Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge!

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Produced by Baz Luhrmann
Fred Baron
Martin Brown
Written by Baz Luhrmann
Craig Pearce
Starring Ewan McGregor
Nicole Kidman
Jim Broadbent
Richard Roxburgh
John Leguizamo
Music by Craig Armstrong
Marius de Vries
Cinematography Donald McAlpine
Editing by Jill Bilcock
Studio Bazmark
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) June 1, 2001 (2001-06-01)
Running time 128 minutes
Country Australia
United States
United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $52 million[1]
Gross revenue $179,213,434[2]

Moulin Rouge! (English pronunciation: /muːˈlɑːn ˈruːʒ/, from French: [mulɛ̃ ʁuʒ]) is a 2001 romantic musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth and on Giuseppe Verdi's opera, La Traviata. It tells the story of a young, English poet/writer, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine. It uses the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two: for art direction and costume design. It was the first musical nominated for best picture in 22 years. It was filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia.

Contents

Plot

In 1899, Christian (Ewan McGregor) moves to the Montmartre district of Paris. He encounters a musical troupe led by Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) that is developing a new play for Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), owner of the Moulin Rouge. Christian's writing helps the show, entitled "Spectacular Spectacular", and Christian presents the work to its star courtesan, Satine (Nicole Kidman), to win her favour. Zidler has arranged for Satine to spend the night with the wealthy Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh) who wishes to invest in the cabaret. Through miscommunication, Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke and begins seducing him despite his insistence he is only there to present his poetry. The Duke enters while Satine is trying to hide Christian. Satine urges Christian to leave without the Duke noticing. After he refuses, she tells the Duke that they should wait and pushes him out. Once he has gone, Satine faints. The Duke returns, finding Christian and Satine in a compromising position. Satine states that Christian is only rehearsing. They improvise a new plot with an evil maharajah attempting to woo an Indian courtesan who is in love with a poor sitar player. The Duke agrees to finance the show on the condition that he is the only one allowed to see Satine. Satine and Christian continually make up excuses as to why the Duke cannot see her.

As the troupe prepares for the show, The Duke complains to Zidler that Satine is spending too much time with Christian. Zidler spies the two lovers and tells Satine to end the affair. Satine falls ill. The Duke is enraged when Satine does not show up to dinner, but Zidler tells him that she is at confession. Satine tells Christian that they must end their relationship. Christian convinces her that they should stay together by writing ("Come What May") a song he will put in the show.

Nini (Caroline O'Connor), jealous, points out that the play is a metaphor for Christian, Satine and The Duke. The Duke tells Zidler to change the ending so that the courtesan ends up with the maharajah. Satine insists that she spend the night with The Duke to discuss the ending. That night, Satine refuses the Duke's advances. She is saved by another dancer, Chocolat, and flees to Christian. The Duke reports this to Zidler and states that unless Satine is his, he will have Christian killed. Zidler finds Satine getting ready to leave, and tells her she is dying of consumption. The next day, Satine visits Christian's loft and claims that she is staying with The Duke. Christian follows Satine back to the Moulin Rouge only to be refused entry.

On the opening night, Toulouse-Lautrec convinces Christian that Satine may still love him, so he goes to the Moulin Rouge. Christian approaches Satine, trying to pay her for their sex, but Satine tries sending him away, fearing the Duke's bodyguard will kill him. They find themselves on stage, confusing the performers and audience. Zidler states that Christian is the sitar player in disguise. Christian tells The Duke that Satine belongs to The Duke now, throws money at her and tells her she means nothing to him. As Christian leaves the theater, Satine sings their "secret song", showing Christian that she loves him. Christian joins her in singing the song and walks onstage, angering The Duke. The Duke's bodyguard attempts to shoot Christian, but the courtesans and Bohemians stop him; the Duke then tries finishing the job himself only to be stopped by Zidler. The lovers finish their song to a standing ovation and the Duke storms out of the Moulin Rouge. As the performers get ready to take a bow, Satine succumbs to her illness, dying in Christian's arms.

Cast

Kylie Minogue as The Green Fairy

Background

Inspiration

When asked about his inspiration for Moulin Rouge, Luhrmann remarked:

“ Catherine Martin (production designer and Luhrmann's wife) and I went to India to work on Midsummer Night's Dream. We went out one night and there was a big poster up for a Bollywood movie. I said, "Let's go see that." We did - 2,000 audience members, high comedy, high tragedy, brother kills brother, [they] break out in some musical numbers, all jumbled up together in 4 hours of Hindi. We thought that was amazing. So our question was, 'Could we create a cinematic form like that? Could a musical work?' A musical must be able to work in western culture again, and could it be comic-tragic? So then began this commitment of moving toward 'Moulin Rouge.' I decided I'd do Romeo + Juliet and then a musical film.[4] ”

There was also a play within the film, "Spectacular Spectacular". which itself may have been based on an ancient Sanskrit play, The Little Clay Cart. In addition to the Indian influence, Luhrmann has revealed in the DVD's voice-over commentary that he drew from the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus was a musical genius far surpassing anyone in his world; the filmmakers 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 a brilliant musician and writer.

Production

Production on the film began in November 1999 and was completed in May 2000, with a budget of $52.5 million.[1] Filming generally went smoothly, with the only major problem occurring when Kidman injured her ribs 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 McGregor also starred). This necessitated some pick-up shots being filmed in Madrid.

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 rendition of Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy", "Lady Marmalade" by Patti 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, composed by Mariano Mores), and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, a song rarely used in films. The film uses so much popular music that it took Luhrmann almost two years to secure all the rights to the songs.

Release and reception

Originally set for release on Christmas 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 2001 Cannes Film Festival[5] on May 9 — making it the festival's opening title. A limited release on May 18, 2001 in the United States followed, and the film was released to theaters across the United States on June 1, 2001.

The film was a success in limited release, grossing $185,095 in two theaters on opening weekend. 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 in the United States. 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 also successful internationally. It broke box office records in Australia where it was given a rare theatrical re-release at the end of 2001, and found an audience in almost every country. It eventually made over $120 million internationally, resulting in a worldwide gross pf $179,213,434.

Awards and honors

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
(Craig Armstrong)
3. Best Sound

The film was selected by the National Board of Review as the best film of 2001. 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 (for Craig Armstrong), 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.

The film received eight Oscar 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." The film won the awards for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction.

"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![6]

Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Baz Luhrmann's trippy pop culture pastiche from 2001 was an aesthetically arresting ode to poetry, passion, and Elton John. It was so good, we'll forgive him for Australia."[7]

American Film Institute recognition
Wins
Nominations

Soundtrack

Songs sung in the 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 Pink. 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.

Stage adaptation

For a while in 2002-03, there was speculation about the possibility of a stage musical based on Moulin Rouge!, possibly in Las Vegas, but there have been no public talks in the years since.[8] Some sources claimed in 2006 that the director, Baz Luhrmann, had approached the leads of the film (Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor) to star in the potential stage version.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Moulin Rouge! (2001) - Box Office and Business". The Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203009/business. Retrieved 2009-03-27. 
  2. ↑ "Moulin Rouge!". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=moulinrouge.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-27. 
  3. ↑ IMDB Trivia for 'Moulin Rouge!'
  4. ↑ Murray, Rebecca. "Baz Luhrmann Talks Awards and "Moulin Rouge"". About.com Hollywood Movies. http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aa030902a.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-27. 
  5. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Moulin Rouge!". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1100086/year/2001.html. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
  6. ↑ Fung, Alex (February 9, 2002). "Alex's Oscar Column #09 for the 74th Annual Academy Awards". http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/02oscp09.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-27. 
  7. ↑ Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84
  8. ↑ "Moulin Rouge - Stage Production". Baz the Great. http://www.bazthegreatsite.com/moulinstage.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-27. 
  9. ↑ Gorgan, Elena (2006-06-20). "Moulin Rouge on the Stage? - The director Baz Luhrmann has already approached Kidman and McGregor with the offer". Softpedia. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Moulin-Rouge-on-the-Stage-27174.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-27. 

External links

Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Moulin Rouge! (2001) · Chicago (2002) · Lost in Translation (2003) · Sideways (2004) · Walk the Line (2005) · Dreamgirls (2006) · Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) · Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) • The Hangover (2009)

 · (1951–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)
Films directed by Baz Luhrmann
1990s
Strictly Ballroom (1992) · Romeo + Juliet (1996)
2000s
Moulin Rouge! (2001) · Australia (2008)