| Moulin Rouge! | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Baz Luhrmann |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Donald M. McAlpine |
| Edited by | Jill Bilcock |
| Music by | Craig Armstrong |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates | |
Running time | 128 minutes[3] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million[5] |
| Box office | $179.2 million[5] |
Moulin Rouge! (/ˌmuːlæ̃ˈruːʒ/,French:[mulɛ̃ʁuʒ][6]) is a 2001jukebox musicalromantic drama film directed, produced, and co-written byBaz Luhrmann. It follows an English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of theMoulin Rouge,cabaret actress andcourtesan Satine. The film uses the musical setting of theMontmartre Quarter ofParis and is the final part of Luhrmann'sRed Curtain Trilogy, followingStrictly Ballroom (1992) andRomeo + Juliet (1996). A co-production of Australia and the United States, it features anensemble cast starringNicole Kidman andEwan McGregor, withJim Broadbent,Richard Roxburgh,John Leguizamo,Jacek Koman, andCaroline O'Connor in supporting roles.
Moulin Rouge! premiered at the2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for thePalme d'Or[7] and was released in theaters on 25 May 2001 in Australia and on 1 June 2001 in North America. The film was praised for Luhrmann's direction, the performances of the cast, its soundtrack, costume design, and production values. It was also a commercial success, grossing $179.2 million on a $50 million budget. At the74th Academy Awards, the film received eight nominations, includingBest Picture, and won two (Best Production Design andBest Costume Design). Later critical reception forMoulin Rouge! remained positive and has been considered by many to be one of the best filmsof all time, with it ranking 53rd in theBBC's 2016 poll of the 100 greatest films of the 21st century.[8][9] Astage musical adaptation premiered in 2018.
In 1900 inParis, Christian, a young writer depressed and grief-stricken about the recent death of the woman he loved, begins writing their story on his typewriter.
A year earlier in 1899, he arrives in theMontmartre district of Paris to join theBohemian movement. He suddenly meetsHenri de Toulouse-Lautrec and his troupe of performers who are writing a play calledSpectacular Spectacular. After Christian helps them complete the play, they go to theMoulin Rouge where they hope Christian's talents will impress Satine, the star performer andcourtesan, who will in turn convince Harold Zidler, the proprietor of the Moulin Rouge, to let Christian write the show. However, Zidler plans to have the wealthy, powerful and unscrupulous Duke of Monroth sleep with Satine in exchange for potential financing to convert the club into a theater.
That night, Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke and attempts to seduce him by dancing with him before retiring to her chamber with him to discuss things privately, but eventually Christian reveals his true identity. After the Duke interrupts them, Satine claims that the two of them and the Bohemians were rehearsingSpectacular Spectacular. Aided by Zidler, Christian and the Bohemians improvise a story for the Duke about a beautiful Indian courtesan who falls in love with a poorsitar player she mistook for a wealthy but evilmaharaja. Approving the story, the Duke agrees to invest, but only if Satine and the Moulin Rouge are turned over to him. Later, Satine claims not to be in love with Christian, but he eventually wears down her resolve and they kiss.
During construction at the Moulin Rouge, Christian and Satine's love deepens while the Duke becomes frustrated with all the time he thinks Satine is spending with Christian working on the play. To calm him, Zidler arranges for Satine to spend the night with the Duke and angrily tells her to end her affair with Christian. She misses the dinner when she falls unconscious, leading a doctor to diagnose a fatal case ofconsumption. She does try to end things by telling Christian that their relationship is endangering the production, but Christian writes a secret song to include in the show that affirms their unending, passionate love.
At the final rehearsal, can-can dancer Nini hints to the Duke that the play represents the relationship between him, Christian, and Satine. Enraged, the Duke demands that the show end with the courtesan marrying the maharaja, instead of Christian's ending where she marries the sitar player. Satine promises to spend the night with him after which they will decide on the ending. Ultimately, she fails to seduce the Duke due to her feelings for Christian, and Le Chocolat, one of the cabaret dancers, saves her from the Duke's attempt to rape her. Christian decides that he and Satine should leave the show behind and run away to be together while the Duke vows to kill Christian.
Zidler finds Satine in her dressing room packing. He tells her that her illness is fatal, that the Duke is planning on murdering Christian, and that if she wants Christian to live, she must cut him off completely and be with the Duke. Mustering all her acting abilities, she complies, leaving Christian devastated.
On the opening night of the show, in front of a full audience, Christian denounces Satine and vows to give her to the Duke before walking off the stage, but Toulouse-Lautrec cries out from the rafters, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." This spurs Satine to sing their secret song, causing Christian to change his mind. After Zidler and the company thwart several attempts by the Duke and his bodyguard to kill Christian, the show ends with Christian and Satine proclaiming their love as the Duke permanently storms out of the cabaret. The audience erupts in applause, but Satine collapses after the curtains close. Before dying in his arms, she tells Christian to write their story so she will always be with him.
Six months later, the Moulin Rouge has closed down and is in disrepair; Zidler, the Duke, the Diamond Dogs, and the Bohemians are gone; and Christian overcomes his grief by finishing his and Satine's story, declaring their love will live forever.
Moulin Rouge! was influenced by an eclectic variety of comic and melodramatic musical sources, including theHollywood musical, "vaudeville,cabaret culture, stage musicals, and operas." Its musical elements also allude to Luhrmann's earlier filmStrictly Ballroom.[11]
Giacomo Puccini's operaLa bohème, which Luhrmann directed at theSydney Opera House in 1993, was a key source of the plot forMoulin Rouge!.[12] Further stylistic inspiration came from Luhrmann's encounter withBollywood films during his visit toIndia while conducting research for his 1993 production ofBenjamin Britten's operaA Midsummer Night's Dream.[13] According to Luhrmann:
. . . we went to this huge, ice cream picture palace to see a Bollywood movie. Here we were, with 2,000 Indians watching a film inHindi, and there was the lowest possible comedy and then incredible drama and tragedy and then break out in songs. And it was three-and-a-half hours! We thought we had suddenly learnt Hindi, because we understood everything! We thought it was incredible. How involved the audience were. How uncool they were – how their coolness had been ripped aside and how they were united in this singular sharing of the story. The thrill of thinking, 'Could we ever do that in the West? Could we ever get past that cerebral cool and perceived cool.' It required this idea of comic-tragedy. Could you make those switches? Fine inShakespeare – low comedy and then you die in five minutes. . . . InMoulin Rouge!, we went further. Our recognisable story, thoughOrphean in shape, is derived fromCamille,La Boheme – whether you know those texts or not, you recognise those patterns and character types.[14]
In the DVD'saudio commentary, Luhrmann revealed that he also drew from theGreek tragedy ofOrpheus and Eurydice. The filmmakers projected the Orpheus figure onto Christian by characterizing the latter as a musicalgenius whose talent surpassed that of everyone else in his world. The film's use of songs from the mid- to late 20th century in the 1899 setting makes Christian appear ahead of his time as a musician and writer.Moulin Rouge!′s plot also parallels that of the myth: "McGregor, as a poet who spouts deathless verse . . . , descends into a hellish underworld of prostitution and musical entertainment in order to retrieve Kidman, the singing courtesan who loves him but is enslaved to a diabolical duke. He rescues her but looks back and . . . cueQueen's 'The Show Must Go On.'"[15]
Commentators have also noted the similarities between the film's plot and those of the operaLa Traviata[16] andÉmile Zola's novelNana.[17] Other cinematic elements appear to have been borrowed from the musical filmsCabaret,[18]Folies Bergère de Paris, andMeet Me in St. Louis.[19]
The character of Satine was based on the Frenchcan-can dancerJane Avril.[20] The character of Harold Zidler shares his last name withCharles Zidler, one of the owners of the real Moulin Rouge. Satie was loosely based on the French composersErik Satie andMaurice Ravel. Môme Fromage, Le Pétomane, and Le Chocolat share their names with performers at the actual cabaret.Marlene Dietrich,Greta Garbo andRita Hayworth were cited as inspirations for the film's "look."[19]
Leonardo DiCaprio, who worked with Luhrmann onRomeo + Juliet, unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Christian.[21][22][23][24]Ethan Hawke also read for the role.[25] Luhrmann also considered younger actors for the role, includingHeath Ledger andJake Gyllenhaal, before Ewan McGregor won the part.Courtney Love auditioned for the role of Satine and gave approval for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to be used in the film.[26]
Production began on 9 November 1999 and was completed on 13 May 2000,[27][28] with a budget of $50 million.[5] It was shot on the sound stages atFox Studios in Sydney.[29] Filming generally went smoothly, but Kidman broke her ribs twice when she was lifted into the air during the dance sequences. She also suffered from a torn knee cartilage resulting from a fall during the "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" production song.[19] Kidman later stated in an interview withGraham Norton that she broke a rib while getting into a corset by tightening it as much as possible to achieve an 18-inch waist, and that she fell down the stairs while dancing in heels.[30] The production overran its shooting schedule and had to be out of the sound stages to make way forStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (which also starred McGregor). This necessitated the filming of somepick-up shots inMadrid.[31][32]
In theliner notes to the film's Special Edition DVD, Luhrmann writes that "[the] whole stylistic premise has been to decode what the Moulin Rouge was to the audiences of 1899 and express that same thrill and excitement in a way to which contemporary movie-goers can relate."[33] BothRoger Ebert andThe New York Times compared the film's editing and cinematography to that of a music video and noted its visual homage to earlyTechnicolor films.[34][18]
Marsha Kinder describesMoulin Rouge! as a "brilliant," "celebratory," and "humorous" musical and auralpastiche due to its use of diverse songs.[35]Moulin Rouge! takes well-knownpopular music, mostly drawn from theMTV Generation, and juxtaposes it into a tale set in a turn-of-the-century Pariscabaret.[33] Kinder holds that keeping borrowed lyrics and melodies intact "makes it almost impossible for spectators to miss the poaching [of songs] (even if they cannot name the particular source)."[36]
The film uses so much popular music that it took Luhrmann two and a half years to secure the rights to all of the songs.[37] Some of the songs sampled include "Chamma Chamma" from theHindi movieChina Gate,Queen's "The Show Must Go On" (arranged in operatic format),David Bowie's rendition ofNat King Cole's "Nature Boy", "Lady Marmalade" byLabelle (in theChristina Aguilera/P!nk/Mýa/Lil' Kimcover commissioned for the film),Madonna's "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin",Elton John's "Your Song", thetitular number ofThe Sound of Music, "Roxanne" byThe Police (in atango format using the composition "Tanguera" byMariano Mores), and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" byNirvana.
Luhrmann had intended to incorporate songs byThe Rolling Stones andCat Stevens into the film, but could not obtain the necessary rights from these artists. When Stevens denied consent for the use of "Father and Son" due to religious objections to the film's content, "Nature Boy" was chosen as its replacement.[19]
Originally set for release onChristmas 2000,20th Century Fox eventually moved the release ofMoulin Rouge! to Summer 2001 to allow Luhrmann more time in post-production.[38][39]Moulin Rouge!premiered at the2001 Cannes Film Festival on May 9, 2001, as the festival's opening title.[1]
Moulin Rouge! opened in the United States at two theaters inNew York andLos Angeles on May 18, 2001.[1] It grossed US$167,540 on its opening weekend.[5][2] The film then expanded to a national release on June 1, 2001.[1] It generated $14.2 million, ranking in fourth place behindPearl Harbor,Shrek andThe Animal.[40] In theUnited Kingdom,Moulin Rouge! was the country's number one film for two weeks before being displaced byA.I. Artificial Intelligence.[41] During its fifth weekend, it reclaimed the number one spot.[42] The film remained so until it was dethroned byAmerican Pie 2 in its sixth weekend.[43]Moulin Rouge! has grossed $57,386,369 in the United States and Canada and another $121,813,167 internationally[2] (including $26 million in the United Kingdom[44] and $3,878,504 inAustralia[45]).
Moulin Rouge! received generally positive reviews from critics.Roger Ebert rated the film 3.5 stars out of 4, remarking that "the movie is all color and music, sound and motion, kinetic energy, broad strokes, operatic excess."[34]Newsweek praised McGregor's and Kidman's performances, stating that "both stars hurl themselves into the movie's reckless spirit, unafraid of looking foolish, adroitly attuned to Luhrmann's abrupt swings from farce to tragedy. (And both sing well.)"[46]The New York Times wrote that "the film is undeniably rousing, but there is not a single moment of organic excitement because Mr. Luhrmann is so busy splicing bits from other films" but conceded that "there's nothing else like it, and young audiences, especially girls, will feel as if they had found a movie that was calling them by name."[18]All Things Considered commented the film was "not gonna be for all tastes" and that "you either surrender to this sort of flamboyance or you experience it as overkill."[47][48]
Moulin Rouge! holds a rating of 66/100 atMetacritic based on 35 reviews.[49] AtRotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 75% "Fresh" approval rating based on 259 reviews, with an average score of 7.1/10. The website's critics' consensus reads: "A love-it-or-hate-it experience,Moulin Rouge is all style, all giddy, over-the-top spectacle. But it's also daring in its vision and wildly original."[50] In December 2001, the film was named the best film of the year by viewers ofFilm 2001.[51]Entertainment Weekly ranked it #6 on its list of the top ten movies of the decade, saying, "Baz Luhrmann's trippy pop culture pastiche from 2001 was an aesthetically arresting ode to poetry, passion, and Elton John. It was so good, we'll forgive him forAustralia."[52][53] In 2008,Moulin Rouge! was ranked No. 211 onEmpire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.[54] In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition ofThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 130.[55] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[56]
Home Theater Forum rated theDVD release ofMoulin Rouge! as the best DVD of 2001.[57] Luhrmann had hand-picked the features and behind-the scenes footage for the two-disc DVD edition.[58]
Scholarly commentators have interpretedMoulin Rouge! as an exemplarypostmodern film, citing its methods of aesthetic expression, symbolism, and ties to both fine art and pop culture as evidence.[59][60] The film's music also contributes to its postmodern aesthetic. Notably,Moulin Rouge! combines mid-to-late 20th Century melodies and lyrics with a narrative set infin de siècle France.[36] Scholars Kathryn Conner Bennett and Marsha Kinder have argued that the use of famous popular songs in a new, original context requires audiences to reinterpret their significance within the framework of the narrative and challenge an assumption that music's symbolism is static.[61][62]
Moulin Rouge! also makes ample use of other postmodern filmmaking techniques, including fragmentation andjuxtaposition. As the film's protagonist, Christian is the primary source ofMoulin Rouge!'s story line and many portions of the story are told from his point of view. However, the narrative is fragmented on several occasions when the film deviates from Christian's perspective or integrates aflashback.Moulin Rouge! also juxtaposes a play-within-a-film (Spectacular Spectacular) with the film's events themselves to draw parallels between the plot of the play and the characters' lives. This culminates in the "Come What May" sequence, which reveals the development of Christian and Satine's relationship alongside the progression ofSpectacular Spectacular's rehearsals.[63]
Postmodernism is also evident inMoulin Rouge!'s homage to Western musicals, Bollywoodmasala films, andmusic videos, as well as Luhrmann's filmStrictly Ballroom.[64]
Moulin Rouge! received eight Academy Award nominations, includingBest Picture andBest Actress (Nicole Kidman), winning in two categories forBest Art Direction andBest Costume Design. It became the first musical film to receive a coveted Best Picture nomination sinceBeauty and the Beast (1991).[65] Despite the film's overwhelming success,Baz Luhrmann was notably excluded from theBest Director lineup; commenting on this during the Oscar ceremony, hostWhoopi Goldberg remarked, "I guessMoulin Rouge! just directed itself."[66] Additionally, the only original tune in the film, "Come What May" was disqualified from theBest Original Song consideration because it was originally intended, although unused, for Luhrmann's previous filmRomeo + Juliet and not written expressly forMoulin Rouge!.[67] It tied withThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for leading twelve nominations at the55th British Academy Film Awards and resulted in three wins, includingBest Actor in a Supporting Role (Jim Broadbent).[68] The musical also led the59th Golden Globe Awards, alongside the dramaA Beautiful Mind, each receiving six nominations; it won three, includingBest Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.[69]
Other notable ceremonies where it received much recognition included theAmerican Film Institute Awards, theAustralian Film Institute Awards, and theSatellite Awards. Various prestigious award bodies, such as theNational Board of Review and thePGA Awards named it the best film of the year. It was the last musical film to win NBR's Best Film award untilWicked in 2024.[70]
American Film Institute recognition
Music sources
Elephant Love Medley
Jamie Allen contributes additional vocals to the "Elephant Love Medley".[83] "Love Is Like Oxygen" and "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" are only spoken dialogue; they are not actually sung in the medley.
"Your Song" is performed by Ewan McGregor andAlessandro Safina, who contributes additional lyrics inItalian.[83]
Two soundtrack albums were released, with the second coming after the first one's massive success. The first volume featured the smash hit single "Lady Marmalade", performed byChristina Aguilera,Lil' Kim,Mýa andPink. The first soundtrack,Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film, was released on 8 May 2001,[84] with the second,Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film, Vol. 2, following on 26 February 2002.[85]
As early as November 2002, Luhrmann revealed that he intended to adaptMoulin Rouge! into a stage musical. ALas Vegascasino was the reputed site of the proposed show.[86] Luhrmann was said to have asked both Kidman and McGregor to reprise their starring roles in the potential stage version.[87]
In 2008, a stage adaptation entitledLa Belle Bizarre du Moulin Rouge ("The Bizarre Beauty of the Moulin Rouge") toured Germany and produced a cast recording.[88]
In 2016, it was announced thatGlobal Creatures was developingMoulin Rouge! into a stage musical.Alex Timbers was slated to direct the production, andJohn Logan was tapped to write the book.[89]Moulin Rouge!: The Musical, starringAaron Tveit as Christian andKaren Olivo as Satine, premiered on 10 July 2018 at theColonial Theatre inBoston.[90] TheBroadway production opened at theAl Hirschfeld Theatre on 25 July 2019.[91] In May 2025,Boy George,Jordan Fisher, andSolea Pfeiffer were playing the roles of Zidler, Christian, and Satine, respectively.[92]
The 2002 made-for-television movie,It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, features a Christmas-themed parody entitled "Moulin Scrooge", in which various scenes and musical numbers are re-enacted byMuppets.[93] InMoulin Scrooge, Christian is played byKermit the Frog, Satine (namedSaltine) byMiss Piggy, Toulouse-Lautrec byGonzo and Zidler byFozzie Bear.[94]
The US music video for "Mr. Brightside" bythe Killers was inspired by the film.[95]
In the 2017–18figure skating season, at the2018 Winter Olympics, Canadian skatersTessa Virtue andScott Moir performed two selections fromMoulin Rouge!, interpreting the story of Christian and Satine through "The Show Must Go On", "El Tango de Roxanne", and "Come What May". Their performance won the gold medal in theteam and theindividual events.[96] At this event, Virtue and Moir became the most decorated skaters of all time.[97]
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