So if I'd have thought to cast Gary Oldman I would have liked this film more? "I really wanted to enjoyed this..." I believe were the words I used in my first post on this topic. I meant that.

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The man with the magic hands.

I have just returned from a very pleasant night at Coburg Drive-in where I was given a guided tour by the management and was shown the projection room which, for me a non-projectionist, was an enjoyable and informative experience.

After this I settled down to watch the film.

Unfortunately I am going to have to side with Dwayne on this one. I feel bad because I know a lot of people have really enjoyed the film and also because it is evident that the director and cast have put a lot of work into the production. Not to mention the fact that there are very few musicals these days.

However being a film critic requires one to be frank sometimes.

Firstly, the first 2/3 of the film is characterised by the director seeking to attain the record for the most number of camera shots within a feature film. It is difficult, even unpleasant, to watch a film that jumps from scene to scene so much within the space of a few short seconds.

It could be that Baz Luhrmann is endeavouring to create a new type of movie but for me it just doesn't work. Later in the film things slow down a little bit and the number of camera shots/minute declines and at this point the film becomes more enjoyable but by this time the erratic jumping from scene to scene has left one a bit drained.

Next problem concerns the music. I am no expert on film but I have always thought that a musical should have a suite of complete songs, preferably original, and each song suited to the context of the scene in which it is sung. In Moulin Rouge one gets a mish-mash of once popular 70s and 80s tunes, often with only half the song sung in the film. One is left with the distinct impression that the songs were included so as to sell soundtrack compilation records.

On a positive note it is good to see that Nicole Kidman can sing. Perhaps in future she can be used in other, more conventionally directed musicals.

Another aspect of the film that I had difficulty with was the complete absence of french culture from the film which is curious given that the film is set in Paris. The Paris portayed is not the city of love and culture but rather a sort of quiet Gotham City.

Another aspect I had difficulty with was the way the camera often had shots looking straight down a room with the subject in the centre of picture looking straight at the camera. Personally I do not find this an appealing way to view a scene. Equally the 'whoosh' shots, whilst probably a trademark of the director, added little to the movie.

In summary I gained the distinct impression that this was an attempt by the director to produce a new style of musical which appealed to a present generation audience using familar and famous pop music, an unusual style of camera direction and a very fast pace. For me it just didn't work and I think that many people will not find this style of film pleasant to watch.

In future I hope that the following rules are adhered to when making musicals

1. No whoosh shots

2. A small suite (say 15) of songs, appropriate to their respective scenes and sung in full.

3. Some outside shots

4. More traditional camera direction

Rating 6/10

cheers Peter

PS - Executive Decision was boring. Wasn't that about airplanes or something? I saw it and remember Steven Seagull dying, but that's about it. I will maintain that John Leguizamo ruins movies just by his mere presence!

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I give Moulin Rouge two and a half stars out of four.

I wanted to be able to enjoy the film more, but I found a lot of the musical numbers to be horribly distracting in the choice of music material. I likely would have liked the film much more if it had used original songs rather than lifting everything from "the hills are alive with the sound of music" to grabbing stuff from Nirvana and Madonna. That stuff pulled me out of the film experience in the same distracting manner as "A Knight's Tale." Maybe I am a purist though, having seen a number of Broadway musicals where the numbers were primarily original material written for that stage production. I feel "Moulin Rouge" should have done the same thing.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
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Is it too early to say that Moulin Rouge is a flop? I wouldn't mind that as I would hate for the film to set any sort of a precedent.

I understand that the film cost about $50 million to make yet to date has only grossed $40 million and the number of theatres showing it is declining markedly.
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2001/MOULR.html

Hopefully this will cause Hollywood to make more traditional style musicals in future.

cheers Peter

It may not be huge in the States, but she's a biggy here in Oz.
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/news_bums_on_seats.asp

Still going strong at my theatre and for anyone interested, there have been many reports of the prints shedding and losing SRD info from the print.

I was told that by a service tech and suggested he take a look out that port-hole right there. He did and saw a dazzlingly clean, blemish-free psint of Moulin Rouge which at that point was up to 120 passes. He was suitably impressed.

I then took him to the CP500 and kept looking at him as I opened the front panel to reveal the error rate. I did this so I could enjoy his expression. It was running along at '2'. At this point, his jaw literally dropped.

...and there was much rejoicing...

If you don't think FilmGuard is worth the effort or the bucks...come and see Moulin Rouge at my theatre. I'll even comp you a ticket!

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"If you think THIS is fantastic...wait until you see the full effect with the HIMP!"
- Chief Inspector Clouseau.

If this movie is regarded as a box office failure, it won't cause Hollywood to make more traditional musicals. Rather, it will cause Hollywood to continue to shy away from musicals altogether.

The fatal flaw may be that this movie lacks the innocence of so many of the musicals which inspired it. If it's supposed to be a story about love and the search for love, then it was a thematic inconsistency to set the story in a veritable brothel.

As stated earlier the cost of the film was about $50 million - US$ I think. Yes The film has grossed about $17 million Australian but with the Australian dollar the way it is, that isn't significant in $US terms.

Last night I watched a documentary/promotional video discussing the history of the various versions of Anna & The King including the productions with Yul Brynner and the recent movie with Jodie Foster. It is interesting to compare 'The King & I' with 'Moulin Rouge'.

Why did 'The King & I' succeed so well. Here are a list fo factors that I felt made the film so good.

- Outstanding performance by Yul Brynner
- Strong storyline with forceful characters
- exotic/savage/barbaric culture adding spice to story
- Original music by Rogers & Hammerstein
- Real feeling & emotional identification with main characters
- Carefully crafted moments of light & shade, silence & noice, tension and humour

'Moulin Rouge' was quite a different matter entirely. There was no original music - just a hotch-potch of bits and pieces of various pop tunes arguably unsuited to the period and storyline. There was little or no character development.

Worst of all - there was no happy ending! Musicals are meant to be upbeat and in my humble opinion the best musicals have happy ending.

There was little light and shade. From the moment the film started the audience is subjected to a barrage of images and sounds that are disorientating. There are no pauses for an audience to contemplete where the film is going. The film is not a train taking an audience somehwere - rather it is an express that runs right over its audience.

To make the film work I would have done the following things

- written in a happy ending
- stripped away all of the music used and settled on 17 original songs suited to the scenes in which they are sung - including one or two genuine french songs. Alternatively, some of Celine Dion's material could have worked in this film.
- cast Celine Dion (she would have been IDEAL!) and Anthony Warlow in the lead roles
- Made this a Kylie-free movie
- Over-dubbed the Australian accents (not suited to film)
- Used exterior shots of older parts of Paris
- Introduced genuine french culture into the storyline
- cast several top line french comedy actors in secondary roles (Thierry L'hermite, Christian Clavier, Marie-Anne Chazel...)
- Slowed down the pace of the film considerably to give greater depth
- Rewritten the script to add a bit more humour

Just my ten cents

cheers Peter

RAOTFLMAO!!!!!!

Celine Dion!!!

Oh...oh...I can't breathe...I can't breathe...