- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,774
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
Moulin Rouge
There was a boy. A very strange enchanted boy
It all started back in September. While out
at Fox Studios with a group of HTF members, we
were shown a simple clip from the supplemental
section of the upcoming Moulin Rouge DVD.
The clip can be located in The Dance section
of disc 2, selection: Tango. It's the extended
cut of the most noted number in the entire
film. We sat and curiously watched a reworked tango
version of The Police's "Roxanne" that was absolutely
riveting. It starts with two people on the dance
floor and grows feverishly into a crowd of dancers
that ends with a crescendo of sweeping vocals.
By the time the clip was over, everyone in the
screening room wanted to see this film. I have
patiently waited for the opportunity to see this film
on DVD.
Moulin Rouge is a modern day artistic masterpiece!
For two hours, I sat motionless in my chair as
if I was studying a priceless painting in a museum.
Moulin Rouge is a reinvention of the film
musical whose visual imagery left this reviewer
breathless.
At first, I didn't quite get it. Here was this
story set in the glamorous Parisian nightclub known
as Moulin Rouge at the turn of the century. Yet,
we have these lavish dance numbers that are sung to
contemporary music by Madonna, Elton John, The Police,
and Paul McCartney. It just didn't make sense.
Then I got it. This is a fairy tale. Why not
take turn of the century Paris as a setting to use
contemporary music rescored to be sung in grand
operatic style or played to a beat never imagined
before. The contemporary lyrics actually become
a part of the story. The result is nothing short of
a breathtaking musical experience.
The story itself concerns a young poet musician
named Christian, (Ewan McGregor) who dreams of becoming
a famous writer. Across town is the Moulin Rouge,
where a beautiful courtesan, Satine (Nicole Kidman)
dreams of becoming an actress. The two meet under
mistaken circumstances and Christian plunges into a
passionate love affair with Satine. Their love
affair is cut short by a jealous Duke (Richard Roxburgh)
who will stop at nothing to buy her love.
From the sweep of the camera through digitally
created streets of Paris, to the lavish sets that
recreate and reinterpret the famous nightclub, you
are held prisoner to the film's tantalizing visionary
style that is so clearly preserved on this DVD transfer.
Watching Moulin Rouge is like watching a film
from the glory days of Technicolor. Inside the club,
there are beautiful vibrant colors that poured out from
my screen. This transfer resides with the very best
DVD transfers that have come from Fox Home Entertainment
over the past year. It is a feast for the eyes.
Presented in both English 5.1 Dolby Digital and
5.1 DTS (as well as Spanish Dolby Surround), the audio
sounds spectacular. Musical numbers inside the
nightclub come powerfully across the front soundstage
with the sound of the roaring crowd across the rears.
There is abundant LFE response as my SV Subwoofer
pounded with not only the dancing feet hitting the
dancefloor but the swooping fans of the Moulin Rouge
windmill itself.
Upon your initial viewing, you are faced with
options of how to watch it. By going into the
Special Features menu, you can enable the
Green Fairy that will appear in the corner
of your screen many times during the movie. By
clicking on the icon, you get branched off to
footage that gives in-depth look at how the sets
were built or the visuals created for the
corresponding pieces. Fox has lead all the
other studios in effectively putting such a feature
to good use, as with their recent Planet Of The
Apes DVD release.
You may also wish to watch the film with either
of the two audio commentary tracks featuring
Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Don McAlpine and
Craig Pierce.
I would recommend, however, that your initial
virginal watching of Moulin Rouge be without
the aid of any of the extras so that you may properly
immerse yourself into this movie.
Disc Two brings us a wealth of Supplemental
Features that begins with The Making of
Moulin Rouge. Meet Director, co-writer and
co-producer Baz Luhrmann who sought a cinematic
language to tell the story of Moulin Rouge through.
All the principle actors, including Kidman, McGregor,
Broadbent and Roxburgh give their personal insights
into their own respective characters. The
documentary also focuses on the costume and set
designers who added such remarkable authenticity to
the time period. There are interviews with the
choreographers as well as Fat Boy Slim. We are
also treated to an inside look at the soundstages
of the Fox Australia lot that house the massive
sets used in the film. If that wasn't enough, we
see how the model of Paris was created. It's a
thorough look at the 360-degree world that makes
up Moulin Rouge.
The Stars further looks into the characters
of Satine (Kidman), Christian (McGregor), Toulouse-
Lautrec (Leguizamo), Zidler (Broadbent), and
The Duke (Roxburgh) Divided into five sections,
you can choose from any of the characters and hear
the actor's own perspective of their role in the film.
This Story is About takes us into the minds
of the writers who created Moulin Rouge.
There are three segments included here. The first
is an interview with writers Baz Luhrmann and
Craig Pearce who talk about writing the drafts
of the film. We see these roommates playing off of
each other, improvising what they had just written
to see how effectively it comes off. The second
segment involves Craig Pearce who reads an early
treatment of the film. Thirdly, is a breakdown of
script comparisons from the first rough draft in
December 1998 right up to June 2000. Using your
remote you can page through these early to late
script drafts.
The Cutting Room starts off with an interview
with Editor Jill Bilcock and Baz Luhrmann. An older
person with a younger outlook meets a younger person
with an older outlook and their combined creativity
effectively kept the structure and pace of the
film together. Abandoned Edits contain 6
separate montages of edits not used in the film,
including a slower tempo version of "Zidler's Rap".
The segment ends with Director's mock
previsualizations which Baz Luhrmann describes
as a dummy scenes that are used for planning reshoots.
The Dance takes the top 6 dance sequences
and presents them complete without the extra added
editing that was done in the film. This is your
opportunity to look at the sequences as originally
filmed and enjoy them without interruption. Three
of the sequences include MULTI-CAM features that
using your remote, allow you to see the scenes from
different angles. There is also an interview with
Choreographer John O'Connell as well as a very
interesting look at dance rehearsal footage. It's
exciting to watch the energy of these women dancing
in front of the onlooking crew.
The Music is a journey through the creation
of the music of Moulin Rouge. Traveling to
Glaskow, we meet Score composer and arranger Craig
Armstrong who talks about the task of providing
a strong enough score to stand up to the strong
visuals of the film. One of his favorite songs
was "Nature Boy", which ultimately became the theme
song of the film. In an Interview with Fat Boy
Slim, the composer talks about adding electronic
music and samples to the film adding an almost
modern "rap" style to the film. The Lady Marmalade
Phenomenon starts with a clip from the MTV movie
awards. Introduced by Nicole Kidman who could not
be in attendance, we are treated to a stage performance
of the number by Christina Aguilerra, L'il Kim.
Mya and Pink. It's actually a great piece that I
am happy was included in this set. Finally, we get
the tremendous Lady Marmalade Music Clip featuring
Missy Elliott, that will have you cranking the volume
on your receiver way high. You should have seen us
boppin' to this segment while vierwing it at Fox
studios earlier this year.
The Design is an extremely extensive look at
all the design elements from costumes to sets to
graphics. With hundreds upon hundreds of still
images at your disposal, you can use your remote to
look at conceptual art to models to final finished
product. Smoke and Mirrors focuses on the
visual effects of creating the introductory Paris
sequence as well as the Green Fairy animation done
with blue screen.
Marketing is all about promotion! This
section gives us a large handful of promotional
material used for the film, starting with the
International Sizzle Reel that is a montage
of all the media press that was given for the film.
Photo Gallery gives us a view of the film
through the cameras of four individual photographers.
You can use your remote to sift through the many
unique pictures taken from the set. The Little
Red Book appears to be the story (or at least
ideas) of the film laid out in obscure form with
pictures and title cards. There are two trailers
included. One is the original Theatrical Trailer
and the other is the Japanese trailer. Included as
well is what appears to be a promotion for another
Baz Luhrmann project, Bed Curtain Box Set.
Why I picked this as the year's Best.....
Moulin Rouge moved me emotionally like
no other film before. To use the word amazing to
describe this movie, still underscores the significance
of this film.
One thing never mentioned in any of the documentaries
is that Kidman and McGregor made a pact that they
support each other throughout, taking risks, and be
willing to make complete fools of themselves in front
of each other. You can see that there was an uneasiness
about doing something different. What they failed
to realize is that what they accomplished was simply
ground breaking and revolutionary in an era where film
musicals were no longer chic.
Enter Fox Home Entertainment. More than any other
studio producing DVDs, Fox knows their product and
knows how to put together exemplary DVD boxed set
packages filled with a treasure load of material that
enables viewers to literally orgasm themselves with
extras that look at every possible aspect of the film.
More importantly, the studio gives great effort
in their video and audio transfers -- especially
with catalog product.
I think it fair say that Fox is the studio that
all other studio's products are compared to. No
other studio has put out such an abundant amount
of Special Edition product that truly earns the
word "Special" than Fox Home Entertainment. Every
new "Special Edition" raises the bar on what is
the ultimate DVD available. Moulin Rouge
has set the new standard.
It's upsetting to realize that there will be a
few members of this forum who take my recommendation
and purchase this DVD, and will be disappointed.
The film is not everyone's cup of tea. However,
those that do understand the artistic value of
Moulin Rouge are going to remember this film
forever.
I am going to go watch it again!
