Moulin Rouge!


Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. The film 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 is the third part of Luhrmann's "Red Curtain Trilogy," following Strictly Ballroom and Romeo + Juliet.
At the 74th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Nicole Kidman, winning two: for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. It was the first musical nominated for Best Picture in 10 years, following Disney's Beauty and the Beast. In BBC's 2016 poll of the greatest films since 2000, Moulin Rouge! ranked 53rd.

Plot

In 1900 Paris, a man named Christian, who is suffering from depression, begins writing. One year earlier, he moves to the Montmartre district to join the Bohemian movement. Meeting a troupe of performers led by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Christian helps them finish their show, Spectacular Spectacular, to sell to Harold Zidler, owner of the Moulin Rouge. They arrive at the Moulin Rouge as Zidler and his "Diamond Dog Dancers" perform. Toulouse arranges for Christian to present the work to Satine, the star courtesan, unaware that Zidler has promised Satine to the Duke of Monroth, his potential investor.
Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke, and they dance before retiring to her chamber, but she learns he is merely a writer. The Duke interrupts, and Christian and Satine claim they were rehearsing Spectacular Spectacular. With the help of Zidler, Toulouse, and the troupe, they pitch the show to the Duke, improvising a plot about an evil maharajah attempting to woo an Indian courtesan who loves a poor sitar player. The Duke backs the show, on the condition that only he may court Satine. Satine contemplates Christian and her longing to become "a real actress". Christian returns, and he and Satine fall for each other.
As the cabaret is converted to a theater, Christian and Satine meet under the pretense of rehearsing. When the suspicious Duke threatens to stop financing the show, Zidler arranges for Satine to dine with the Duke, but she falls ill from tuberculosis. Zidler tells the Duke that Satine has gone to confession. Zidler learns from the doctor treating Satine that she does not have long to live, but keeps this from Christian. Satine tells Christian their relationship endangers the show, but he writes a song to affirm their love.
Nini, a jealous performer, reveals to the Duke that the play is a metaphor for Christian, Satine, and the Duke. The Duke demands the ending be changed to the courtesan choosing the maharajah; Satine offers to spend the night with him to keep the original ending. At the Duke's quarters, Satine sees Christian on the streets below, and realizes she cannot sleep with the Duke. The Duke attempts to rape her, but she is saved by the dancer Le Chocolat. Christian urges Satine to run away with him. The Duke tells Zidler he will have Christian killed if Satine is not his. Zidler warns Satine, but when she refuses, he informs her that she is dying. Zidler explains that to save Christian's life, Satine must reject him. Barred from the Moulin Rouge, Christian is heartbroken, though Toulouse insists Satine does love him.
The night of the show, Christian sneaks into the Moulin Rouge, intending to pay Satine her fee as a courtesan. He confronts her backstage, but they find themselves in the spotlight; Zidler convinces the audience that Christian is the sitar player in disguise. Christian denounces Satine and walks off the stage. From the rafters, Toulouse declares, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return", spurring Satine to sing the song Christian wrote to express their love. Christian returns to the stage, joining her in the song. The Duke orders his bodyguard to kill Christian, but is thwarted, while Zidler stops the Duke's own attempt. The Duke storms out as Christian and Satine complete their song ", "Coup d'État.
After the curtain closes, Satine succumbs to tuberculosis. Before she dies, Christian and Satine affirm their love and she tells him to write their story. A year later, the Moulin Rouge has closed down and was left in disrepair, and Christian finishes writing the tale of his love for Satine, a "love that will live forever".

Cast

Production

Writing

When asked about his inspiration for Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann remarked:
Luhrmann revealed that he drew from the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice in the DVD's audio commentary. The legend of Orpheus says he 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 ahead-of-his-time as a musician and writer.

Development

, who worked with Luhrmann on Romeo + Juliet, auditioned for the role of Christian. Luhrmann also considered younger actors for the role, including Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal before Ewan McGregor won the part. Courtney Love auditioned for the role of Satine and assisted in clearing licensing rights for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to be used in the film.

Filming

Production began in November 1999 and was completed in May 2000, with a budget of $52.5 million. Filming generally went smoothly, with the only major problem occurring when Kidman injured her ribs twice while filming one of the more complicated dance sequences and also suffered from a torn knee cartilage resulting from a fall during the "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" production song; she also stated in an interview with Graham Norton that she broke a rib while getting into a corset, by tightening it as much as possible to achieve an 18-inch waist. The production also overran in its shooting schedule and had to be out of the Fox Studios in Sydney to make way for . This necessitated some pick-up shots being filmed in Madrid.
In the liner notes to the film's Special Edition DVD, Luhrmann writes that " 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", David Bowie's rendition of Eden Ahbez's "Nature Boy", "Lady Marmalade" by Patti LaBelle, Madonna's "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin", Elton John's "Your Song", the titular number of The Sound of Music, "Roxanne" by The Police, 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 Luhrmann would have more time during post-production. The film premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival on 9 May – making it the festival's opening title.
Moulin Rouge! received generally positive reviews from critics. The film holds a rating of 66/100 at Metacritic based on 35 reviews, and a 76% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 199 reviews, and a 64% "Fresh" rating, based on 42 "top" reviewers, saying "A love-it-or-hate-it experience, Moulin Rouge is all style, all giddy, over-the-top spectacle. But it's also daring in its vision and wildly original." In December 2001, it was named the best film of the year by viewers of Film 2001.

Awards and honors

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, Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Original Score, Best Director and Best Song. It won three including the coveted Best Picture trophy. A few weeks later, it received 12 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 and Best Picture. The film was not nominated for Best Director ; 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" was disqualified from nomination for an Oscar because it was originally written for Luhrmann's previous film Romeo + Juliet and not written expressly for Moulin Rouge!.
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.".
AwardCategorySubjectResult
AACTA Award
Best FilmMartin Brown, Fred Baron, Baz Luhrmann
AACTA Award
Best DirectionBaz Luhrmann
AACTA Award
Best Actor in a Leading RoleEwan McGregor
AACTA Award
Best Actress in a Leading RoleNicole Kidman
AACTA Award
Best Actor in a Supporting RoleRichard Roxburgh
AACTA Award
Best CinematographyDonald McAlpine
AACTA Award
Best EditingJill Bilcock
AACTA Award
Best SoundAndy Nelson, Roger Savage, Guntis Sics
AACTA Award
Best Production DesignCatherine Martin
AACTA Award
Best Costume DesignCatherine Martin, Angus Strathie
Academy AwardBest PictureFred Baron, Martin Brown and Baz Luhrmann
Academy AwardBest ActressNicole Kidman
Academy AwardBest Film EditingJill Bilcock
Academy AwardBest CinematographyDonald McAlpine
Academy AwardBest Costume DesignCatherine Martin and Angus Strathie
Academy AwardBest Art DirectionArt Direction: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Brigitte Broch
Academy AwardBest MakeupMaurizio Silvi and Aldo Signoretti
Academy AwardBest SoundAndy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Roger Savage and Guntis Sics
ACE EddieBest Edited Feature Film – Comedy or MusicalJill Bilcock
BAFTA AwardBest FilmFred Baron, Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann
BAFTA AwardBest DirectionBaz Luhrmann
BAFTA AwardBest Original ScreenplayBaz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce
BAFTA AwardBest Supporting ActorJim Broadbent
BAFTA AwardBest CinematographyDonald McAlpine
BAFTA AwardBest SoundAndy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Roger Savage, Guntis Sics
BAFTA AwardBest MusicCraig Armstrong, Marius De Vries
BAFTA AwardBest Production DesignCatherine Martin
BAFTA AwardBest Costume DesignCatherine Martin, Angus Strathie
BAFTA AwardBest EditingJill Bilcock
BAFTA AwardBest Special Visual EffectsChris Godfrey, Andy Brown, Nathan McGuinness, Brian Cox
BAFTA AwardBest Makeup and HairMaurizio Silvi, Aldo Signoretti
Golden Globe AwardBest Motion Picture – Musical or ComedyFred Baron, Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann
Golden Globe AwardBest DirectorBaz Luhrmann
Golden Globe AwardBest Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyEwan McGregor
Golden Globe AwardBest Actress - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNicole Kidman
Golden Globe AwardBest Original Song David Baerwald, Kevin Gilbert
Golden Globe AwardBest Original ScoreCraig Armstrong
Grammy AwardBest Compilation Soundtrack for Visual MediaCraig Armstrong
National Board of Review AwardBest FilmFred Baron, Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann
Producers Guild of America AwardBest PictureFred Baron, Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann
Satellite AwardBest FilmFred Baron, Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann
Satellite AwardBest DirectorBaz Luhrmann
Satellite AwardBest Original ScreenplayBaz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce
Satellite AwardBest ActorEwan McGregor
Satellite AwardBest ActressNicole Kidman
Satellite AwardBest Original ScoreCraig Armstrong
Satellite AwardBest Original Song David Baerwald, Kevin Gilbert
Satellite AwardBest CinematographyDonald McAlpine
Satellite AwardBest EditingJill Bilcock
Satellite AwardBest Visual EffectsChris Godfrey, Andy Brown, Nathan McGuinness, Brian Cox
Satellite AwardBest Art Direction and Production DesignCatherine Martin
Satellite AwardBest Costume DesignCatherine Martin, Angus Strathie
Satellite AwardBest SoundAndy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Roger Savage, Guntis Sics

Soundtrack

Musical numbers

The following is a partial list of songs featured in the film along with the artist that popularized them.
;Elephant Love Medley
The following is a list of songs featured in the medley, along with the names of the writers and singers of the original.
The "Elephant Love Medley" also contains additional original lyrics by Italian pop tenor Alessandro Safina.. "Love Is Like Oxygen" and "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" are only spoken dialogue, they are not actually sung in the medley.
In the Blu-ray release, it was revealed that the song that was planned to open the film was originally Cat Stevens' "Father and Son", sung by Christian where he argues with his father for making him see that he has to go to Paris in order to make his dreams come true. Cat Stevens refused the permission for using the song in the film, therefore the song was changed to "Nature Boy".
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 on 8 May 2001, with the second Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film, Vol. 2 following on 26 February 2002.

Stage adaptation

In 2002–2003, there was speculation about the possibility of a stage musical based on Moulin Rouge!, possibly in Las Vegas, but there had been no public talks in the years since. Some sources claimed in 2006 that the director, Baz Luhrmann, had approached the leads of the film, Kidman and McGregor, to star in the potential stage version. In 2008, a stage adaptation, La Belle Bizarre du Moulin Rouge toured Germany and produced a cast recording.
In 2016, it was announced that a stage musical was being developed by Global Creatures, with direction by Alex Timbers. Moulin Rouge: The Musical premiered on 10 July 2018 at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, MA. The book is written by John Logan with direction by Alex Timbers. It is starring Aaron Tveit as Christian and Karen Olivo as Satine. The Broadway production began previews at the Al Hirscheld Theatre on 28 June 2019, and officially opened on 26 July.

In popular culture

In the 2017–18 figure skating season, at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Canadian skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir performed two selections from Moulin Rouge!, interpreting the story of Christian and Satine through "The Show Must Go On", "El Tango de Roxanne" and "Come What May". Their performance won the Gold in the team and the individual events. At this event, Virtue and Moir became the most decorated skaters of all time.