Rating: 
Summary: daring, entertaining and ultimately failing
Review: I finally saw this after hearing so much both pro and con about it. I have friends who saw it 4 or 5 times the first week it came and and who raved about it, and friends who thought it was the stupidest movie they had ever seen. I have to give the director credit--this is nothing like any movie I have seen before--the idea is unique, the visuals are stunning, but it just doesn't hang together the way it should. Part of the reason is the ridiculously simplistic story line, but mostly I think it fails because the editing is poorly done. At no point in the film does the editor slow down long enough to let you really see anything, and the effect which is at first energizing and creative becomes annoying, and dizzying.
Rating: 
Summary: Its a bad bad bad bad movie
Review: This was a horrendous movie. Unfocused and cacophonous. The director's vision should have remained just that...a vision. I watched the first ten minutes and I had to turn it off. To get this movie out of my head, I may have to rent any collaboration by the Sheen-Estevez brothers. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this movie. Better yet, have somebody else rent it.
Rating: 
Summary: Moulin Rouge: The Best Movie Ever
Review: I think that Moulin Rouge is the best movie EVER. And I mean ever. While it may not exactly be appropriate for those under 13, I still think there is no way a movie could be better. Even if you don't like musicals, I still think you would like the movie. You don't have to buy it, just rent it. Listen to samples of the soundtrack! Just be a part of this fantastic phenomenon. Really. And I am not just some freak, either. A lot of people hold my opinions in high regard. Really! Please. Please watch this movie and have a SPECTACULAR SPECTACULAR (you'll get it after you watch the movie) time!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Ground-breaking film/Ground-breaking DVD
Review: In 1915, after a private White House screening of D.W. Griffith's silent Civil War epic Birth of a Nation, President Woodrow Wilson hailed the movie, saying, "It's like writing history with lightning." If any movie deserves to carry the moniker "written with lightning," it is Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, a flamboyantly delirious post-modern spin on the creaky old "Let's-put-on-a-show" musical.From its opening frames, in which an orchestra conductor wildly conducts the 20th Century Fox fanfare, it is clear that Luhrmann is not going to play to expectations. Strains of "The Sound of Music" and "Nature Boy" lead us into Montmartre, the Bohemian corner of Paris, where a young writer named Christian (Ewan McGregor) is penning his latest tome, an ode to the only love he has ever known. The opening is somber and restrained, despite some truly eye-popping visual effects that take us into Christian's world. We are relaxed, but only for a moment. The second Christian's story propels into flashback, the audience is thrust into a world of sights and sounds that boggle (and almost assault) the mind. We are introduced to a bevy of bizarre characters, including John Leguizamo as a lisping Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jacek Koman as a narcoleptic Argentinian (don't ask) and Matthew Whittet as famed French composer Erik Satie. It seems this group of Bohemians are looking for a new poet to provide lyrics for their latest musical offering, Spectacular Spectacular. One sip of absinthe, and Christian has suddenly joined their band of merry men. Of course, it helps that he is able to compose such poetic ditties as, "The hills are alive with the sound of music," on a moment's notice. It is here that we realize Luhrmann is going to populate his movie not only with a bizarre cast of characters, but they are going to be singing songs that we all know and love. It's a risky move, but Luhrmann makes it work as an integral convention for his story. Christian is a great and gifted poet. What better way to demonstrate this than by having him write truly memorable poems? As Christian soon learns, the Bohemians still need the backing of Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent, in a role that truly shows his range), owner of the title nightclub. And the star of the show is to be none other than Zidler's "sparkling diamond," Satine (Nicole Kidman). Zidler, however, has other plans, which include using Satine to secure the financial backing of an evil duke (Richard Roxburgh) to turn his Moulin Rouge from a nightclub into a legitimate theater and courtesan Satine into a legitimate actress. Things get complicated (well, as complicated as this type of music could possibly get) when, through a case of mistaken identity, Satine and Christian wind up together and in love. That's the setup, and if it sounds like it borrows from countless other stories, well, it does. But Luhrmann knows this. He's not interested in telling a story that's never been told before. He wants to tell a story in a way that's never been done before. To this end, Luhrmann succeeds. After an opening act that literally never lets up (think the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, only with song and dance), he settles into his story with a comfortable pace. We know pretty much everything that's going to happen for the next two hours, but thanks to Luhrmann's sometimes wacky sense of humor and truly phenomenal performances by his actors, it just doesn't matter. Of course, Moulin Rouge! is a musical, so the quality of its musical numbers certainly play a large role in the movie's success. And to that end, the big question for those who haven't seen the movie yet is, "Can Nicole and Ewan really sing?" Well, the answer is yes and no. McGregor's voice is the better of the two, strong and confident like a chorus line singer determined to get the agents to sit up an notice. Occasionally, he tries a little too hard (in one of the movie's final songs, he actually spits in Kidman's face), but that's all in keeping with the grand operatic passion that Luhrmann is trying to capture. Kidman can carry a tune, although she scoops up to some of her notes, and she sometimes seems a little unsure of herself. But her acting more than makes up for it. Her ability to range from light (very light) comedy to chest-thumping tragedy is truly remarkable. In her opening number ("Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"), she displays a kittenish quality for which none of her previous performances has prepared us. And on top of that, thanks to Donald McAlpine's lush photography, she has simply never been more beautiful. If audiences didn't know better, they could easily mistake her for a movie goddess from the Golden Age. Broadbent shines in every scene he's in, almost stealing the entire movie away from its leads with his hilarious take on Madonna's "Like a Virgin." Roxburgh is a fitting, if two-dimensional villain, while Leguizamo is reduced to only a few minor bits, none of which demonstrate the actor's incredible talents or the character's depth. But minor quibbles aside, Moulin Rouge! is not so much a movie as it is an experience. As Luhrmann has explained in interviews, the Moulin Rouge itself was the ultimate nightclub. The rush that people got from going to Zidler's electrified extravaganza in the 1890s is the same feeling modern audiences get from going to a great club with an awesome DJ. So, to give today's audiences that same feeling, Luhrmann has hired today's hottest remixers (including FatBoy Slim and Missy Elliott) to help fashion his musical statement. And he has cut his movie into quick edits, never once letting his camera sit still. Some have complained about Moulin Rouge!'s use of previously written songs, but again, this is a cultural statement that Luhrmann is making. Today's musical culture is rapidly becoming more and more dependent on sampling. So Moulin Rouge! is the first "sampled" movie, which could place it on the brink of a new post-modern movement in film. Only time will tell. 20th Century Fox's new DVD edition of the movie is a truly remarkable achievement, as well. It is chock full of extras (some of which, admittedly, seem to have been created and included just to garner Oscar nominations for the movie...talk about timing), and incorporates some of the same technology that made The Matrix a standout DVD (instead of white rabbit, here we have a green fairy directing us to memorable behind-the-scenes clips), but takes it to a new level with some of the best behind-the-scenes production ever filmed. This is a must-have DVD and the best DVD of 2001 (which was already a great year for DVD advancements).
Rating:
Summary: You gotta decide for yourself
Review: Moulin Rouge is a love it or hate it extravaganza. You have to see it and then decide for yourself. I loved the stunning visuals and absurdness of the whole thing. Afterwards, I was left with lots of funny images, including turn-of-the-century Parisians in tuxedos singing Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: Best Musical in Decades!
Review: Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" was so good that it defies belief. It was easily one of my favorite movies of 2001, and with luck it may even help spark a new wave of great musical films. Ewan McGregor ("Star Wars Episode I") plays a young writer in turn-of-the-century Paris who falls in love with a beautiful courtesan (Nicole Kidman again) who yearns to be a real actress. The movie uses pop and rock hits of recent years to advance the plot, and Luhrmann's garish style that was so bad in "Romeo + Juliet" actually works this time around. This is a beautiful, tragic movie that anyone who loves musicals has to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Dazziling
Review: Moulin Rouge is a little bit of everything that one could hope for in a movie. It's touching, sweet,romantic and breathtaking. It's one of the best tales of forbiden love that I have ever viewed. The movie stars Niclole Kidman as Satine, the young and beautiful lead showgirl at the Moulin Rouge, who wants more that anything to be a really actress. And, Ewan McGregor, who plays Christian, a very optamistic writer who came to Paris looking for love. The chemistary between Nicloe and Ewan is perfect, and so is the mix of music from "The sound of Music" to "I will Always Love You." There voices are so wonderful to hear, that it makes you sit down close your eyes an just listen. The special effects in the movie are just so crazy that it becomes magical. Moulin Rouge will make you believe that the most important thing of all is to love and be loved in return.
Rating:
Summary: It's very very easy to understand ..... really
Review: I just saw the DVD of Moulin Rouge and was blown away for a couple of reasons. First, I got this very strange feeling that not only do I look like Zidler, the all powerfull owner of the Moulin Rouge and top perv, but I kind of idenbtified with him, and, second, there must be a lot of people that bought the DVD, and, when in the first five minutes realized that there is no crime, there is no killer, no lawyer and the plot is not clear, must have felt that they made a big big mistake ... The movie/musical has all the great elements to be a cult favorite with old perverts enjoying the fruits of life, young nubile dancing women,contemporary song hits blended into the story, and, of course, where would we be without the obligatory bunch of crazy midgets .... If you enjoy Broadway shows, musicals, operas, or the ballet then you will probably enjoy this wonderfull work of art. The visuals are stunning and the use of popular hits from Elton John, Queen, Madonna et. al. with a period piece, set in the decadent 1900 nightclub Moulin Rouge, not only works but is memorable. Finally, anyone that buys this DVD for the story must be out of their minds and probably never ever saw an opera where I believe they actually give prizes for far fetched stupid stories (the opera La Tutti Van Tutti really comes to mind here) ..... So, if you can withstand operas like that you will love Mounlin Rouge ....
Rating:
Summary: WOW!... PURE TORTURE!
Review: Now I know what TRUE madness it. The theatre was empty during this whole movie from so many people walking out. I am appalled at the amount of people giving this good reviews. I guess everyone praises movies that drive them crazy so much to the point where they start to believe they like it! I've never seen such a flawed movie in my life. What's all this
about a standing ovation and clapping between numbers? Gimme a break. 2001 was the worst year ever for movies. The best one out of all of them was "Bandits." I suggest this movie to people who also enjoy having teeth pulled out and walking on fire-hot coals. You'll have a blast with this one.
Rating:
Summary: A commercial for itself
Review: Watching this film I kept thinking about how the lines between music videos and film have been crossed. The camera work, editing and sappy use of POP tunes in a turn of the century movie all convey the feeling that the director thinks we are stupid. IF the move had been shot with NEW songs, written for the film, it could have been a wonderful movie. But the director seemed to think that we, the audience would become confused and possible bored by this. What to do? Use pop songs we ALL know! Rather than take a risk, Baz took the easy road. Much like those TV ads that uses a pop song to sell soap, this movie uses pop songs to sell itself. Why try and be original when you can buy it? Moulin Rouge falls into a new category of film, Ultra-culture! Where words, time, music, colors and editing build a world all it's own. The end result is a story we can see coming a mile away, music we all know and editing we have all seen before. If this movie had taken more risks I would have liked it more. As it stands now, it's a commercial for itself. A movie totally lacking in any depth other than it's love for what it is, pretty.
|
