History Film / MoulinRouge

Christian wins over the Bohemians and--after their original librettist storms out in a jealous rage--is put in charge of writing their show, ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Spectacular Spectacular!]]''. To celebrate, they take him out to the Moulin Rouge, on, as it happens, the same night of the Duke's introduction to (and first scheduled rendezvous) with Satine. [[MistakenForSpecialGuest There is an]] [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre interesting misunderstanding]], but Christian's fundamental innocence and [[ThePowerOfRock the power of his (well,]] Bernie Taupin[[ThePowerOfRock 's) poetry]] win her over, leaving her [[LoveAtFirstSight as starry-eyed with him as he is with her]]--until, of course, it is revealed that he isn't actually the Duke. As the months pass--as the Moulin becomes a theater and the show comes together--it becomes increasingly evident that their mutual attraction is [[StarCrossedLovers too strong to ignore]]. However, the Duke is far less buffoonish than he appears, and if he is crossed, in love or otherwise, there's no telling [[MurderTheHypotenuse what lengths he'll go to]] to keep the new lovers apart...

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: The Duke (rich) vs. Christian (poor) for the affections of Satine. This conflict is mirrored in the ShowWithinAShow, between an evil maharajah and a penniless sitar player for the affections of a beautiful courtesan.

The film is a wild mishmash of genres, kinetic editing and atmosphere, often compared to a MusicVideo for its use of JitterCam. It is also [[JukeboxMusical composed almost exclusively]] of {{Cover Version}}s of songs, though most of them have been rewritten into new styles. Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Music/LikeAVirgin" becomes a BusbyBerkeleyNumber ([[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments sung by a man]]), for instance, and the film contains only one song which the audience has never heard before (which, in fact, was originally intended for Luhrmann's ''[[Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet]]''). It is also one of the most triumphant examples of the FirstLawOfTragicomedies, taking it almost to MoodWhiplash territory; the bleak FramingDevice of Christian at his typewriter switches quickly into a vibrant, almost cartoonish comedy before the inevitable spiral towards the {{Bittersweet|Ending}} / DownerEnding. Finally, it was the first movie musical to gain any sort of widespread popularity for a couple decades, and has helped launch the [[FollowTheLeader recent revival of the genre]].

** AnachronisticSoundtrack: Aside from its now-iconic cover of "Music/{{Lady Marmalade|2001}}", the characters sing the songs of Music/NatKingCole, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/EltonJohn, Music/{{Nirvana}} and Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein, to name a few. They reference many other songs, like [[Music/FrankSinatra "My Way"]], [[Music/{{Sweet}} "Love is Like Oxygen"]] and [[Music/DavidBowie "Diamond Dogs"]]. This conveys to contemporary viewers that the Moulin Rouge was the wildest nightclub imaginable.

** AnachronisticSoundtrack: Aside from its now-iconic cover of "Lady Marmalade", the characters sing the songs of Music/NatKingCole, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/EltonJohn, Music/{{Nirvana}} and Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein, to name a few. They reference many other songs, like [[Music/FrankSinatra "My Way"]], [[Music/{{Sweet}} "Love is Like Oxygen"]] and [[Music/DavidBowie "Diamond Dogs"]]. This conveys to contemporary viewers that the Moulin Rouge was the wildest nightclub imaginable.

* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: The TropeNamer. In order to drive Christian away so the Duke can't take his jealous rage out on him, Zidler urges Satine to tell him she never loved him. It breaks his heart only too well, but it fails to keep him away from the Moulin Rougue.

Flashback to 1899 where Christian, an [[WideEyedIdealist earnest young poet]], has left his VictorianLondon home and his overbearing father in order to live an intellectual life amongst the Bohemian revolutionaries of Paris's bawdy, colorful Montmartre district. Soon after his arrival, an unconscious Argentinean falls through his roof, quickly joined by a dwarf dressed as a nun...or, as he introduces himself, [[OverlyLongName Henri Marie Raymond de]] [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Toulouse-Lautrec Montfa]] (Creator/JohnLeguizamo), painter, actor, and Bohemian revolutionary ''extraordinaire''. He, along with the Argentinean (narcoleptic, as it turns out) and the rest of their [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits theater troupe]] are in the flat above, rehearsing their musical spectacle which will, of course, revolutionize the artistic world as they know it--provided, of course, that they receive the patronage of Harold Zidler, owner of the Moulin Rouge, the hottest nightclub-slash-brothel in Paris.

Flashback to 1899 where Christian, an [[WideEyedIdealist earnest young poet]], has left his VictorianLondon home and his overbearing father in order to live an intellectual life amongst the Bohemian revolutionaries of Paris's bawdy, colorful Montmartre district. Soon after his arrival, an unconscious Argentinean falls through his roof, quickly joined by a dwarf dressed as a nun...or, as he introduces himself, [[OverlyLongName Henri Marie Raymond de]] [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Toulouse-Lautrec Montfa]], painter, actor, and Bohemian revolutionary ''extraordinaire''. He, along with the Argentinean (narcoleptic, as it turns out) and the rest of their [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits theater troupe]] are in the flat above, rehearsing their musical spectacle which will, of course, revolutionize the artistic world as they know it--provided, of course, that they receive the patronage of Harold Zidler, owner of the Moulin Rouge, the hottest nightclub-slash-brothel in Paris.

The Moulin is soon to be converted into a theater in order to launch a new career for Zidler's "Sparkling Diamond", [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Satine]] (Kidman), the club's highest-paid courtesan and star attraction. Zidler, in turn, is relying on the patronage of the odious [[AristocratsAreEvil Duke]] (Richard Roxburgh) whose only condition in signing away the fortune it will take to convert the Moulin into a theater is that Satine become his mistress. The Duke gets his courtesan, Zidler gets his theater, the Bohemians get their play, and Satine gets the respectable career she's always dreamed of. It's a perfect set-up, which is why it will all go [[FinaglesLaw horribly, inevitably wrong]].

* ExcitedShowTitle: The title of the movie officially has an exclamation mark in it.

* JukeboxMusical

* AllPartOfTheShow: Satine passing out and falling off the swing is played as this by Zidler.
** [[spoiler: Satine and Christian's reconciliation... and her death.]]

** Music/KylieMinogue as the Green Fairy.

* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler: Satine dies with her eyes open in Christian's arms.]]

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: The Duke (rich) vs. Christian (poor).

* TriangRelations: Number 4. "A" is The Duke, "B" is Satine and "C" is Christian.

Flashback to 1899 where Christian, an [[WideEyedIdealist earnest young poet]], has left his VictorianLondon home and his overbearing father in order to live an intellectual life amongst the Bohemian revolutionaries of Paris's bawdy, colorful Montmartre district. Soon after his arrival, an unconscious Argentinean falls through his roof, quickly joined by a dwarf dressed as a nun...or, as he introduces himself, [[OverlyLongName Henri Marie Raymond de]] [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Toulouse-Lautrec Montfa]], painter, actor, and Bohemian revolutionary ''extraordinaire''. He, along with the Argentinean (narcoleptic, as it turns out) and the rest of their [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits theater troupe]] are in the flat above, rehearsing their musical spectacle which will, of course, revolutionize the artistic world as they know it--provided, of course, that they receive the patronage of Harold Zidler, owner of the Moulin Rouge, the hottest nightclub-slash-brothel in Paris. The Moulin is soon to be converted into a theater in order to launch a new career for Zidler's "Sparkling Diamond", [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Satine]] (Kidman), the club's highest-paid courtesan and star attraction. Zidler, in turn, is relying on the patronage of the odious [[AristocratsAreEvil Duke]] (Richard Roxburgh) whose only condition in signing away the fortune it will take to convert the Moulin into a theater is that Satine become his mistress. The Duke gets his courtesan, Zidler gets his theater, the Bohemians get their play, and Satine gets the respectable career she's always dreamed of. It's a perfect set-up, which is why it will all go [[FinaglesLaw horribly, inevitably wrong]].

''Moulin Rouge!'' is a 2001 [[TheMusical musical]] film, directed by Creator/BazLuhrmann and starring Creator/EwanMcGregor and Creator/NicoleKidman. The story is told through flashbacks from the point of view of Christian James ([=McGregor=]), a young Englishman writing the story of his doomed affair with the star of the eponymous Parisian nightclub.

The film is a wild mishmash of genres, kinetic editing and atmosphere, often compared to a MusicVideo for its use of JitterCam. It is also composed almost exclusively of {{Cover Version}}s of songs, though most of them have been rewritten into new styles. Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Music/LikeAVirgin" becomes a BusbyBerkeleyNumber ([[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments sung by a man]]), for instance, and the film contains only one song which the audience has never heard before (which, in fact, was originally intended for Luhrmann's ''[[Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet]]''). It is also one of the most triumphant examples of the FirstLawOfTragicomedies, taking it almost to MoodWhiplash territory; the bleak FramingDevice of Christian at his typewriter switches quickly into a vibrant, almost cartoonish comedy before the inevitable spiral towards the {{Bittersweet|Ending}} / DownerEnding. Finally, it was the first movie musical to gain any sort of widespread popularity for a couple decades, and has helped launch the [[FollowTheLeader recent revival of the genre]].

* {{Melodrama}}: Done spectacularly right. It fits all the requisites for the melodrama genre: orchestraic music and songs to accompany the action (Victorian melodrama), simplistic yet exaggerated character archetypes (Christian is the NaiveNewcomer, Satine the HookerWithAHeartOfGold, the Duke is the Villain, etc), the story plays up on emotion more than clever plot twists, most obstacles are minor but played up by the characters as insurmountable mountains, the story is an internal affair between a few characters (a LoveTriangle between an [[RichSuitorPoorSuitor evil rich suitor and idealistic poor suitor]] for a tragic IllGirl) in a set location (the Moulin Rouge), there's an [[AristocratsAreEvil aristocratic villain]], etc. And it manages to be engaging for modern audiences due to its FramingDevice and shameless, balls-to-the-walls energy, stylization, and passion.