Spectacu-tastic! (Moulin Rouge! (DVD))

Member Name: KathrynMackinnon

Product:	Moulin Rouge! (DVD)
Date:	03/08/02 (188 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: extras - loads

Disadvantages: can't think!

A tale of passion, debauchery, jealousy, hate and beauty set amidst the wonderful surroundings of Montmartre. Heavily based on the painting research of Toulouse Lautrec around this time, Moulin Rouge is a spectacular snapshot of the indulgent lives of Paris's true bohemians. The tale is a love story - nothing new there and is not the strength of the film.
The distinctive style of the film, directed by Baz Luhrmann (Romeo and Juliet & Strictly Ballroom) is energetic, colourful and visually rich.
Were it not for Baz's sense of humour, then I would be very upset by Ewan Macgregors' terrible singing and foppish puppy-dog manner, however - it is carried off and held up by the other leading performances by Jim Broadbent as Harry Ziddler (owner of the moulin Rouge) and Satine, its star.
Basically. the plot is crap - but it looks so amazing that you forget!
Watching this DVD has inspired me to buy a DVD player just so that I can have a copy to myself! If you love Moulin Rouge as much as I do, then you need to see the extras available on this format.
Cast and director profiles are available as well as fantastic interactive dance scenes - where you can edit the camera angles yourself and footage from the original dance rehearsals which are just full of energy.
Only seeing what amazing effort went into pre-production on this film can help one to understand the enormity of this project and the passion that pushed it forwards.
Obviously the feature itself is fantastic, being that it is on DVD you can obviously select scene by scene and never have to bother with the hassle of rewinding and fast-forwarding.

I might add that taking a look at the Moulin Rouge website is well worth a try for fans of the movie. http://www.clubmoulinrouge.com
It has some great press info and screen savers .

Oh while you are perusing the special features be sure to look out for the Green Fairy - she might just hold a secret or two...

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