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I like the 'MOULIN ROUGE' renditions over the original artists. (1 Viewer)

Inspector Hammer!

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Seriously I do. I heard Rod Stewart's original version of 'Your Song' on the radio the other day and found it to be really bland and boring. However I love Ewen McGregor and Nicole Kidman's spectacular incarnation of that song. It has much more heart and meaning when they sing it in the film.
The same thing with Sting's 'Roxanne', it's so flat and uninteresting compared to the show stopping 'El Tango De Roxanne' displayed in the film.
I even prefer the films version of 'Like a Virgin' over Madonna's! That's not saying much though, i'd rather hear Freddy Kruger's rendition of any of her songs using nothing more than a chalk board and that razor glove of his. :)
Same goes for every song Ewen and Nicole sang during the 'Elephant Medley'.
I know that all of these songs are classics and everyone loves them, but I just like the film's versions a lot better. Am I alone here? I hope not. :)
 

Seth Paxton

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I heard Rod Stewart's original version of 'Your Song' on the radio the other day and found it to be really bland and boring.
Maybe you should give Elton John's original version a spin instead. ;)
Also, while I do love the new versions, I'd say that I disagree in the case of every single song used. I always prefer the originals.
Nothing against you liking the new ones more. Just adding my opinion on which I like.
 

Claire Panke

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Don't mean to rain on your parade...but...IMO, the songs aren't *all* "classics" and not everyone loves them.

LOL, I will agree with you, however, that if I never hear "Like A Virgin" again as long as I live (by anyone), I won't feel I've missed a thing.

As Seth pointed out, Rod the Mod's version of Your Song was the not the original - Elton John's original version is very well done and was a HUGE hit.

I do, in fact, prefer the original versions of the songs I do like in this film.

If you love the songs in MR and MR lights your fuse big time - good for you - enjoy. What else are DVDs for? The songs surely are....transformed.

For me, the music was one of the things I liked least in MR - that, and the fact that for Baz, too much is not enough. But I'm still glad he made the effort. Even if MR isn't quite my cuppa, at least it's the director's personal vision up on the screen, not the usual bland mishmash-by-corporate-committee that passes as filmmaking these days in Hollyweird. All praise to Baz for trying to do something original and interesting.

But Ewan McGregor - yumm, pretty cool. Jim Broadbent - way cool, what a great actor.

Can't wait to see David Wenham transformed into Faramir in LOTR/TTT.
 

Inspector Hammer!

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My bad. :b I've never been very knowledgable when it came to music and I guess it shows. I had no idea that Elton John sang that song originally. Just clueless. :)
Claire,
just FYI but I was referring to the original songs as being classics, not the ones in the film. I think their outstanding, but I wouldn't presume to call them 'classics'. Not yet anyway. ;)
I must disagree on one point though, Moulin Rouge would be NOTHING without all the great songs and music heard throughout the film. The songs, for me anyway, take the rest of the story to the next level. Without the music and songs to support the story of Satine and Christian and to reflect their feelings, the film would be nothing more than a shapeless, meaningless mess.
 

Jim-G

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I could only stand watching about half of this movie, but the songs I heard weren't all that great.
 

Malcolm R

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Yeah, it's always been considered a love it or hate it type of film.
I guess I'm an exception. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't think it was this incredible film that lots around here seem to think it is. I also had a splitting headache from Ewan McGregor's bellowing for 2 hours. Who told him he could sing?
 

Scott Merryfield

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While I really like Moulin Rouge and the way the songs are performed in the film, I still prefer the original versions (although I'm not a Madonna fan, so that one doesn't count for me).

Also, not only was Elton John the original singer of Your Song, he also co-wrote the piece with longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin.
 

Ron-P

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I'm with ya 100% John, loved all the song's sung by Ewen and Nicole far more than the previous original versions, except for Madonna's Like a Virgin.
I still have both CD's in my truck and listen to them often. Great, great movie and soundtrack.
Peace Out~:D
 

Scott Weinberg

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Count me in as well. I prefer McGregor's version of Your Song over Elton John's for a few reasons:
1. It's newer.
2. There's emotion in the movie that I never heard in the original song.
3. He's a Jedi. :D
--The two Moulin Rouge soundtracks are among my most listened-to and (aside from the silly Like a Virgin endition) I love every damn song.
 

Dominik Droscher

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I didn't know Sting's Roxanne before I watched Moulin Rouge and was pretty disappointed when I finally checked it out because it is the best song and the greatest dance scene in the movie.
 

Rain

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Though I didn't care much for Moulin Rouge! as a whole, I think Ewan and Nicole did a splendid job considering what they had to work with. I wouldn't say I like their renditions of the songs better than the original versions, but they were quite good.
On the other hand, Jim Broadbent singing "Like a Virgin" should never have happened. :eek:
 

JamieD

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I loved this movie, and was amazed at that, since I tend to dislike musicals. But the romantic lines, the extravagance, the sets, and, yes.. the music.. completely drew me in. While I enjoyed most of the originals, I also greatly enjoy hearing the Moulin Rouge versions again.
Well, except for Lady Marmalade. Eh.
:)
 

Inspector Hammer!

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quote...
"He's a Jedi." :laugh:
I too was amazed the first time I heard Ewen and Nicole sing, and sing remarkably well to boot! They both have to be commended for having the guts to even do this film in the first place, if it was done poorly and turned out to be a disaster, it could have destroyed or at least severely damaged both their careers.
 

Dome Vongvises

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Mmmmm.....Nicole Kidman
Where's the drooling smilie when you need it? :)
Seriously, it's my opinion that they're great, but not the best renditions of classics. Granted the only one I thought was funny (in a good way) was "Like A Virgin".
 

Mikael Soderholm

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Same goes for every song Ewen and Nicole sang during the 'Elephant Medley'.
Well, I feel I must state for the record here that NOBODY can sing "Heroes" better that the man who wrote it, David Bowie, often copied, but never equalled ;). Not Nico, not Debbie Harry in Blondie, not nobody (well, Philip Glass came close in the Heroes Symphony, but he never sang ;)).
I love the MR soundtrack, and the songs fit the movie perfectly, and I can still remember the feeling I had the first time I saw this movie, and heard the first chords from "Heroes" in the Elephant medley, truly hair-raising stuff. I had to grab my chair to stop myself from standing up and just yelling: YEEEEAAAAHHH!!!! (so I'm a Bowie nut ;))
But, the songs are classics, and while the versions in the moive are good and/or interesting reworks, the originals are still the best, IMHO.
Btw, I had no idea until now that Rod Stewart had covered Elton Johns Your Song :b.
 

Dave Gorman

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I also had a splitting headache from Ewan McGregor's bellowing for 2 hours. Who told him he could sing?
Actually I was quite pleasantly surprised how well he sang -- maybe not perfect, but far better than most of the idiots on the radio that make their living "singing"...
 

Michael Martin

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Chalk me up as another one who prefers the MR versions of the songs to the originals themselves...especially Your Song. My own opinion is that Elton John is a terffic songwriter, but a vastly overrated singer. I found Ewan's delivery much more emotional, warm and appealing.

And I am once again puzzled by someone who contends that Ewan MacGregor can't sing....out of curiosity, who do you consider a great talented male singer?

Entertainment Weekly did a fun experiment and played snippets of Ewan and Nicole's singing to record company people - and the reactions were to sign Ewan immediately, and only a half-hearted response for Nicole's singing.
 

Patrick Sun

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I thought Ewan's singing was okay, but I don't think he's got a lot of range, and seemed to strain to hit some of the high notes by blaring his vocals (getting louder, not higher), not able to get into the higher registers by the demands of the songs. But he does get points for putting more emotional content into the songs though.
 

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