Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and playful - an accomplishment in all fields
Review: Now... while some say that this movie can only be enjoyed by those whose wits have been dulled by watching MTV 24/7, i don't believe that to be true. I don't watch tv - i find very little meaningful content there.This movie, however... is stunning.
Absolutely stunning. Its only flaw (that does not add to the movie) is how confusing it is for the first 10 minutes or so. However, in all other ways, this movie is spectacular. The visuals are amazing, and, while the quick-cut editing and endless panning in and out makes some nauseous, i thoroughly enjoyed the craziness of the camera angles. And the set, costume, and makeup designs are beyond amazing... Original, playful, colorful, and flamboyant, they ritz up the movie even more and add to the endless eye candy. I work as a backstage technician, and i must say... the technical aspect of this movie is one great piece of work. The movie also kept me amused with the redone pop classics such as Roxanne and Material Girl. The Roxanne Tango is absolutely amazing.
And let me tell you... i hate pop music with a passion, but what a treat it was to see them redone.. well! They fit, in a playful, satirical way. Very nice. I've also noticed that this is a movie you either absolutely love or absolutely hate, with little to no middle ground of noodling around with "euh.... i don't know... it wasn't too bad?"
In my book, this only adds to the movie's score. I take those stats to mean that this is a very strong movie, so kudos to it. In short... see this movie. If you aren't sure about buying it... RENT IT! Just give it a chance.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, imaginative entertainment!
Review: I don't like musicals. I am notorious for hating all of them. Movies where characters just burst into song at any time just bugs me. So I didn't seem like the type who'd like Moulin Rouge, so I left it alone. The music video supported my theory (You know, the one where Christina Aguilera looks like the Frankenstein monster). But every one gave it such rave reviews, and I had a Hollywood Video Gift Card, so I rented it on DVD. I have to say I was very pleasently surprised. The movie used songs that Had already been done before, so you already knew the words. The characters sang at the right times, and there was enough humor in it to keep me in stitches for most of it. It had a brilliant, tragic finale and amzing characters, and the actors sang very well (Nicole Kidman should Take Christina Aguilaera's job.) Do yourself a favor and rent this, and if you've already seen it the features will keep you entertained for an afternoon.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a single original element anywhere
Review: "Moulin Rouge" is one of those hugely overrated movies that had me grabbing for an aspirin once the end credits started to roll. To start off, everything in this movie was shamelessly stolen from somewhere else. The screenwriters deserve an Oscar for sheer gall and an arrest for Grand Theft Cinema, having embezzled the entire story from countless movies we've already seen. Every other line was lifted from a contemporary song, and the scene where Christian throws money at Satine was brazenly filched from the opera "La Traviata." The cookie-cutter characters, which all look like they too have been stolen from other movies, are one-dimensional and flat, making it impossible to care about what happens to them. Ewan McGregor's Christian is the formulaic idealistic writer, Nicole Kidman's Satine is the stereotypical courtesan-with-a-heart-of-gold, and Richard Roxburgh's Duke is the hackneyed villain. Every plot development is telegraphed far in advance, making every supposed twist and turn drearily anticipated. The cinematography made me dizzy. With the camera view jumping from shot to shot to shot, the movie feels like it was edited in a blender. In several scenes, the continual shot jumps forced me to close my eyes to avoid nausea. The bass was turned up so high I was grabbing for the audio controls to stop my head from pounding. The movie resembled nothing more than a two-hour music video that would be right at home on MTV, where viewers have somehow become adapted to this method of filmmaking. Now for the decent parts: the costuming and sets are undeniably very good. The dancers' peek-a-boo costumes do the job of showing enough skin to titillate the audience while still staying within the realm of a PG-13 rating. Much of the music is also very well done, although the "Like a Virgin" number made me cringe. And Nicole Kidman unquestionably oozes sex through every pore, making her a good choice for Satine. In general, the actors are good at what they do - it's just that they didn't have a whole lot to work with. This movie might have been nicely cheesy brain candy. Instead, so much of "Moulin Rouge" is so derivative and so dizzying that it is more an endurance marathon than a movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Flash - Promise Never Fulfilled
Review: When I started watching this film, I was so full of delight that I was hypnotized. Surely, Luhrman is one of the great visual thinkers of our time. The use of a virtual Paris, and the web-site-like links of buildings to interiors are stunning, as are the visuals. I even liked the use of 1970's rock songs. But the dialogue was awful, the story a lame cliche, and idea that Talouse LaTrec would have found the petti-bourgeoise showtune "Sound of Music" as avant-garde poetry during the period when Rambaud was churning out the most wrenching poems ever is downright disgusting. On his last film, Romeo & Juliet, Luhrmann did the right thing and used an A list writer, William Shakespear, who knew how to work a comprehensible plot which supports the visual acrobatics, and supported them well. Not so here. Maybe I'm getting old, but Moulin Rouge was a trifle dressed up as a vision, like Nichole Kidman.
Rating: 
Summary: Painful!
Review: Gee, there are just two problems with this movie: video and audio. Video: Camera shots are so brief, move at such a frenetic pace, that you never get a full view of the stage where the dancing happens, can never tell if the dancing is any good. It out-videos MTV. Also, you get the feeling that we are supposed to find the scenes sexy, but (with the costumes and goofy camera work) this is about as unerotic as a movie could be. Audio: Near the beginning, Bohemians are enraptured with "The Sound of Music," and you laugh at the irony (after all, who could be less bohemian than Julie Andrews?) But then it becomes clear that the songs the two main characters are singing are meant to be taken straight, and it makes you wonder if the makers of the movie even understand that it is ironic for bohemians to be enraptured with "The HILLS are alive . . . ." When Kidman and McGregor looked into each other's eyes and sang Elton John's "How wonderful life is with you in the world" for the umpteenth time, I rewound the movie and returned it to the video store.
Rating:
Summary: eye & ear candy!!!
Review: wow...I've been reading the people's reviews who trashed this movie, and I cannot possibly relate or understand. I think this is the best movie to be created in years!!! I think it hands-down deserves to win the Oscar for Best Picture, but fear it will be robbed. After watching the closing credits in the theater, I said that I wanted to buy a dvd player just because of this movie. I have never written a review, but I had to speak up to say how awesome(literally) this film is. From the credits directed by a conductor to the flashback pan shot of Paris accompanied by a backwards piano, Baz Luhrmann has covered every detail. It is the most creative piece of filming I have ever seen. He mixes film genres and music styles and pulls it off completely. It's a comedy. It's a drama. It's a love story. It's a musical. It's campy. It's visually stunning. It's hilarious. It's sad. I have NEVER seen a movie like this (and I see lots of movies)! The principles are universal--truth • beauty • freedom • love. It has a fantastic message which we all should be reminded of (especially after 9-11)..."the greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and to be loved in return." I hope that people will view this film with an open mind...you'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll appreciate life and love a whole lot more.
Rating:
Summary: Modern Filmaking Meets The "Golden Era"
Review: At the Theatre, within the 1st 10 minutes, I thought, "this is MTV, I'm ouuta Here." But instead, somehow I just sort of "went into Baz's world of the Moulin Rouge". At some undetermined point, I found that the songs of Nirvana, Paul McCartney & Wings, Elton John, took me back to the Grand Musicals of the 40's, and 50's that I saw as a kid of the sixties, but this had all of the advantages of C.G.! In an unbelievable, and overwhelming assualt of the senses and emotions, I downright WANTED to be there. Nicole Kidman, who LEARNED how to be a "showgirl" to play her Role of Satine, the "Sparkling Diamond" Star of the overwhelming sights, sounds and events at the Moulin Rouge, has been photgraphed in the style of the Greats. She pulls it off without a hitch. Her talents seem endless. If middle America thinks of her as "the ex Mrs. Cruise", they are just plain missing out on one of the best actresses of our time. Ewan McGregor was wide eyed innocence personified, the Love-Struck dreamer that never once needed a "Light Sabre" (Phantom Menace) or a "Tattoo" (Pillow book) or "Glam Hair" (Velvet Goldmine). The actor is a chameleon, and should be bound for Superstardom. Together they, well, ROCKED. So then did the DVD... Spent 4 hours at the computer on December 18th, when I had soooo much else I really needed to do, just "playing" with Disc 2, and all it state of the art features.
This odd, strange, sad, yet remarkable Motion Picture (it's too different to merely call it a Movie), has made it into my top ten. Possibly five. Wow. That's really something. I'm 39 years old, and have been in and around the business for a long time. Hats off, Baz... oh wait... you DID that in the Picture! Although, on the small screen, you may need to scan back to see the hats fly. It's so cool, it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Original and enjoyable version of Camille
Review: The story behind this movie is not very original as has been pointed out. This is a deliberate retelling of La Dame aux camélias or Camille by Dumas, a story which has been portrayed more often than it is possible to count. This is however the most original version based on that theme in a long while (since Verdi's La Traviata in my opinion). In fact this is one of the most visually and musically splendid films I've seen as well as one of the funniest. For instance when Zidler started speaking the lyrics from Like a Virgin the theater erupted in laughter (as on many other occasions).
P.S. My experience after seeing it a few times with different people is that those who are not well acquainted with the (mostly well known) songs and lyrics beforehand are not quite able to appreciate the humour and irony of this movie. However everybody I know has been able to enjoy it as a great musical.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Dog
Review: Baz Luhrman's previous two films, Romeo and Juliet and Simply Ballroom had a lot going for them. They had considerable energy and visual style. Obviously with Romeo and Juliet he also had a good writer. This film however is dreadful. It is little more than an endless video clip. Instead of dialogue a large amount of the communication between the characters is by chanting out pop songs. The plot is one about selfish people. A young play writer whose ambition it is to produce low rent theatrical productions, a actress who wants to move from dance routines to become a serious actress and is willing to sleep with anyone to do it and a theatrical producer who is willing to prostitute around his staff to get funds for an upgrade of his theatre. The moral quality of the characters is enough to make one vomit and the basis of the audiences identification with them is through their physical attractivness. In reality of course with a film like this it is probably ridiculous to talk about the deficiencies of the plot. The heroine for instance suffers from mysterious movie disease. That is a disease that has no real effect on health until the last scene of the film. Prior to that her problem seems to not limit her ability to lead an extremely active life. It is the sort of film which either grabs you because the imagery is beautifull, the pace is frantic and the sets and dancing is okay. However in his previous films although not epic works of the mind seemed to have just a little bit more to grab you. Simply ballroom had less egotistical characters, Romeo and Juliet was based on a piece of our heritage which we all know. This is like watching a Comic Strip without the interlectual depth. I thought Pearl Harbour was the worst film this year till I saw this.
Rating:
Summary: RAGE AGAINST THE HATERS.
Review: I know "Moulin Rouge" is just a movie, but it's my favorite movie, and I feel the need to defend it against all the people who are dissing it so hatefully. I've seen it described here as "sophomoric," "pretentious," and "the worst movie ever." This is mostly from people who "couldn't stand it" and turned it off after less than an hour. How could you people possibly make such a definitive judgement on a film you didn't even watch? If this is the worst movie you've ever seen, you obviously don't know anything about film. "Moulin Rouge" is the most invogarating, satisfying, refreshing cinematic experience I have ever had. It's beautiful in it's SIMPLICITY. Yes, we've seen the story a million times...but never presented in this manner. The film is amazing...a true feast for the eyes and ears. It surely required an incredible amount to creativity and imagination (something so lacking in films these days). And the emotional impact is intense. The actors put their all into their roles. Never have I seen performances approached with such abandon. Ewan McGregor deserves an Academy Award for this film. More than angry, I feel sorry for people who don't like this movie. How jaded and cynical they must be. (Or maybe they're just stupid, and prefer pointless dreck like "The Fast and the Furious.") The film has brought me so much joy, and will continue to do so for a very long time. Here is my suggestion to those who did not like it: Please give it another chance. First, rent Baz Luhrmann's previous films, "Strictly Ballroom" and "Romeo & Juliet." This will give you an idea of his unique style. Then, for godsakes, open your minds a little and watch "Moulin Rouge" again. I assure you, it gets better every time you see it. What could possibly be so awful about a movie that celebrates TRUTH, BEAUTY, FREEDOM, and LOVE? Aren't those the things that really matter in life?
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