Moulin Rouge! is considered one of the best musical films of all time, and for great reasons, including the eclectic selection of music sampled in the film.
- "El Tango de Roxanne"
. Sung by a narcoleptic Argentinian. It is tearjerking and nightmare-inducing at the same time. - "The Show Must Go On". Come on, it was originally performed by Queen, people!
- "The Elephant Love Medley". Forget the song title. It's (nearly) Exactly What It Says on the Tin. In other words, it's a love medley sung inside an elephant-shaped room.
- "Bolero", the extraordinarily epic end credits music.
- "Your Song" begins with Christian somewhat embarrassed reciting the first verse as a poem, while Satine is getting more and more...aroused. Not entirely sure what's going on, he then turns to the window and out of seemingly nowhere belts out the next line ("My gift is my song") resulting in Satine stopping her actions and the bohemians staring. It escalates from there.
- "Come What May" is the most gorgeously overwrought, poetic, bombastic love ballad ever to be performed on film, sparkly synth, soaring high notes and all. (Not to mention becoming something of an anthem for those whose love is scorned by society, the LGBT community included.)
- "Sparkling Diamonds", a jazzy remix of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and "Material Girl" by Marilyn Monroe and Madonna, and the song for Satine's Establishing Character Moment, perfectly encapsulates why she's the star of the Moulin Rouge. "Hindi Sad Diamonds", its Dark Reprise near the end of the film, is a bombastic arrangement which mixes the classic Bollywood song "Chamma Chamma" into the mix.
