Moulin Rouge! (2001)

A poet falls for a beautiful courtesan whom a jealous duke covets in this stylish musical, with music drawn from familiar 20th century sources.

Director:

Baz Luhrmann

Writers:

Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo

Won 2 Oscars. Another 74 wins & 82 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicole Kidman	...	Satine
Ewan McGregor	...	Christian
John Leguizamo	...	Toulouse-Lautrec
Jim Broadbent	...	Harold Zidler
Richard Roxburgh	...	The Duke
Garry McDonald	...	The Doctor
Jacek Koman	...	The Unconscious Argentinean
Matthew Whittet	...	Satie
Kerry Walker	...	Marie
Caroline O'Connor	...	Nini Legs In The Air
Christine Anu	...	Arabia
Natalie Mendoza	...	China Doll
Lara Mulcahy	...	Môme Fromage
David Wenham	...	Audrey
Kylie Minogue	...	The Green Fairy

Storyline

The year is 1899, and Christian, a young English writer, has come to Paris to follow the Bohemian revolution taking hold of the city's drug and prostitute infested underworld. And nowhere is the thrill of the underworld more alive than at the Moulin Rouge, a night club where the rich and poor men alike come to be entertained by the dancers, but things take a wicked turn for Christian as he starts a deadly love affair with the star courtesan of the club, Satine. But her affections are also coveted by the club's patron: the Duke. A dangerous love triangle ensues as Satine and Christian attempt to fight all odds to stay together but a force that not even love can conquer is taking its toll on Satine...

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Plot Keywords:

duke | moulin rouge | courtesan | bohemian | writer | 

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Taglines:

The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Bazmark Inq. Pty Ltd Fox [fr] (French)

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

1 June 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Moulin Rouge

Filming Locations:

Fox Studios, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$52,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$173,895 (Austria) (19 October 2001)

Gross:

$57,386,369 (USA) (19 April 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Bazmark Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie's plot is an amalgam three operas/operettas. A young writer with Bohemian friends, falling in love with a terminally ill girl, is from Great Performances: La bohème based on Henri Murger's novel "La Vie de la Boheme". A courtesan learning that love can also be true and idealistic, comes from La traviata based on Alexandre Dumas fils' novel Camille, which also involves terminal illness. Finally, the plot line of the writer who travels to the "under-world" of the Moulin Rouge to find his love and tries to take her back to the "upper-world" comes from Jacques Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld" based on Greek mythology--a movement from this opera's overture becomes the "pitch" song for Spectacular Spectacular.

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Goofs

When Satine is putting on the red dress with Marie, Satine turns around with her right arm raised to ask Harold how she looks, then the scene cuts to him for just a second. When the scene cuts back to Satine, her left arm is raised.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Toulouse-Lautrec: [singing] There was a boy, a very strange enchanted boy...

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Crazy Credits

The orchestra conductor conducts the 20th Century Fox music before the actual movie begins.

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Connections

References Children of Paradise (1945)

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Soundtracks

"Nature Boy"
Written by Eden Ahbez
Performed by David Bowie and Massive Attack
Produced by Robert del Naja (as Robert "3D" Del Naja), Neil Davidge and Craig Armstrong
Massive Attack performs courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc./Virgin Records Limited

User Reviews

A stunning, visual feast

At the risk of sounding overly bombastic, "Moulin Rouge" is the best film I've seen all year, perhaps the best one I've seen in over a year. It is operatic in the best sense of the word, being at once massively outlandish and deeply personal. It is clear that a lot of people took career risks in choosing this film, and although "Moulin Rouge" may not rack up a huge box office, I think this film will become a classic alongside his other two films "Strictly Ballroom" and "Romeo + Juliet."

In the showing of "Moulin Rouge" I saw last week, at least 5 people walked out. At the same time I heard audience members audibly gasping at the films visuals and talking back to the screen. The source of these strong reactions? Baz Luhrmann's confidence in his garish cinematic vision and the commitment his actors have in him. The cast fills their roles with relish, even when the entire scene totters on the edge of overkill--but oddly enough, it is the focus that sets "Moulin Rouge" apart from other films these days. Whereas some actors sleepwalk through their roles as they collect their paychecks, everything about "Moulin Rouge" is done in earnest.

This movie is the anti-"Pearl Harbor," because instead of being a hodgepodge of market-tested ideas, "Moulin Rouge" presents a bold vision and dares the audience to accept or reject it. I, for one, accepted it with delight. A telling comparison: Luhrmann has Nicole Kidman and Ewen MacGregor sing the film's love song. Very daring. For "Pearl Harbor" Michael Bay chose Faith Hill. Very safe. Too safe. Can you imagine Ben Afleck belting out "There You'll Be"?

"Moulin Rouge" glitters with such bold decisions. It is a sumptuous feast for ear and eye featuring gorgeous costumes, intricate sets (Nicole Kidman's boudoir in a gigantic elephant is a case in point), and outlandishly choreographed dance numbers are paraded with frenetic relish. And the music, the MUSIC! As you probably know by now, Luhrmann has thrown into his period piece a collage of musical snippets from, among many bits, "The Sound of Music," Madonna, The Police, and Elton John. In most cases, no one song gets performed without intersplicing. Witness Luhrmann's audacity: the opening number includes a melding of Labelle's "Lady Marmalade" with Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." And here's the spooky part: it works.

The entire movie plays this way, and for the most part it works. Most surpising is that "Moulin Rouge" has a solid, deeply sincere emotional core. Although the film professes to be about love, I'd add that it is equally about loss. The Moulin Rouge is a playground where adults pretend they are children with the added spice of sensuality.

All the performances are excellent, but the hidden gem is Jim Broadbent as Zidler. Broadbent for years has been doing majestically understated supporting work, from "Brazil" to "Enchanted April" to "Topsy-Turvy." In "Moulin Rouge" he manages to be both repulsive and endearing. His spirited rendition of "Like a Virgin" is classic. Too bad it's not on the soundtrack.

Expect to be overwhelmed by "Moulin Rouge" in the most unexpected, delightful ways. It will make you wonder why other films can't or won't dare to be that bold.