MOULIN ROUGE
Starring:
Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, John Leguizamo and Jim Broadbent
Writer/Director: Baz Luhrmann
Running Time: 126 mins
Available to buy on DVD 4th March
1899, writer Christian (McGregor) moves from London to Paris, drawn by the bohemian movement in the red light district and its central attraction, the Moulin Rouge. Here he hopes to write poetry and stories devoted to love, but the problem is he has never experienced the feeling of being in love. Renting a room across the road from the infamous nightclub, Christian’s romantic ponderings are interrupted by an unconscious Argentinean crashing through his ceiling. He is part of Toulouse Lautrec’s (Leguizamo) bohemian theatre group. They are trying to get their show, Spectacular, Spectacular, finished to present to Zidler (Broadbent) the owner of the Moulin Rouge, the problem is the script is no good and the ideas are running out, until Christian adds his artistic flare.
Thinking he has a hit show on his hands, Toulouse arranges for Christian to meet with Satine (Kidman), the night club’s main attraction and chief courtesan, so she can hear the talent of his writing. The only problem is that Satine thinks she is meeting the Duke, the club’s new investor and the man she is supposed to seduce. As they meet Christian instantly falls for her, much to the annoyance of the Duke who sets out to gain revenge and reclaim his property.
What starts off as a very bizarre, surreal and over the top musical, turns out to be a visual and auditory joy that will slowly take hold of you and not let you go until the very last song is sung. Usually I wouldn’t even consider watching a musical if it wasn’t a Disney movie or it starred Gene Kelly, but this movie really takes you by surprise.
Using modern musical in a 19th Century setting, is both an unusual and unique twist. Hearing Jim Broadbent singing Like a Virgin, is remarkably funny and very poignant to the situation. All the cast sing and dance extremely well, but it is McGregor and Kidman that steal the show, they are truly electric on screen, creating a chemistry seldom seen on the big screen these days.
Baz Luhrmann surpasses the promise he showed with Romeo + Juliet, to deliver a truly extraordinary movie that is like nothing you have ever seen. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but for those of you who like musicals or if you want to see something completely different, don’t miss this movie.
Theatrical Trailer, Production Audio Commentary by Baz Luhrman, Catherine Martin and Don McAlpine, Writing Audio Commentary by Baz Luhrman and Craig Pearce, 8 Behind the Scenes Branches, The Making of Moulin Rouge HBO Special, 5 "Star" Featurettes, Earlier Drafts of Screenplay, 6 Extended Scenes & 4 Re-cut Dance Sequences, Interview with John "Cha Cha" O'Connell and Caroline O'Conner, Dance Pre-shoots, 3 Multi-angle Dance Sequences, 2 Music Videos, Live MTV Performance, Design and Marketing, Gallery & Over 10 Easter Eggs
The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks
Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher
The Usher 2001
