Moulin Rouge!

What an insane movie. For the most part, in a good way. That being said: there were moments in it, and some aspects, that I found incredibly frustrating... yet there was a lot that did work, and I found it growing on me as the movie went along.

I tried watching this about 8 or 9 years ago and couldn't stomach the first fifteen minutes, and so shut it off. I think it was right around the time they started singing Nirvana; I just said 'nope,' not for me.

Returning to it now, those first fifteen minutes were still a fairly tough sit. The editing and loudness is just ridiculous. I didn't know whether it was supposed to be funny or cool or what- I was overwhelmed and confused, whilst still recognising that technically it was at least interesting.

Things got better slowly- an extended comedic sequence filled with innuendo felt like it was from an Austin Powers movie, and tonally the whole thing felt all over the place. Nothing was given room to breathe, and certain stunning shots would only last a second or so before a jarring cut to something else. There were a few brief moments here and there where I literally couldn't comprehend what was going on.

I think the movie did slow down a little in its second hour, or maybe I just grew more used to the style... maybe both? I started to enjoy the music, bold colours, fast-paced musical numbers, and the acting more. The latter is quite good, honestly, especially when it comes to Ewan McGregor, who was excellent. I hated John Leguizamo in this movie though- his character was super irritating, even by Baz Luhrmann standards.

And while the final act feels a little drawn out, it's got some stunning moments, and probably the best music in the whole film.

Overall, it's exhausting and insane, but for me at least it mostly worked. I can understand people loving this movie. I can understand people hating this movie. And honestly, I can understand anyone being anywhere inbetween on this movie.

Despite dazzling visuals and lavish production numbers, MOULIN ROUGE is almost all style and no substance. Frankly, I'd rather watch one of the MGM musicals from the '40s and '50s than sit through this more than once.

Kidman and McGregor are in fine physical form except that neither one has a true singer's voice.

Much of it is rather frenetic and grotesque, but no one can accuse it of lacking a colorful stylized life of its own. The best performance comes from Roxburgh as The Duke--excellent job.

It will appeal to fans of Kidman and McGregor but is certainly not the sort of musical suited to everyone's taste.

Moulin Rouge portrays a complicated, passionate and powerful love story, that is also incredibly moving. I am 17, and I thought the film was near-perfect, I mean I loved the overall look of the film with its gorgeous costumes, dazzling choreography and sumptuous cinematography. The script was very poetic, especially when Christian is comparing Satine, the beautiful courtesan to a "sparkling diamond", and when Toulouse exclaims "I hope the piano is tuned". The songs are wonderful, particularly "Come What May" and "The Show Must Go On", and everybody in the cast does their own singing, and I honestly didn't know Ewen MacGregor could sing, he has an amazing voice. I have heard too many complaints saying there are too many songs, but do bear in mind it is a musical, and to me, being an aspiring singer, music is like poetry, and very often is the best way to describe your mood. I thought the performances were brilliant. Ewen MacGregor is very earnest and likable as always as Christian, and Nicole Kidman is both fabulously sexy and wonderfully tragic as the consumptive Satine, and the character's death scene was quite heart-rending, and was very reminiscent of the Greta Garbo movie Camille(which I will admit I like more). I also liked the performances of Jim Broadbent as the sympathetic Ziegler and Richard Roxburgh as the wily duke. However there were one or two aspects that were extremely silly, like the hilarious Can Can scene as well as the duet between Ziegler and the Duke, and compared to Jose Ferrer's more poignant portrayal as Toulouse in the 1952 version, John Leguizamo as the character mayn't be to everyone's taste. Overall, a beautiful extravagant film with a 9/10. Bethany Cox

I wonder if that line from the Duke "I don't care about your ridiculous dogma" was directed to Lars Von Triar. It could be, the film is full of knowing lines "He could make you a star and you're dallying with the writer!" or "They dressed me with the Argentinean's best clothes and passed me for a famous English writer" There is something of Ken Russell's second period in "Moulin Rouge" Everything is emphasized, underlined and repeated at least three times for safety. Excess seem a rather feeble term to describe it and yet, it works. The film, for the most part, is a delight. Nicole Kidman, ravishing and spectacular, spectacular. Ewan McGregor, superb, and so charismatic that no one would blame me if I confess I had a had crush on him as soon as he broke into "The Hills are alive with the sound of music..." Kidman and McGregor, this film proves it, are the closest thing we've had in years to the big stars of yesteryear. They could make anything shine and they have. Another detail that shouldn't go amiss, "Moulin Rouge" opened the door again for musicals and that's always a good thing even if we're bound to be bombarded by some terrible stuff. I say it doesn't matter as long as it allows glorious film talents of the caliber of Kidman and McGregor to give us the pleasures they have even in a bag of wind such as "Moulin Rouge"

I have not ever felt for a movie the way I do about "Moulin Rouge." It is not just a movie...it is a cinematic experience the likes of which I have never before seen. The story, the music, the acting, the visual imagery strikes emotion in me I never before thought possible from a film. It is without a doubt the most brilliant piece of cinematic art I have ever seen. It is dizzy, maddening, beautiful, and heartbreaking! The music is rapturous, and Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman's voices compliment each other and the story perfectly. This movie takes its story to a mythic level and surrounds these two star-crossed lovers with music and imagery that simply will take your breath away. The story is grand, huge, and operatic, as is the music. The brilliant score skillfully weaves many modern, popular songs, and rescores them as the libretto to this grand opera. There are some images in this film unlike anything you have ever seen. And the performances are absolutely incredible, particularly Nicole Kidman's. I truly felt for these two people, and truly felt that they were in love. My heart broke into a million pieces for them every time I saw this movie, and I've seen it 8 times. It's an absolutely breathtaking, visionary, masterpiece that did not get the credit it deserved by American critics, who seem to complain that every movie is the same. Yet when an original, daring, shocking film like this comes along, they don't know what to do with it. But then again, this really is not just a film. No mere film could strike me the way this one has, in a way that reaches to the very fibres of my being in a way only "The Wizard of Oz" ever has before. Yes, the story is sad, but what a journey it takes you on! A journey I will be sure to repeat over and over and over again.