The year is 1899, and Christian, a young English writer, has come to Paris to follow the Bohemian revolution taking hold of the city’s drug and prostitute infested underworld. And nowhere is the thrill of the underworld more alive than at the Moulin Rouge, a night club where the rich and poor men alike come to be entertained by the dancers, but things take a wicked turn for Christian as he starts a deadly love affair with the star courtesan of the club, Satine. But her affections are also coveted by the club’s patron: the Duke. A dangerous love triangle ensues as Satine and Christian attempt to fight all odds to stay together but a force that not even love can conquer is taking its toll on Satine…
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 Australian–American jukebox musical romantic comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It tells the story of a young English poet/writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor), who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman). It uses the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France.
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 (1991). In BBC’s 2016 poll of the greatest films since 2000, Moulin Rouge! ranked 53rd.
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.
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 while filming one of the more complicated dance sequences; she also stated in an interview with Graham Norton that she broke her 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 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (in which McGregor also starred). This necessitated some pick-up shots being filmed in Madrid.
In the liner notes to the film’s Special Edition DVD, Luhrmann writes that “[the] 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” (arranged in operatic format), David Bowie’s rendition of Eden Ahbez’s “Nature Boy”.
Other songs are “Lady Marmalade” by Patti LaBelle (the Christina Aguilera/P!nk/Mýa/Lil’ Kim cover commissioned for the film), 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 (in a tango format using the composition “Tanguera” by Mariano Mores), 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.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, Kerry Walker, Natalie Mendoza, Lara Mulcahy, Kylie Minogue
Screenplay by: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce
Production Design by: Catherine Martin
Costume Design by: Donald McAlpine
Film Editing by: Jill Bilcock
Costume Design by: Catherine Martin, Angus Strathie
Set Decoration by: Brigitte Broch
Music by: Craig Armstrong
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: June 1, 2001
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