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Moulin Rouge!

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Moulin Rouge
File:MOULINROUGEF.jpg
Directed byBaz Luhrmann
Written byCraig Pearce & Baz Luhrmann
Produced byBaz Luhrmann
Fred Baron
Martin Brown
StarringNicole Kidman
Ewan McGregor
Jim Broadbent
Richard Roxburgh
John Leguizamo
CinematographyDonald McAlpine
Edited byJill Bilcock
Music byCraig Armstrong
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
May 9, 2001
Running time
127 min.
LanguageEnglish / French
Budget$52,500,000 (estimated)

Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 Academy Award-winning jukebox musical film directed by Baz Luhrmann. It tells the story of a young British poet/writer, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge cabaret actress and courtesan, Satine. It uses the colourful musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, and won two; for art direction and costume design. It was shot at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia.

Due to the film's international success, it has been widely credited with revitalizing the musical genre, setting the stage for films such as Chicago, Rent, Dreamgirls and The Phantom Of The Opera.[citation needed]

In 2006 Moulin Rouge! ranked #25 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals.

Plot summary

The year is 1900 and Christian (Ewan McGregor), a grizzled, unkempt British writer who came to the village of Montmartre, Paris at the height of the Bohemian movement a year before, sits in a garret overlooking the closed-down theatre Moulin Rouge and writing on a typewriter. The story he is writing is about both himself and the woman he loved, Satine (Nicole Kidman), who is now dead.

In 1899, Christian arrives in Paris a naive and idealistic writer, and falls in with a group of Bohemians who frequent the Moulin Rouge. They are attempting to produce a theatrical production, "Spectacular Spectacular", which the Moulin Rouge's master Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) plans to put on at the cabaret. The Bohemians, chiefly Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) among them, are impressed with Christian's gift with words and insist that he write "Spectacular Spectactular". Once they discover that Christian is an amazing writer and should help them with their show, they come up with an elaborate plan of presenting him to Satine, a beautiful courtesan, in the hopes that she will be impressed with him and persuade Zidler to hire him as the play's writer.

Satine understands the mercenary nature of her work, though she dreams of leaving the Moulin Rouge to become a real actress. Through a series of misunderstandings, she mistakes Christian for the wealthy and powerful Duke who will invest in "Spectacular Spectacular", she is charmed by his poetry. She declares that she has fallen in love with him, but is shocked to realize he's actually a penniless Bohemian poet.

Soon after, the real Duke (Richard Roxburgh) arrives and finds Christian and Satine together. Christian's quick wit and Satine's charm fool the Duke into believing that they were rehearsing "Spectacular Spectacular". The main cast improvises the plot of the show on the spot: a beautiful Indian courtesan has her kingdom invaded by an "evil maharaja". She sets out to seduce him to save her kingdom, but accidentally seduces and then falls in love with a penniless sitar player. The two must hide their love and evade the maharaja, though it is implied that one of them may die at the end of the story. (It is soon realized that the theme of their play foreshadows what happens in the film's plot.) The Duke agrees to support the show, but he quickly reveals that he is a violently jealous man who will shut down the Moulin Rouge if he does not get Satine to himself. Nevertheless, he accepts that she will be busy with rehearsals and in close contact with Christian, the writer.

File:Satine1444.jpg
Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman as Christian and Satine
File:Zidler.jpg
Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler

Christian and Satine fall in love, while Zidler struggles to keep the Duke interested in the show even though Satine has not yet spent the night with him. Zidler also discovers that Satine is dying of consumption, but does not tell anyone because "The show must go on". Meanwhile, Christian continues to develop the play, in which the courtesan and the penniless sitar player end up together. The Duke, however, does not appreciate the ending and tells the cast that the courtesan must end up in the arms of the maharaja. To convince him to change his mind, Satine finally agrees to spend the night with the Duke. Christian is overcome with jealousy while Satine has dinner with the Duke, who offers her everything she has dreamt of. But when the Duke realizes that Satine would never love him, he tries to take Satine by force. After she escapes, Satine and Christian plan to run away.

By now, the Duke has realized Satine's cuckoldry, and informs Zidler that, if the "maharaja" does not get his "courtesan", he will have the "penniless sitar player" killed. Nonetheless, Zidler must inform Satine of her terminal condition before she agrees to give up on the escape plan. She goes to Christian and lies to him, convincing him that her love was an act in the hopes that this will inspire him to leave Paris and therefore save his life.

As the show debuts, Satine performs wearily, knowing that her time is almost up. Christian, unwilling to give up on her, confronts her backstage. When she tries to drive him off again, he takes the place of the show's hero, throwing money at her feet to "pay his whore," and storming off the stage. Satine confesses her love for him in the form of his secret song, and Christian and Satine reconcile in full view of the audience and the Duke. The Duke attempts to shoot Christian, but Zidler drives him off. The audience applauds what they perceived as a good drama, but backstage, Satine is overcome by her illness and dies in Christian's arms. As her final wish, she asks Christian to tell their story.

A year later, still in his garret overlooking the now-deserted red windmill, Christian finally types the last page of his work, ending it with the couplet, "The greatest thing you will ever learn, is just to love, and be loved in return".

Background

Inspiration

Some plot details, specifically the poor artist and his dying lover, bear relation to the Giacomo Puccini opera La bohème (which Luhrmann has also directed several times), including references to the "Bohemian" subculture. Otherwise, the plot resembles that of Giuseppe Verdi's opera La traviata (and its source, the novel The Lady of the Camellias) in great detail. Luhrmann is said to have been inspired to make the movie after watching Dil Se (1998) by director Mani Ratnam.

Moulin Rouge! is a cinematic musical that has a storyline and structure that is said to be inspired and influenced largely by Italian grand opera: exuberant music, colourful visuals, elaborate sets and intricate costumes. It also has some elements of Bollywood films such as a simple story line with a simple conflict, a melodramatic heroine and two-dimensional characters, with the added touch of an India-inspired play within a play, "Spectacular Spectacular", which itself may have been based on an ancient Sanskrit play The Little Clay Cart. In addition to the Bollywood influence, Baz Luhrmann has revealed in the DVD's voice-over commentary that he drew from the ancient Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus was a musical genius far surpassing anyone in his world; the film-makers chose to replicate this by using songs from the mid-to-late 20th century, many decades after the film's 1899 setting. In this way, Christian would appear to the other characters to be an innovative musician and writer.

Production

Production on the film began in November 1999 and was completed in May 2000, with a budget of just over $50 million. Nicole Kidman reportedly wasn't interested in doing the musical until she heard Baz Luhrmann would be directing it.[citation needed]Filming generally went smoothly, with the only major problem occurring when star Nicole Kidman injured her knee while filming one of the more complicated dance sequences. The production also overran in its shooting schedule and had to be out of the Fox Studios in Sydney to make way for Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones (in which Ewan McGregor also starred). This necessitated some pick-up shots being filmed in Madrid.[citation needed]

In the liner notes to the film's Special Edition DVD, Luhrmann writes that "[the] whole stylistic premise has been to decode what the Moulin Rouge was to the audiences of 1899 and express that same thrill and excitement in a way to which contemporary movie-goers can relate." With that in mind, the film takes well-known popular music, mostly drawn from the MTV Generation, and anachronizes it into a tale set in a turn-of-the-century Paris cabaret. The movie also features editing that several critics compared to a music video, involving swirling camera motion, loud music, dancing, and frenetic cutting. Some of the songs sampled include "Chamma Chamma" from the Hindi movie China Gate, Queen's "The Show Must Go On" (arranged in operatic format), David Bowie's (originally sung by Nat King Cole) rendition of the Eden Ahbez jazz standard "Nature Boy", "Lady Marmalade" by LaBelle (the Christina Aguilera/P!nk/Mýa/Lil’ Kim cover commissioned for the film), Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl", Elton John's "Your Song", the titular number of "The Sound of Music", "Roxanne" by The Police (in a tango format), and one of the few film uses of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. The film uses so much popular music that it took Luhrmann almost two years to secure all the rights to the songs.

Cast

File:Greenfairy.jpg
Kylie Minogue as the Green fairy

Principal Cast

Minor Characters

Release and reception

Originally set for release on December 25, 2000 as a high profile Oscar contender, 20th Century Fox eventually moved the release to the following spring so director Baz Luhrmann would have more time during post production. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 9, 2001—making it the festival's opening title. A limited release on May 18, 2001 followed, and the film was released to theaters nationwide on June 1, 2001.

The film was an instant success in limited release, grossing $185,095 in only two theaters on opening weekend. Representatives from the studio said that many audiences even burst into applause during the screenings. The numbers continued to increase over the Memorial Day weekend, with the film making $254,098. When it expanded into over 2500 theaters, it made $14.2 million in its first weekend of wide release. The film eventually grossed over $57 million domestically. It had a brief re-release in October 2001 for Oscar consideration, with Luhrmann stating that his intent was to get Kidman and McGregor nominated.

The movie was even more successful overseas. It broke box office records in Australia where it was given a rare theatrical re-release at the end of 2001, and managed to find a stable audience in almost every country. It eventually made over $120 million internationally, resulting in a total of over $177 million worldwide.

Awards

Academy Awards record
1. Best Costume Design
2. Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Golden Globe Awards record
1. Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
2. Best Actress - Musical or Comedy
(Nicole Kidman)
3. Best Original Score
BAFTA Awards record
1. Best Supporting Actor
(Jim Broadbent)
2. Best Film Music
3. Best Sound

The film was selected by the National Board of Review as the best film of 2001 over many other contenders. After that, it picked up six Golden Globe nominations including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (for Nicole Kidman), Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (for Ewan McGregor), Best Original Score, Best Director (for Baz Luhrmann) and Best Song ("Come What May"). It won three including the coveted Best Picture trophy. A few weeks later, it received 13 nominations at the BAFTA Awards, making it the most nominated film of the year for that ceremony. It took home three, including Best Supporting Actor for Jim Broadbent.

When Oscar nominations were announced, the film received eight nominations including Best Actress in a Leading Role (Nicole Kidman) and Best Picture. The film was not nominated for Best Director (Baz Luhrmann); commenting on this during the Oscar ceremony, host Whoopi Goldberg remarked, "I guess Moulin Rouge! just directed itself." It took home two Oscars when the winners were announced for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction. At the lower-profile MTV Movie Awards, Kidman took home the Best Actress trophy and Kidman and McGregor took home Best Musical Sequence.

It should be noted that "Come What May" (the only original song in the film) was disqualified from nomination for an Oscar because it was originally written (but unused) for Luhrmann's previous film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and not written expressly for Moulin Rouge![1]

Soundtrack

Main article: Moulin Rouge! Music From Baz Luhrmann's Film

The following is a partial list of songs featured in the film along with the artist that popularized them.

Elephant Love Medley

Two soundtrack albums were released, with the second coming after the first one's massive success. The first volume featured the smash hit single "Lady Marmalade", performed by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and P!nk. The first soundtrack, Moulin Rouge! Music From Baz Luhrmann's Film, was released in May 2001, with the second Moulin Rouge! Music From Baz Luhrmann's Film, Vol. 2 following in 2002.

Distinctions

Award wins:

Award nominations:

References

  1. ^ Alex's Oscar Column #09 for the 74th Annual Academy Awards, February 9, 2002
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Preceded by Golden Globe: Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
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