Moulin Rouge
The hills are alive at the Sound of Music", the sound makes me cringe for a million years! Sorry, but old Oscar and Hammerstein don't do anything for me. Make no mistake about it, I hate Musicals.
Plot Outline
A writer dreams of fame and fortune in old Paris but instead finds the Moulin Rouge and the beautiful Satine..........
Review
"The hills are alive at the Sound of Music", the sound makes me cringe for a million years! Sorry, but old Oscar and Hammerstein don't do anything for me. Make no mistake about it, I hate Musicals. Maybe it's the sight of people suddenly bursting into song in the middle of a scene, or is it the sound of orchestral music that rings through my ears when there is no Orchestra in sight? The results the same either way, musicals are not my taste.
So the general buzz about director Baz Fuhrman’s "Moulin Rouge" didn't really inspire me. Luhrman's previous work includes "Strictly Ballroom"(about ballroom dancing. for God's sake) and "Romeo and Juliet”, these films bored me silly.
So how I came to watch his version of "Moulin Rouge" remains a mystery that even I can’t understand...........
As soon as the film began I was worried, into my ears came the theme to "The Sound of Music"......oh dear, and then something happened.
Fast black and white images zoom through cut out (almost 3D) Paris Streets, an off screen Ewan McGregor begins a narrative that runs through out the film, a lament of lost love, then we see him, bearded and looking close to despair, he sits at a type writer in a shabby room, ready to tell us, the viewer a story, a story of Paris night life, of a writer in search of success and of love, "all you need is love,is love,love is all you need,".........
The scene changes, the same shabby room, but now the writer is unbearded and full of hope.A figure crashes through the ceiling and the viewer has entered an almost Monty Python-esque world of surrealism. The film in places veers dangerously close to going over the top, though somehow it never does, instead it weaves a kind of magical spell, a scene where McGregor sings "Your Song" to Nicole Kidman comes across as a private moment between two people, somehow caught on film. They dance on clouds and cling on to the Eiffel Tower, but all this visual nonsense makes complete sense within the context of the scene. We are told that love can do anything, and the director makes us believe it. Luhrman blends a variety of styles to create a unique vision. Yes this is a love story and a Musical but one like you have never seen before and within twenty minutes the viewer is sucked into its simple story and carried along by the experiance. The mood changes from comedy, to drama, to tragedy at an alarming rate and more often than not the characters are singing snatches of lines from modern music (U2, Madonna and others),the dance scenes (of which there are loads) are wonderfully staged, vibrant and hip !
A back-dated (in other words, made to seem old) version of” Like A Virgin" is one of the funniest yet sinister things I have ever seen. The songs and dances are used to not only move the story along but to express them in a way that straight dialogue never could. This is a fantasy world where anything can and does happen. In consequence the singing and music are a natural part of its landscape. Stars Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman are striking, not only do they act beautifully but they convey their performances through singing so well that it is impossible to imagine anyone else in their parts. Kidman looks more like the classic image of a female movie star here than ever I thought possible, the camera loves her, and McGregor's soulful eyes will make all the female viewers fall in love.
This film will make you laugh and ultimately cry. It is an experience difficult to sum up, everything here is so right, the editing, the structure, the performances, the lavish attention to detail, the design, costumes .... I could go on, but instead I urge you to see "Moulin Rouge" even if you, like me can’t stand Musicals.
Video/Audio
Superb quality, crystal clear and a sound track that is brilliant.
Extras
There are so many extras here it will take you quite some time to get through them all. The making of featurette is a bit short and lacking in details but the other features more than make up for this.
There are at least 9 hidden features or Easter Eggs, some of these are surprisingly good.
Overall
A brilliantly produced set of discs with clever menus and loaded with extra features."20th Century Fox" have done it again ....a winner.
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