Thoughts on Moulin Rouge (2001)?
 

This evening I caught an airing of Moulin Rouge and it had been about a year since I had seen it last. It struck me that there was much of this film that I enjoyed (read: the lavishness and flash and glitz of it) and many things I did not (read: the lavishness and flash and glitz of it).

I found myself torn between liking and disliking similar things about the film. The ever-present cheese factor in certain scenes and over the top acting, as well, became much more noticeable on this viewing. Kidman, I think, is great in it but the other performances are lukewarm most of the time.

Yet I am continuously drawn into the world Baz has created and there so much to look at you catch new things in repeat viewings. Yet, is this a case of the cover being MUCH better then the book?

What are your thoughts on this film?

I think it's a wonderful film. It's a frantic, theatrical movie. It in no way tries to be realistic or grounded, and I think it's wonderfully successful in creating a unique musical world. Some of the performances are over the top and cheesy at times, but it's spot on for the hyper realized fantastic world Luhrman is trying to create. Very different, very unique, and wonderfully successful. It's a simple story, and it's the music, style and emotion of the actors that makes it great. Though, it took me a couple viewings to get to that opinion and I'm sure its a film that will turn some people off with it's flashy design and incorporation of pop music. But hey, I loved that stuff.

Once I got past the hectic opening half, I began to enjoy it. Same with Romeo + Juliet.

Great DVD, btw.

imo the most overrated and one of the stupidest films of 2001.

It was as if no one had ever seen a friggin' rock opera in their life EVER.

Yeah, to quote MST3K, at times I felt like Baz placed a bunch of films in a blender and hit the mix button. :p

I personally loved this film and it is definitely my favorite of 2001. Kidman stole the show and was best part of this "hyper reality" of film.

I agree but, IHO, Ewan stole the show

Love this movie. While I feel that Kidman had the best acting performance in the show, Ewan's singing stole it for me. I had no idea he had such pipes. Good stuff!

X

I like it more every time I see it. A great film.

I guess there <i>is</i> balance in the universe ..... I like it <i>less</i> every time I see it.

I almost turned it off within five minutes due to the seizure-inducing camera work. I'm glad I didn't, truly an excellent film. The music, the action, the direction, all top-notch.

My wife and I rented it when it was first released to DVD. We were looking at each other and raising our eyebrows during the first several frenetic minutes but grew to like it quite a bit as the movie went on. I went out and bought the DVD the day after we saw it.

Loved it the first time I saw it. Love it even more with each subsequent viewing.

das

nicole kidman was in it, i was happy.

Didn't like it much the first time I saw it, yet something drew me back to the theater to see it again (and I rarely go to the theater even once for a film). After that second viewing I was hooked. Great experimental art film posing as a mainstream movie. :up:

I loved it. I think it's a very modern musical. I also like McGregor and Jim Broadbent.

Thought it was great. I'm not into musicals but this one I really enjoyed.
I thought I'd like Chicago, but it didn't live up to what MR was.

Loved it. When it ended, I had to take some deep breaths. I remember that Brazil made me feel the same way.

Love it. Love the music and the visuals.

After MR, Chicago let me down, too.

I loved MOULIN ROUGE. Great story, great acting. The only thing I didn't like were the songs. If they took out all the songs, it would be the perfect film.

I bought the dvd since my daughter loves it, but I try to be out of the room if she's watching.

I think I suffered a stroke when I tried to watch this annoying crapfest.

fell asleep on it the first time i watched it. G/F lists it as a fave, so i need to give it another shot.

I second this comment.

Do you really want my thoughts?

The only reason I didn't walk out is because there was a fairly huge woman at the end of my row. A few times I had the urge to use her rolls of fat as a step ladder and run out anyway.

I think the low-point for me was Broadbent's version of "Like a Virgin"

I truly hated this movie from opening to ending credits. I'm surprised at how many people got sucked in to this one, but dislike Chicago. Go figure.

I hated Chicago, but could tolerate MR. There are certain parts of MR that do make me cringe, for instance the Like a Virgin rendition.

This is really one of those movies that you love or hate, as virtually all posters in this thread have proven.

I'm in the "I love it" category. Nothing in this movie is wrong. Everything is great: music, acting, story, visuals.

Other people think exactly the opposite.

I thought this movie was great. I loved the quick pacing, rapid cut. The color in this film was incredible, very lush and bright. I liked the music and thought that it fit well into the film.

This was one of my favorite films of 2001 along with:
Amelie
The royal Tennenbaums
Black hawk down
Memento

To me, Chicago was decent but it was a musical in the "classic" sense. I liked MR a bit better because it seemed more modern.

My favorite film of that year.

One of my favorites of all time.

Ewan STOLE the show. Who knew?

GREAT FILM...(I need to watch it again...NOW)

I felt this was the cinematic equivalent of a splatter painting. What a mess of a movie. IMO one of the most overrated films of the decade.

What he wrote. :thumbsup:

I can't get enough of this film. Great direction, acting, music, and storyline.

I also own the 2 soundtracks from the film, and enjoy listening to them as well.

I know what you mean. In Chicago it seemed the music/songs were kind of a sidebar and had no part in advancing the story. They were just extra fluff. In MR the songs were an integral part of the story. I like that in a musical.

MR Sucks monkey balls....it made my ears bleed.

Fantastic film...watched it again last night, for something like the 20th time.

"Overrated" is a word that shouldn't be used often nor by everyone. In fact I think people should have a permit to use that word once they've proven they're a person with broad experience and taste. And even then only sparingly. People think Da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Homer's The Iliad or The Beatles or the movie Gone With The Wind are overrated as well. But it doesn't diminish the impact that they have had and the impact they continue to have. Everyone who said MR was "overrated" probably have a movie they love but others think are highly "overrated" as well. People should just say they didn't like it or they hated it instead. The word "overrated" is almost meaningless since its so relative.

And if one just goes to see a movie, reads a book, or buys an album just to see what the hype is all about they probably will be disappointed. They probably weren't attracted to the project in the first place and it will never meet the expectation they already have in their mind. The opinions tend to be reactionary and even more vocal if they were induced to experiencing it because of hype. I saw movies like Fellini's La Dolce Vita, Reed's The Third Man, Bergman's Seventh Seal, Franju's Eyes Without a Face, and Luchino Visconti's The Leopard because they're so highly respected among prominent directors and critics. They were disappointing overall but I can't deny their flashes of brilliance. I try not to be affected by what others experienced through their eyes. They were okay but I'm not about to go on trying to convince others they didn't experience what they experienced. On the other hand there are movies like Sideways, Talk to Her, Fellini's Nights of Cabiria, Bergman's Persona which blew me away despite the hype; but I didn't read too much about them beforehand either and experienced them more "first hand". There are also movies that for me get better with repeated viewings like most of Kubrick's films, LOTR, Scorsese's Raging Bull, Singin in the Rain, or Citizen Kane. As for Moulin Rouge, I was exhiliarated after seeing it and no one can deny me that experience. It too gets better with repeat viewings.

Many films, books, and movies when experienced after the hype has died down do seem completely different. Most people are negatively affected by hype and other people's exuberance. Some people like to think they're not part of the herd.

Um.....yeah. Ok.

I experience every movie, book, piece of music "first-hand", as you put it. MR is overrated. As in it was Craptacular Craptacular. A good story ruined by Michael Bay direction, shoddy editing, stupid mugging and inconsistent music-quality ranging from terrific to God-awful. Like Loutrec I had the urge to down a bottle of gin while watching this wonderful-looking but still headache-inducing mess.

I loved the film.

I know some people hate it, and I can understand their feelings, but the film just struck a very positive chord with me. I usually don't like the ultra-fast-paced, MTV style of editing, but it somehow seemed completely appropriate here. The story manages to stay completely coherent, the music great, etc. etc.