Moulin Rouge!

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The third film from pop-music-obsessed director Baz Luhrmann tweaks the conventions of the musical genre by mixing a period romance with anachronistic dialogue and songs in the style of his previous Romeo+Juliet (1996). Ewan McGregor stars as Christian, who leaves behind his bourgeois father during the French belle epoque of the late 1890s to seek his fortunes in the bohemian underworld of Montmartre, Paris. Christian meets the absinthe- and alcohol-addicted artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), who introduces him to a world of sex, drugs, music, theater, and the scandalous dance known as the cancan, all at the Moulin Rouge, a decadent dance hall, brothel, and theater that's the brainchild of Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent). Christian also meets and falls into a tragically doomed romance with the courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman), who becomes the star of the play he's writing, which parallels the couple's romance and utilizes rock music from a century later, including songs by Nirvana, Madonna, the Beatles, and Queen, among others. Loosely based on the opera Orpheus in the Underworld, Moulin Rouge was shown in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Surround, THX, DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • cc
  • Production commentary with Baz Luhrmann, Cathrine Martin and Don McAlpine
  • Writers' commentary with Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce
  • Behind The Red Velvet Curtain verison: Interactive feature that lets you glimpse a historical, technical, and artistic view of Moulin Rouge!

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Art Direction - 2001 (Catherine Martin, Brigitte Broch)
•     Won Best Costume Design - 2001 (Catherine Martin, Angus Strathie)
•     Nominated Best Actress - 2001 (Nicole Kidman)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 2001 (Donald M. McAlpine)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 2001 (Jill Bilcock)
•     Nominated Best Makeup - 2001 (Maurizio Silvi, Aldo Signoretti)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2001 (Martin Brown, Fred Baron, Baz Luhrmann)
•     Nominated Best Sound - 2001 (Roger Savage, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Guntis Sics)

• American Film Institute

•     Won Best Composer - 2001 (Craig Armstrong)
•     Won Best Editing - 2001 (Jill Bilcock)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2001 (Martin Brown, Fred Baron, Baz Luhrmann)

• American Society of Cinematographers

•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 2001 (Donald M. McAlpine)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Film Music - 2001 (Maruis de Vries, Craig Armstrong)
•     Won Best Sound - 2001
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 2001 (Jim Broadbent)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 2001 (Donald M. McAlpine)
•     Nominated Best Costume Design - 2001 (Catherine Martin, Angus Strathie)
•     Nominated Best Director - 2001 (Baz Luhrmann)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 2001 (Jill Bilcock)
•     Nominated Best Makeup and Hair - 2001
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 2001 (Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2001 (Martin Brown, Fred Barron, Baz Luhrmann)
•     Nominated Best Production Design - 2001 (Catherine Martin)
•     Nominated Best Special Visual Effects - 2001

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Director - 2001 (Baz Luhrmann)
•     Nominated Best Actress - 2001 (Nicole Kidman)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2001

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 2001 (Baz Luhrmann)

• European Film Academy

•     Won Screen International Award - 2001

• French Academy of Cinema

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 2001

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Original Score - 2001 (Craig Armstrong)
•     Won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Com - 2001 (Nicole Kidman)
•     Won Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 2001
•     Nominated Best Director - 2001 (Baz Luhrmann)
•     Nominated Best Original Song - 2001 (David Baerwald)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 2001 (Ewan McGregor)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Production Design - 2001 (Catherine Martin)
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 2001 (Jim Broadbent)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Picture - 2001
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 2001 (Jim Broadbent)

• Screen Actors Guild

•     Nominated Best Cast - 2001

• Writers Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 2001 (Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Baz Luhrmann

• Producer:

  Baz Luhrmann, Martin Brown, Fred Baron

• Screenwriter:

  Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann

• Cinematographer:

  Donald M. McAlpine

• Composer (Music Score):

  Craig Armstrong

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Maruis de Vries, Anton Monsted

• Musical Arrangement:

  Chris Elliott

• Editor:

  Jill Bilcock

• Production Designer:

  Catherine Martin

• Art Director:

  Ian Gracie

• Supervising Art Director:

  Ian Gracie

• Art Director:

  Anne Beauchamp

• Co-producer:

  Catherine Knapman

• Associate Producer:

  Steven E. Andrews, Catherine Martin

• Set Designer:

  Brigitte Broch, Martin Ash, Aaron Marsden, Ed Cotton, Louise Rooney, Andrew Powell, Michael Turner

• Costume Designer:

  Catherine Martin

• Set Decorator:

  Brigitte Broch

• Costume Designer:

  Angus Strathie

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Guntis Sics

• Makeup:

  Maurizio Silvi

• First Assistant Director:

  Steven E. Andrews

• Choreography:

  John O'Connell

• Casting:

  Ronna Kress, Chris King

• Special Effects Supervisor:

  Roger Savage

• Sound Director:

  Roger Savage

• Conductor:

  Chris Elliott

• Additional Music:

  Chris Elliott

REVIEW:

• A bold artistic statement, Moulin Rouge is Baz Luhrmann's first masterpiece. Frantically edited, paced, and photographed, the film is not an easy undertaking; it forces the viewer to accept it on its terms. The sets, costumes, and sound are stylish in the extreme. The greatest risk the film takes is having the characters speak predominantly in song lyrics. The young writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) and the doomed performer Satine (Nicole Kidman) argue about whether they will fall in love while telling each other, "Love lifts us up where we belong" and "I will always love you." When they aren't speaking in song lyrics, they sing to each other, with McGregor doing a better than credible job with Elton John's "Your Song". The barrage of pop songs quickly transcends kitsch. Luhrmann uses the songs to cut across all barriers between audience members and the characters. He's not playing Name That Tune; he's commenting on the universal desire for love. The intention behind the frantic pacing is not to undercut the grand, melodramatic themes; it is not an ironic commentary on musicals or love. The passion that drips from every frame of the film is there to underscore the sweeping emotions the characters feel as they fall in love with each other. The film slows down just enough in its second half to prepare the audience for the emotionally wrenching finale, which transpires in near silent darkness. Where there was once passion, there is now nothing but the remembrance of passion. Luhrmann's film, structured in flashback, elaborates this theme. It remembers when grand passions instead of cool irony were the norm for the moviegoing public. Moulin Rouge is a joyous, elegiac shout to remember why we go to the movies. It may be too much for some people, but for a generation raised in irony, Luhrmann's film is a shocking wake-up call. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi