Looking back on the past ten years, the 2000s were the decade of the movie musical revival thanks to Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! For years, movie musicals were considered outdated and borderline ridiculous, conjuring up images of wholesome sugary sweetness like The Sound of Music. The last movie musical to win Best Picture was Oliver! in 1968, and the only other movie musical in recent years to be nominated for Best Picture was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Musicals were not serious enough for awards, particularly not the Academy Award for Best Picture. Moulin Rouge! changed all that and showed a new generation that musicals could be sexy, relevant, and some of the best films of the year. For further proof, see the Emmy-winning Glee, Best Picture winner Chicago, and the star-studded Nine.
Moulin Rouge! tells the story of Christian (Ewan McGregor), a young man who moves to Montmartre in Paris to become a writer and embrace the bohemian revolution. He accidentally gets mixed up with a group of artists including the famous painter Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), and they beg him to write the lyrics for their modern musical which will be staged at the Moulin Rouge. Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), owner of the Moulin Rouge, is all ready with high-priced prostitute Satine (Nicole Kidman) lined up to be the star and a duke (Richard Roxburgh) ready to invest so long as he gets Satine to himself. Unfortunately for Harold and the Duke, Satine falls in love with Christian. As opening night grows closer, the Duke starts to suspect that there is more going on between Satine and Christian than extra rehearsal time, and the Duke threatens to kill Christian if Satine chooses Christian over him.
The music numbers in Moulin Rouge! worked because they were influenced as much by MTV as Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire. Paris at the turn of the century was a revolutionary time for art and music, and through the lens of Baz Luhrmann, it is a vibrant world where people live and love to the fullest. Beautiful women are everywhere, absinthe is drunk like water, and for men with money in their pockets, the Moulin Rouge is the coolest nightclub ever. At the center of Paris’ decadence, the Moulin Rouge is the perfect setting for people to break into song, and the songs, while written mainly by modern-day musicians, mesh seamlessly into the story and actually drive the story forward.
A musical like Moulin Rouge!, however, needs more than a good setting and song choices to pull off its music numbers. Luhrmann makes the music numbers work because he creates a hybrid of old-fashioned conventions mixed with modern touches. There are three perfect examples that come to mind. First, I have to mention Nicole Kidman channeling Marilyn Monroe’s elegance and sexual appeal in her rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”. Her first line in the film is, “The French are glad to die for love,” each word dripping with sensuality and her character’s role in the film is thus established. She is the woman every man wants, and men will kill to have her for their own.
The show tune remake of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” in contrast, provides the right amount of comic relief in a dark part of the story. There were performance cues reminiscent of Annie which kept it grounded in musical tradition while the edgier sexual humor appealed to young people. “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend” showed that show tunes could work in a music video format, and “Like a Virgin” showed that modern songs could work within the traditional musical perfected by Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Finally, I have to mention Luhrmann’s brilliant re-imagining of The Police’s “Roxanne.” The Sound of Music was the first movie musical to break away from the dance floor and take its song “Do Re Mi” to bike trails, the mountains, and the steps of the city through montage. “Do Re Mi” helped Maria build relationships with the Von Trapp children in the course of a song instead of using scenes of unnecessary dialogue. It was revolutionary for audiences at the time. Similarly, “Roxanne” reminded today’s audiences that a music number can move from the dance floor to the bedroom and make the audience feel jealousy, anxiety, and betrayal. A music number can serve as exposition and say things that would sound melodramatic if a character actually said them out loud. Plus, the audience gets to see “Roxanne” performed as a tango, and I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t want to see that.
The past decade of entertainment would not have been quite the same without Moulin Rouge! Imagine the 2000’s without Chicago, Hairspray, and High School Musical. Imagine the iTunes top downloads last year without Glee. Imagine YouTube without lip dubs, show tunes covers, and homemade musicals like College Musical or A Very Potter Musical. Moulin Rouge! made musicals cool again for a young generation while also reminding critics that a musical can be a Best Picture contender.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The Blu-ray is packed with behind-the-scenes features including picture-in-picture commentary, a making-of featurette, alternative edits, a web series with John Leguizamo, and a look back at Baz Luhrmann’s career from Strictly Ballroom to Australia. There is plenty here to keep fans occupied for hours, but the true Moulin Rouge! fan boys and girls who are considering buying the Blu-ray want to know if the video and audio transfer is as pretty as they hope it will be. For those who doubt, I can put your worries to rest. Moulin Rouge! is gorgeous on Blu-ray, so go ahead and buy it. You won’t be disappointed.
"Moulin Rouge!" is on sale October 19, 2010 and is rated PG13. Musical, Romance. Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Written by Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce. Starring Ewan McGregor, Jim Broadbent, John Leguizamo, Nicole Kidman, Richard Roxburgh.
