Rating: Summary: THE WHOLE IS LESS THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS Review: There are many outstanding moments in this jazzed up versionof the Moulin Rogue story but somehow the film as a whole left me unsatisfied. I had the feeling that it was just too "Australian" and that film musicals should be left up to Hollywood. These were supposed to be French characters, but they looked strictly Aussie. There is far too much fast cutting and almost subliminal editing in parts. Some of the sets seem kind of chintzy.Contrary to what many have said, I believe a major flaw was in the casting of Nichole Kidman as the ill-fated prostitute. She is just not believable to my mind.
Rating: Summary: Great sound and visuals Review: The wide range of colors used in Moulin Rouge is fantastic. The sound is also wonderful. Great DVD to show off your home theatre system.
Rating: Summary: How can it be so! Review: How can an incredible movie not make for an incredible DVD? Only when it makes two extra-incredible DVDs. This movie is at the top of my charts, but the abundant extras on the DVD are extraordinary -- exploring the story, the reality, the characters...I've never been so thrilled to go through such a satisfying quantity of extras after seeing the vibrant movie come to life in my living room. I wish I could give it twice as many stars.
Rating: Summary: Watch this with Friends Review: I watched this movie while I was vacationing in Florida with friends. We had no expectations upon entering the theatre and were so completely blown away that we saw the movie again three weeks later. I do not go to the movie theatre often and this movie was truly exceptional. I was so taken by the movie I talked a friend into seeing it (for me a third time). He in turn took his sister and best friend for a second viewing. Nicole Kidman shocked and surprised me with her incredible talent. This is a DVD that will certainly be viewed more than once.
Rating: Summary: More than meets the eye Review: Moulin Rouge is not a two hour music video as some have suggested. It's an either you love or hate it kind of thing. If you do not like this movie, then I would have to say that it can only be because you are a mindless drone that can only follow the masses. Non conformists, and people with a high enough intelligence quotient to enjoy pure artistic expression should love it. The storyline and the songs may be recycled, but it's done with such expertise and artistic vision that it just doesn't matter. Every single image throughout the entire movie is a complete artistic arrangement. Through that together with a cacophony of music that completely stuns the senses, one is forced through the downward spiral which holds the whole movie together. After I watched the movie, I read that it was modeled on Orpheus' decent into the underworld. I immediately thought, "Yes!" This best describes the movie. It is not just a love story. It is about a man who is completely sucked into a strange world where he should never have been to start with. It's absolutely amazing. One would have to watch this movie many times in order to understand the full extent of what is going on. Certainly read the insert. It gives much insight into the basic point of view of the movie.
Rating: Summary: Beautiful but meaningless. Review: I found Moulin Rouge a brilliant technical exercise, but completely without any meaning or any kind of good drama. All I could ask myself watching this DVD is...why? I wish the director would concentrate more on telling a strong dramatic story (like "Romeo & Juliet"), rather than trying to asault his audience with MTV quick cutting indulgent "coolness" that masks how shallow this film really is when you look beneath its glittery surface.
Rating: Summary: One of the most underrated movies of the year Review: America doesn't respect musicals enough, otherwise people would be flocking to stores in order to get their hands on a copy of this great movie. It has something in it for everyone: Gorgeous song and dance numbers for the performers like myself, a beautiful love story for the romantics, and a barrage of well-timed comedy for those who need more entertainment than what the movie already provides. The movie starts fast and is hard to catch onto at first, but the hyperactive dance scenes and speedy dialogue do nothing except make you want to glue your eyes to the television screen at all costs. I highly suggest this movie to anyone who is bored of the same ol' mindless action films or predictable chick flicks. It's one of the best movies of the year.
Rating: Summary: La Nouvelle Classique! C'est "Moulin Rouge!" Review: I had the fortunate experience of seeing this film on opening day. There really weren't too many people in the theatre as "the buzz" hadn't yet begun. There were a few MTV kids there hoping to catch a glimpse of their fave pop icons singing "Lady Marmalade" (boy- THEY were disappointed) and some other folks who were, most likely curious about the film they had seen advertised in the theatre lobbies for nearly 6 months prior to its opening. I was there because I had heard this was a trippy homage to movie musicals and was very stylised. What I saw was something I had never seen before and will, no doubt, ever see again. Baz Luhrmann, who is apparently THE expert on pop culture, managed to take a very simple story of forbidden love and turn it into a dizzying swirl of emotions and song. One minute you are laughing hysterically at the antics of Lautrec (Leguizamo) and his band of Bohemians and the next crying with the lovers Christian and Satine (McGregor and Kidman). The performances are brilliant and played broadly. There is so much convention from the late 19th and early 20th centuries used in this film : the cityscapes look like stereoscope images; the jerkiness, exaggerated speed of motion and random flickering of light recalls the silent film era. Sure there is an air of camp about this, but EVERYTHING here, sonically and visually, has been taken to the extreme to convey the many moods expressed throughout. At times it is almost as if turn of the century theatre had been somehow captured on film. This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen and it stuck with me throughout the course of the summer. I couldn't wait for the DVD edition to be released and felt that it would probably arrive just before the Holiday Season. I was correct in my guess. The DVD comes with a pristine widescreen presentation of the film. It also comes with a second disc that features the "bonus material". This "bonus material" includes production concepts, initial edits of key scenes, the videos for "Lady Marmalade" (as well as the live performance from the MTV Awards) and the trance-house single mix of "Come What May". There is also the standard "making-of" featurette and production notes. The packaging is beautiful. It includes many photos, pieces of artwork and architecture from the film in a tri-fold digipak. This tri-fold is packaged inside a gorgeous embossed slip case (the image you see pictured for this item). The "Moulin Rouge!" DVD is truly an exceptional item that belongs in any person's home film library.
Rating: Summary: Delightful Review: Moulin Rouge is a strange bauble of a movie-musical. It is nearly undone by its own weight, especially musical numbers that seem earnest and silly, but then win their way over you with that same magic that has been lost in cinema, a magic that only the most exciting musical films can deliver. Ewan McGregor brings chills as Christian, especially as he delivers "Your Song". Nicole Kidman sheds her ice princess mannerisms and invests a warmth I doubt she has ever delivered this strongly before. The film is a 4 1/2 star effort, but the DVD feels a little too packed with promotional items. Sure, it has the "Marmalade" video and MTV performance, but I didn't care about that. The additional disc has some interesting tidbits, but exemplifies what is wrong with "special" packaging in that it becomes a commercial for its investors and promotions team. Moulin Rouge is definitely worth having, but aside from film discussion and extra camera angles, the additional disc isn't anything special.
Rating: Summary: Incredible DVD presentation of a ground-breaking movie Review: Okay, I admit it, Moulin Rouge is NOT for everyone. Just reading through the reviews included here, people either seem to love it tremendously or hate it vehemently. I fall into the former category, and after viewing the DVD and the plethora of bonus features, I am even more convinced that this movie is a masterpiece of directorial vision. Some have complained that the music is not original. Does it really matter, though, so long as the songs support the story? Here, they support not only the story but the idealism of the characters and the world in which they live. As Luhrmann explains on one of the many interviews with him on the DVD, the Moulin Rouge (the club, not the movie) was like a rave, like "the greatest rave ever." That not only sums up the Moulin Rouge, but also Luhrmann's approach to making this movie. This movie is a rave, a bounty of sights and sound that will be immediately understood by the Generation X and Generation Y rave culture. Aided by incredible performances by two leads who prove they have immensely appealing and powerful voices, Moulin Rouge completely defies expectations, even if one has seen the movie over and over again. One has to tip a hat to 20th Century Fox, who took a page out of Dreamworks' book by releasing such an expansive DVD right at the start of awards season. Like Dreamworks did with Gladiator last year, providing so many behind-the-scenes glimpses at the making of Moulin Rouge circumvents the Academy rules that you can't mail out anything other than the movie itself to Academy members. Knowing that Academy members will scarf up this DVD in droves, 20th Century makes an excellent case for Moulin Rouge to get nominated for a bevy of Oscars, although admittedly most of these will probably be in the craft categories. But those nominations will certainly be well-deserved.
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