) really is a visionary and his films push the limits in such amazing ways. The music, the sets, the choreography - all of it is awe-inspiring. Ewan McGregor proves his versatility as an actor yet again by bringing such a heartfelt innocence to Christian - and the man can sing! Nicole Kidman went from being just another actress to me to one of my favorites - she takes on the role of Satine so honestly and proves that she not only has a comedic side but a great voice as well. Together the two of them light up the screen. In a year of mostly mediocre films (with a few notable exceptions) Moulin Rouge is totally refreshing. It not only promotes truth, beauty, freedom, and love but is a perfect example of them as well. Luhrman himself said that it was time for a new kind of storytelling and he was right! Open your mind and enjoy one of the most original movie experiences in years. A bohemian storm is brewing!

This was easily one of the best movies I've seen in years. Rarely do movies have a visual force capable of stunning you into rapt silence; and even more rare are films able to further this with a soundtrack that can move you and ensnare you as well, if not better, than the images. Yet some how, through genius, magic, luck, or some combination, Moulin Rouge has managed to do both. In truth Moulin Rouge is a fusion of two fabulous films into one. A film of images capable of conveying meaning without dialog or music, and a film which you could feel and understand with out needing to see it. Much effort was obviously spent on both the visual and audio aspects of this film, and by choosing not to focus on one over the other, and sacrifice the songs for the story or vice versa, the filmmakers were able to make a truly unique, modern musical which those of us who have hated musical since childhood could enjoy. Moulin Rouge is a blend of old, established techniques with innovative experimental ones, resulting in a movie which could only have been made in our time, yet which has a classic feel. The acting is wonderful, the mixture of modern songs is ingenious, and the cinematography is at times simply amazing. The end result is a stunning film with unbelievable performances; a cinematic experience that people will be loving, analyzing and trying to imitate for year.

This movie blew my mind. Watch it, then watch it again. 'Moulin Rouge' made me laugh, cry, and dream. It's boldness and confidence to produce something so original and different impressed me. At times the scenery was as surreal as something you would experience in a dream, which only makes this movie more amazing. 'Moulin Rouge' shows love from all angles. It includes the raw passion, infatuation, vehemence, intensity, ecstasy, jealousy, and pain that is found in true love. The acting was staggering. Ewan McGregor is unrealistically perfect, combining sweet innocence with masculinity. Kidman perfectly brings out the seductive side of Satine, yet never loses the vulnerable soul that lies behind it. Roxburgh(The Duke) and Leguizamo(Lautrec) bring out just the right amount of comic relief in this intense drama. There is nothing I would change about this movie. One warning, though: Moulin Rouge is not for the artistically deprived. It is quite a contemporary movie, so you may not like it if you prefer to watch simple movies(ex. 'American Pie', 'Scary Movie').