Director: Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo & Juliet)
Starring: Ewan MacGregor (Star Wars: Episodes I, II & III, Trainspotting), Nicole Kidman (The Others, BMX Bandits, and some other stuff in between) “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love, and to be loved in return” The Movie: It is a simple romance story of forbidden love set at the Moulin Rouge. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, girl is wanted by someone powerful, and all sorts of trouble follows.
The Review: First impressions can really define the way you feel about a film, and I think that most people will decide whether they like Moulin Rouge within the first ten minutes. 10 minutes into it and I was enthralled. The camera work, the scenery, the acting, the singing (yes, even the singing) are all brought together in something that can only be described as spectacular. I have spoken to people who hated the film’s introduction and then went on to hate the rest of the film. Remember: This movie is a musical. Also remember: all the songs except one or two (including the single: “Come What May”) are cover versions of well-known songs. Highlights are Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”, The Police’s “Roxanne”, and Elton John’s “Your Song”. Kurt Cobain will be rolling in his grave after what they did to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. The DVD: Well there are more extras than you can poke a stick at. You have deleted scenes, unfinished scenes, directors commentary, a commentary for the visually impaired (which I assume tells you what’s going on) and a bunch of little making-of features that are accessible throughout the movie by pushing the “enter” key on the remote when you see the green fairy. There is also a pretty funky feature where you get to play with the camera angles on a few of the dance sequences, and pretend you’re the director (although if you really want to pretend you’re Baz Luhrmann you have to have a greying mullet haircut). There are film clips, ads, featurettes, and plenty of interviews with lots of the people behind it, director, writers, set designers, and even one with Fatboy Slim, who wrote the music for the can-can. The Verdict: Moulin Rouge is well worth the money you will spend on it, not only for the film but for the features as well. - Robert Jennings
| 
