Moulin Rouge - What the hell was THAT all about?

Cafe Society
1

My Kill Bill vol. 1 DVD arrived yesterday so my wife and I spent a couple enjoyable hours on Tarantino’s wild ride of martial arts coolness. As all good things do, it finally ended and, deciding to wind down a bit, turned on the cable and started flipping.

I saw that Moulin Rouge is on VH-1 and is just starting (11:30pm). Thinking that it was a little odd that this very-recent Oscar nominated film was already being relegated to late-night showings on second-rate cable channels, I decided to check it out… after all, it isn’t something that I would normally rent, so if I was going to see if it looked interesting, this was as good a time as any.

My God! I finally went to bed at 12:00am vowing to rent this tonight. Is the entire movie as hyper-kinetic as the first 20-odd minutes? I’m not too sure what it was that I was seeing or hearing, but it was awesome - only the need for sleep and the desire to see it widescreen compelled me to shut off the TV. I was blown away by the “Smells Like Teen Spirit/Lady Marmalade”… duet? (I can’t think of the word), and from the bit that I did read on this movie there is more of that to follow.

I did a search for Moulin Rouge and while there were many threads that mentioned it, none seemed devoted to it exclusively. I was amused at the fact that the search engine brought up threads on both sides of the aisle - “worst movie/best movie”, “movies you walked out of/movies you stayed to see a second time”, etc. So I guess this is it: the Moulin Rouge discussion thread.

Archive Guy I did read enough to note that you really didn’t like this movie. Why?

2

I love Moulin Rouge and can watch it endlessly, with a few quibbles (Nicole Kidman should never try to do comic scenes, and a couple of the musical selections were ill-chosen).

The cinematography was possibly the best I have ever seen (those computerized tracking shots of Paris? Amazing!), the “Roxanne” number was maybe the best-choreographed and shot musical number since “Lullabye of Broadway,” and I think they really did get the “feel” of late 19th-century Paris. And any movie with Jim Broadbent is worth seeing.

On the other hand, I hated Chicago. I thik there’s a rule that you can only like one of those films or the other, but not both.

3

Is it a sequel/remake? I remember that there was a Moulin Rouge that was nominated for B. Picture sometime in the 1950’s, and was wondering at the similarity… there has to be one, or else MR is the only “title” to get nominated twice for two totally different movies. :wink: Of couse I’m sure the 1950’s version didn’t have Nirvana either…

4

Actually, Eve, I like both – but I do like Moulin Rouge better. (Ewan McGregor – swoon).

“Roxanne” is amazing – and so is Jim Broadbent’s version of “Like a Virgin.”

The '50s version is a completely different film, JohnT, and an infinitely lesser one.

5

Meh, I didn’t much care for it. I know, not a terribly incisive commentary. I felt it was a well done piece of cinema in some respects, it’s just not my brand of cinema, I guess. Some of the visuals (the highly stylized Parisian skyline comes to mind) were certainly impressive. I did actually like that little episode with the absynth fairy (Kylie Minogue, I believe)…very cool from a visual and musical standpoint, plus Kylie’s fun to look at as a green fairy. But overall…ehh, I just found myself glancing at my watch after a while. The rather dull, hackneyed story did it in, I think. I just didn’t find the characters or the plot all that compelling, and kept thinking “awright, she’s gonna die of consumption or whatever, moving right along, anything more here?” Once you get over the fact they’re in fin de siecle Paris and singing Madonna and that the costumes are really wild and it’s all oh-so-romantical, is there much else there? For me, the style factor couldn’t carry the film, and I was pretty much unimpressed after the first twenty minutes or so.

6

I liked it, and the soundtrack (volume 1) is often in my car stereo.
I wish Nicole Kidman had a more powerful voice - but that’s my only real complaint.

7

“Luckily, just at that moment, an unconcious Argentinian fell through my roof. He was followed swiftly by a dwarf dressed as a nun.”
After that I was hooked for life.

8

It’s more of an redo of the classic opera La Boheme.

The movie is not as frenetic as the first 20 mins. Actually I like the movie better when it settles down a bit.

I also love the Roxanne muscial number. The editing of that dance with what is going on in the gothic tower is what film editing is all about.
What I really love about the movie is that it feels to me that everybody, every behind the camera and in front of the camera persons comitted to this weird idea 100%. The idea of the movie is a bit weird but everybody just went for it.

9

I loved both Moulin Rouge and Chicago, and both find their way into my DVD player on a much more regular basis than any other DVD I own.

And to answer one of your questions, the camera style does slow down a little once past the whole absinthe trip but it’s still very quick for the rest of the movie. You won’t find any shot lasting much more than 20-30 seconds.

10

At the end of this movie, I sat there slack-jawed in the audience (in the good way). Only other movie to do that for me was Eternal Sunshine.

I think once you realize what it is you’ve gotten yourself into (and if you don’t realize it by “I Will Always Love You” you’re out of luck, my friend), you can relax and take the ride. But I do understand why some people don’t like it. Though I can not see how some fiolks say it’s not creative or unique- not the style, at least.

11

I like both movies too, Eve, although Moulin Rouge is more fun IMO.

I was pretty shocked the first time I heard someone say they’d walked out of the movie: I thought it was so much damn fun, and had a hard time believing that other folks wouldn’t enjoy it. burundi and I concluded that whether you like the movie has to do with how in touch you are with your inner drag queen.

Daniel

12

The Roxanne number is classic. The whole movie is such a treat to watch, if you can deal with Luhrmann’s overcaffinated style.

13

I liked it a great deal. It’s a highly “stylized” movie, and therein lies most of its entertainment value. It’s a good movie overall, but mostly it’s just great fun to look at and listen to. The term previously used by Troy McClure SF is appropriate: “relax and enjoy the ride.” That’s what this movie is like: a fun, colorful ride in an amusement park for sophisticates.

14

Yes, it *is * that frenetic. And it is that terrific. And Ewan MacGregor has a seriously great voice.

You’ll enjoy watching it in its entirety.

15

I liked Moulin Rouge! the first time I saw it, and liked it more and more as I rewatched it. This is a good thing, as it wound up as one of the key films in my oft-mentioned thesis (“Postmodernism and the Contemporary Hollywood Musical”) and I had to watch it repeatedly for research. I loved mentioning that when I was around, say, history students. “Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work to do too…these Ewan McGregor movies aren’t going to watch themselves!” But I digress.

Moulin Rouge! works pretty well as a flashy but ultimately tragic romance a la Baz Luhrmann’s earlier Romeo + Juliet, and won over plenty of weepy teens for that reason alone. But I think to really enjoy the movie you have to both 1) get the game that’s being played and 2) find that game entertaining. Let me stress this point: it’s entirely possible to “get” this movie and still not like it. If it ain’t your thing, it ain’t your thing. But this sort of thing is my bag, baby!

About a half-hour in, just after the part you saw, the movie slows down and there’s a scene that I consider the “make or break” one. Ewan McGregor starts singing Elton John’s “Your Song” to Nicole Kidman, then they both float out the window and dance among the clouds as the Man in the Moon sings opera over them. There’s a shower of glitter and McGregor magically produces an umbrella for no reason other than to do a little Singin’ in the Rain bit by the Eiffel Tower.

At this point the nature of the game should become clear. Moulin Rouge! is, among other things, a sort of musical theater fruit salad. The basic plot is La Traviata (or Camille) plus La Boheme by way of Cabaret, and it shamelessly borrows/steals highlights from the history of opera, Broadway, Hollywood, and MTV. If you find this sort of thing brilliant, or at least endearing, then this movie’s for you. If you find it bloody stupid or irritating, it’s going to wear out its welcome pretty fast. Since you liked the beginning, you’re probably in the former category. So there’s a good chance you’ll find the performance of “Like a Virgin” as hilarious as I did, and will share my opinion that the “Roxanne” sequence is one of the all-around greatest scenes in any recent film.

Oh, and the 1952 Moulin Rouge is a fictionalized biopic of Toulouse-Lautrec. It’s supposed to be a good period drama, but I’ve never seen it. Surprisingly enough, the 2001 Moulin Rouge! (note punctuation) is actually fairly accurate historically, once you make allowances for the many deliberate anachronisms.

16

I’ve seen it and it’s quite good. Jose Ferrer absolutely *nails * the role! I’d seen him in other films and while he was fine, he seemed to actually *be * Lautrec, in the same way that Sean Connery seemed to actually be James Bond or that Raymond Burr seemed to actually be Perry Mason.

17

I came home from a cast party last night to hear Satine falling in love with Christian.

Turns out Ardred had run across it on VH1 and popped the DVD in to watch it properly.

Great film. We watch it at least once a month if not more.

(Listen carefully to the Argentinian in the bohemian celebration right after the duke agrees to finance Spectacular! Spectacular!.. the camera pans across him and his girl and he whispers…)

18

With Pythonish humor thown in for good measure.

19

I loved them both and it’s hard to pick a favorite. Moulin Rouge is harder for many people to get into, since they’re put off by the frenetic pace, but there are just so many delightful moments, and some of the song choices are inspired ("Smells Like Teen Spirit!! :smiley: ).

20

I liked both movies too. Well, I likedChicago, but I loved Moulin Rouge.