Moulin Rouge! Reviews

Moulin Rouge portrays a complicated, passionate and powerful love story, that is also incredibly moving. I am 17, and I thought the film was near-perfect, I mean I loved the overall look of the film with its gorgeous costumes, dazzling choreography and sumptuous cinematography. The script was very poetic, especially when Christian is comparing Satine, the beautiful courtesan to a "sparkling diamond", and when Toulouse exclaims "I hope the piano is tuned". The songs are wonderful, particularly "Come What May" and "The Show Must Go On", and everybody in the cast does their own singing, and I honestly didn't know Ewen MacGregor could sing, he has an amazing voice. I have heard too many complaints saying there are too many songs, but do bear in mind it is a musical, and to me, being an aspiring singer, music is like poetry, and very often is the best way to describe your mood. I thought the performances were brilliant. Ewen MacGregor is very earnest and likable as always as Christian, and Nicole Kidman is both fabulously sexy and wonderfully tragic as the consumptive Satine, and the character's death scene was quite heart-rending, and was very reminiscent of the Greta Garbo movie Camille(which I will admit I like more). I also liked the performances of Jim Broadbent as the sympathetic Ziegler and Richard Roxburgh as the wily duke. However there were one or two aspects that were extremely silly, like the hilarious Can Can scene as well as the duet between Ziegler and the Duke, and compared to Jose Ferrer's more poignant portrayal as Toulouse in the 1952 version, John Leguizamo as the character mayn't be to everyone's taste. Overall, a beautiful extravagant film with a 9/10. Bethany Cox

Well, this was a bit of a let down. After seeing the trailer and a few clips of Moulin Rouge, I thought this movie was going to be my favorite musical movie. First of all the whole film was too chaotic. I am not really fond of fast cutting movies (like many Guy Ritchie movies), I'd rather watch long takes. The story of The Mouling Rouge wasn't that special either. Of course there was a 'suprise' near the ending, but the main character spoiled this in the very first scene.

What I did like were the visuals and the costumes! I think Moulin Rouge would have been better if I saw it in theatre. A small screen is not advantageous for this movie. I also liked the performances. Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman and John Lequizamo (He sounds exactly like he does in Ice Age) were great, but I think Jim Broadbent had the best performance. Why didn't he receive an Oscar nomination for Moulin Rouge? Well, apparently he did receive a nomination for another movie that same year and won.

So to conclude, I thought this was a visually stunning movie with wonderful performances, but a great story and quite scenes were absent.

Singing in the Rain remains my favorite musical movie.

Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! is like staring into a glittery rainbow through a kaleidoscope for about two hours. It’s bound to repulse many who would view the film, but I am not one of them. I find the film to be alive with music, love, spirit, energy and great performances. It’s so grand, over-the-top really, during its first hour to pave way for the heartbreaking second hour, which descends into an emotional hell for all of our principal characters. It must be that bright, bubbly and ridiculous in the beginning to offset the darkness in the latter half. I have loved it very dearly since first seeing it in theaters at a very tender age, and it still leaves me breathless with its wild abandon.

Ewan McGregor is a penniless writer who gets swept up in the bohemian mini-revolution that painter Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) introduces him to. You see, McGregor has moved into an apartment directly below Toulouse and his oddball set. One day an narcoleptic Argentian comes crashing through his roof, and so begins the proper story of how McGregor becomes Rodolfo to Nicole Kidman’s Mimi. She is a performer in a nightclub who also whores herself out when it is most opportune to the dreams and aspirations of her character and her surrogate father’s, Zidler (Jim Broadbent). Meet cutes, mistaken identities, characters who wear their names and descriptions on their sleeves, and a villain who is completely dislikable. The Duke, played to over-the-top lunacy by Richard Roxburgh, exists solely to stand in the way our of two main heroes/lovers, and to provide the money that’ll make Kidman’s showgirl-cum-actress dreams come true. Each characterization is paper thin, but deeply complicated characters with rich nuance and subtleties never seem to be an aim within a lavish movie musical. Nor should they be. Musicals rely on simplicity in storytelling to ground the feverish, dreamlike qualities involved in characters spontaneously bursting into song mid-conversation.

Anachronistic and slightly anarchic in spirit, Moulin Rouge! technically takes place in an imagined Paris of 1899, but comes armed with contemporary songs, MTV generation-style quick editing and the spectacle of an old MGM musical. We are introduced to the titular club through a medley of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the remake of “Lady Marmalade,” Fatboy Slim’s “Because We Can-Can,” David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs” and snippets of numerous others. Visually, it is spliced and diced and seems to skip around on every syllable. It’s pure visually anarchy, but it has been arranged and directed in such a way that it drops us into the kinetic world and lets us know exactly what kind of experience we are in for. Normally this kind of editing bothers me to no end, but it works and feels right for this film. It could be because we are being dropped into an operatic pastiche, a film which wears its motto as the only overriding theme and makes an argument for music being the universal language of love and the soul. This version of the Moulin Rouge is an underground sex club, Studio 54 chic and the wildest rave ever envisioned. It makes the anything-goes politically, sexually and intellectually cabaret of Cabaret look faintly tame by comparison.

I have spent a great deal of space and time describing the visual and auditory palette that the film plays with so wildly. Yes, the film is like glitter and bedazzles exploding during the first half before going into darker territory. But the greatness of the film would be nothing without a group of actors that commit themselves fully to embodying their archetypes. Who is the penniless but brilliant writer Christian but the channel through which the Bohemian ideals are to be viewed and processed? He is not a character in a normal sense; he is a conduit for the film’s themes. McGregor easily nails the charm, jealousy, naiveté and sophistication of the character. He can look boyish and youthful in his penniless duds, but also very well-groomed and classy in his tuxedos. It doesn’t hurt that he can actually sing and dance. He’s not Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire-level, but who is, really?

And who is Satine but the leggy red-head who is equal parts Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe and Madonna? She’s a beautiful singer-dancer in the Moulin Rouge who also dabbles in the occasional whoring with dreams of becoming a real actress who dies of consumption at the very end. It’s a hell of a part involving the character to go from high comedy to tear-stained melodrama within a two hour movie. Along the way are complicated and busy production numbers and a lot of singing. Nicole Kidman gives a titanic performance. She doesn’t just nail it, but invests everything she’s got into it. Her performance here almost makes her eventual Oscar win for The Hours look like an apology for losing out to Halle Berry. That line of reasoning isn’t hampered by the fact that Kidman was nominated for this one year and then won the next. And they’re given great support by Roxburgh as the Duke. He performs the role like a silent film (over) actor. The kind of which would glower and tie girls up the train tracks in-between title cards and twirling his mustache. It works for this film, but in another it would be a disaster. It’s that fine balance and finding the correct tone. John Leguizamo and Jim Broadbent also swing pretty wide, with Leguizamo providing his own singing and Broadbent being dubbed. Both are incredibly diverse and highly talented actors.

I have talked a lot about how big and broad this movie is, how practically devoid of subtly it is, and those who know me know that things like this typically annoy me greatly. But I saw Moulin Rouge! at a tender age when it first hit theaters, and something within the post-modern glitter bomb reached into my soul and stayed there. It still holds an intoxicating and wondrous spell over me. Each time I watch it my heart soars with their love affair, I’m always amazed breathless at the “Elephant Love Medley” and stunned by “El Tango de Roxanne,” and I never fail to tear up by the end. I know the beats by heart. I could practically recite the entire film from start to finish for you, but I always get swept up in the journey. It’s a love-or-hate kind of film. I have loved it since the summer of 2001; I will love it until I die. I will defend it as the best movie of that year, and I will always claim it as a perfect film. Some movies just speak to us, and Moulin Rouge! speaks in a language that I understand. It’s old fashioned Hollywood in many ways, so beautifully ornate, so frantic and kinetic, so modern. It’s a contradiction.

This was the film that made me think of movies as something other than entertainments. This was the start of my exploration into film-as-art-form. It might seem funny to you, but it makes sense to me.

MOULIN ROUGE AMOR EM VERMELHO - Christian (Ewan McGregor) é um jovem escritor que possui um dom para a poesia e que enfrenta seu pai para poder se mudar para o bairro boêmio de Montmartre, em Paris. Lá ele recebe o apoio de Henri de Toulouse-Latrec (John Leguizamo), que o ajuda a participar da vida social e cultural do local, que gira em torno do Moulin Rouge, uma boate que possui um mundo próprio de sexo, drogas, adrenalina e Can-Can. Ao visitar o local, Christian logo se apaixona por Satine (Nicole Kidman), a mais bela cortesã de Paris e estrela maior do Moulin Rouge.

Bloody hell! I was speechless at the end of this film. I don't get that gripped at many films but this one made me feel lots of things in different ways. It is a very heartbreaking film and that was like someone grabbing me by my throat and turning it inside out. On the other hand, it is a very beautiful film and that made me feel like I was part of the story and I was almost in tears. I didn't really want to watch this film at first because I don't really like musicals but I think this is the one film I was totally surprised at that blew me away at almost every single angle. Before I watched this film, I wasn't that fond of musicals but I love them even more now. Sweeney Todd, The Sound Of Music and Moulin Rouge! are my breakthrough musicals that got me more into them and I am proud to say that. I figure that there are epic musicals like this, The Sound Of Music, My Fair Lady and West Side Story. This film melted and broke my heart because of the story, the characters and also the way it was filmed. I think this film rivals with West Side Story as the musical Romeo And Juliet. I personally think that Moulin Rouge! is that because it is more magical, more tragic and also it is better directed and written. This film made me cry with tears especially near the end of the film because of its pure magic and its heartbreak and tragedy.


Nicole Kidman's performance as Satine was phenomenal. She was the perfect choice for Satine because Nicole turned out to be a fantastic singer and is absolutely beautiful playing such a powerful, emotional character with a big heart. Nicole Kidman's performance is one of the best leading female performances ever in my opinion. I am starting to become interesting in Baz Luhrmann's collaboration with Nicole Kidman. I did like Australia but isn't as good as this one obviously. Ewan McGregor's performance is absolutely fantastic as well as Christian. Christian is a young writer who falls in love with Satine at first sight. Ewan is becoming one of my favourite actors now because I really love his performances in Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge!, Shallow Grave, Big Fish and the prequel Star Wars trilogy. I was surprised by how good McGregor turned out to be at singing. I did think he would do like a Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! but he didn't at all. He would be good in more musicals but not an epic one like this one. McGregor has proven himself to be an actor who is able to pull off any kind of character. Supporting actors Jim Broadbent and John Leguizamo deliver really awesome performances was really awesome as well.


Baz Luhrmann is a really good director at creating epics especially romantic epics. He also did Australia starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman and Romeo And Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes which are other really good romantic epics. Australia flawed a little bit but Moulin Rouge! didn't in any way whatsoever. If Baz Luhrmann does another musical, I will be really annoyed with him. Baz Luhrmann's adaptation might seem like a remake to some people but it isn't really a remake. It just has the same title name. It is set around the same time but has different characters and story and most importantly the 2001 adaptation is a musical.


Moulin Rouge! is one of my very few films that have made me cry. It is a film that is stuffed with beauty and tragedy. I think Nicole Kidman's best and most famous films are Moulin Rouge! and Eyes Wide Shut. Ewan McGregor's performance was absolutely fantastic but Trainspotting is still his best film. It is Baz Luhrmann's best work and I think it always will be for me. Moulin Rouge! is the second best film of 2001 after The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. Moulin Rouge! is a masterpiece that I was left speechless at and felt heartbroken by it. It inspired me a lot as well. It is a timeless classic for me and always will be.

Ok so when you first watch this movie, it may seem girly and dumb. I mean, the songs are not original, and the storyline is a bit cheesy. But I gotta say, I did like it. Alright, yes, I did fast forward the Like A Virgin remix part, (Gosh, that was really creepy.) But beyond that, this movie really gets to me. I mean the the whole point of it is "The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn Is Just To Love And Be Loved In Return." How sweet is that! Alright, alright call me a hopeless romantic but I loved this movie. Ok?!? Deal with it. :P

Moulin Rouge is a feast for the senses; the score, the plot,the costumes, the choreography, the acting, the set design and attractiveness of the protagonists...all work together to make one of the greatest love stories of all time.

Courtisan Satine, of the Moulin Rouge falls in love with a poor writer Christian and a whirl-wind romance insues; which must be kept secret from 'The Duke' a client of Satine's and bank roller of the musical which will finally make her an actress.

I absolutely love the soundtrack to this album; the songs have replaced the 'power ballad' for my drunken outbursts. Most notably, what I love about this film is its ability to unify all of woman-kind. Furthermore Ewan Mcgregor and Nicole Kidman have remarkably good voices.

Moulin Rouge, chews up and spits out every other romance/rom-com ever made. Its the pinnacle of its genre.

The truth is I adore this movie. But I'm not sure I recommend this movie. It's the story of a young idealistic writer who falls in love with an actress/courtesan, and trying to keep the rich investor of the show from knowing it. It's quite hokey, but embraces this hokiness with all out abandon. It's melodramatic and absurd, and is definitely not for everyone. But the visuals are wonderful. This was a movie really made for the big screen, and loses something when brought down to fit on your television. However, the actors are excellent, and the music is fun. But be warned, it is exceedingly hokey.