The following notes on Moulin Rouge! were written by Samantha Janes, PhD candidate in the Department of Communication Arts at UW-Madison. A 35mm print of Moulin Rouge! will screen on Friday, October 24 at the Cinematheque’s regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Showtime is 7 p.m. Admission is free! The screening is co-presented by Madison Opera, whose production of Puccini’s La bohème runs November 7 and 9.
By Samantha Janes
As the red curtain rises on Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! (2001), viewers are welcomed into a heady and dazzling world that took the Australian auteur years to bring to life. Set during the height of the Bohemian Revolution in France’s Belle Époque period, Luhrmann’s vision for a tale of “Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and above all things, Love” came to fruition over five years after his second feature Romeo + Juliet (1996). Moulin Rouge! marks the final installment in Luhrmann’s ‘Red Curtain’ Trilogy, preceded by Strictly Ballroom (1992) and the aforementioned Romeo, each of which feature hyper-theatrical versions of different romantic worlds. In this film, the romanticized realm of Montmartre’s famed cabaret hall, the Moulin Rouge, provides the setting for the doomed love story of the penniless poet Christian (Ewan McGregor) and the Moulin Rouge’s star performer and courtesan, Satine (Nicole Kidman). The scene for their tragic tale is set for audiences at the film’s opening: the lighthearted instrumental of “The Sound of Music” seamlessly transitions into a somber version of Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy,” sung by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo). Toulouse uses the song’s lyrics as a dramatic overture that introduces audiences to the heartbroken Christian. As the scene continues, the song’s lyrics are re-narrativized to fit into Christian’s retelling of his love story with Satine. As he writes, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.”
Throughout the film, these popular songs guide the viewer’s attention as the power of music drives the narrative and controls its emotional tone. Co-written by Luhrmann and his long-time collaborator Craig Pearce, Moulin Rouge! was heavily inspired by historical and theatrical performances, such as the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, Giacomo Puccini’s opera La bohème, and European vaudeville acts such as Footit and Chocolat. The list of influences goes on: cabaret culture, Bollywood musicals, earlier jukebox films like George Dunning’s Yellow Submarine (1968), and contemporary MTV music videos each shaped Luhrmann’s extravaganza. Combining all of these inspirations with an original script, over forty popular songs, and a few original songs might have proved disastrous for a smaller production, but Luhrmann and his creative team – including Oscar-winning production designer Catherine Martin and veteran cinematographer Donald McAlpine – were ready for the challenge presented by these elaborate songs, sets, and ambitious choreography. Luhrmann’s stars likewise fully invested in the overarching vision for the film from its inception. In a 2018 interview with McGregor and Kidman, both reminisce on the collaborative nature of Luhrmann’s process. McGregor notes that the work the actors did on the script in rehearsal “would be incorporated into the writing” by the next time they rehearsed. This collaborative approach was necessary due to what Luhrmann calls “an extraordinary long process of development.” After casting both McGregor and Kidman, Luhrmann set up a two-week-long workshop, six months before rehearsals even began. This workshop gave the actors and main crew time to bond, as well as to develop what types of songs, choreography, and costumes might fit best with their versions of Christian and Satine.
During pre-production, Luhrmann and the music team brainstormed hundreds of popular songs and combinations that could realistically operate as dialogue, dance hall music, or as songs in the characters’ musical “Spectacular, Spectacular.” Luhrmann recalls that the hardest song decisions came while organizing the “Elephant Love Song Melody.” Originally set to only be two songs, Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” and Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” the crew quickly realized that to sustain the argument between Christian and Satine in the scene, they would need to select smaller sections from numerous songs in order to develop the idea of what love is for each character. As the popular songs in the soundtrack came together, original songs such as “The Pitch (Spectacular Spectacular)” and “Come What May,” were written to anchor key plot points that encapsulate comedy, romance, and eventually, tragedy.
Armed with a budget of $50 million and the support of 20th Century Fox, Luhrmann’s Bazmark Productions began to build extravagant sets on a sound stage in Australia that would recreate turn-of-the-century Paris. The history and culture of the original Moulin Rouge heavily influenced both the production designers and the film’s digital designers of 3D constructions of Paris, who sought to capture the general population and culture of the city at the time. Founded in 1889 by Charles Zidler and Joseph Olier, the Moulin Rouge was a celebrated performance venue and the birthplace of the modern can-can dance. While Luhrmann’s version of the venue features Fatboy Slim’s “Because We Can” in lieu of can-can music from the late 1890s, the homage to these can-can dancers is still prominent in the film. The film’s large dance numbers with intricate choreography led Luhrmann and McAlpine to shoot what the latter called, “endless, endless, endless coverage” from a variety of angles. While production took over a year due to the sheer scale of the film, Luhrmann’s decision to shoot that amount of coverage provided editors with a plethora of options for angles, movements, and timings. The film’s fast-paced rhythm and temporal manipulations creates a perpetual sense of movement, never allowing the audience to become detached from the narrative.
Though Moulin Rouge! was a major financial and professional success for Luhrmann—it was nominated for eight Oscars and won two—the film’s release sparked a range of responses from audiences and critics. Some critics lauded the innovations while others disparaged this fast-paced pastiche of the musical genre. Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times called it “an earful and an eyeful”—a statement that can be read as compliment or criticism depending on your vantage point. In a 2000 interview, Luhrmann charged head-first into this divisiveness, stating that from the beginning of pre-production he was interested in creating a picture that would “change the rules of engagement in a storytelling film.” He joked that within the first twenty minutes of Moulin Rouge! audiences must either “buy into the contract” by fully embracing his spin on the genre conventions of musicals and melodramas or “get out.” Asking the audience to experience the entire production with this openness is a challenge that Luhrmann revels in, forcing viewers to contend with the often-overwhelming visuals and sounds—whether they buy in or not.
After the success of its original run, new iterations of Moulin Rouge! continue to emerge thanks to the film’s devoted following. In recent years, other directors have reshaped the narrative of Moulin Rouge! for the stage, including a Vegas show titled “BAZ – a Musical Tour de Force” (2016-2018) and the current hit Broadway musical “Moulin Rouge!” Nearly a quarter-century later, Luhrmann’s film continues to challenge viewers by reminding us of the malleability of the musical genre. If you lean into the fast-paced edits, stunning visuals, and creative musical mashups, your time with Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! will be spectacular.