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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film Handlers' Movie Reviews   » Moulin Rouge (Page 1)

 
This topic comprises 5 pages: 1  2  3  4  5 
 
Author Topic: Moulin Rouge
John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 05-24-2001 07:31 AM      Profile for John Wilson   Email John Wilson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I really, really enjoyed this film, as did everyone else at my theatre.

It is a film which you must let yourself be transported into and you'll then succomb to its charms and wonders.

Ewen Mcgregor is fantastic and at one particular point he is _so_ good, I found myself asking 'why on earth are you involved in that Star Wars crap when you are this good an actor'? He also reveals he has a huge...talent as a singer, as does Nicole who is also fantastic in this film.

I would liken it to a Strictly Ballroom with a budget of about another $48million, but that comparison's not really fair...there has never been a movie like this one!

If you've heard negative things about it, see it for yourself and decide. Don't just listen to some critics. Folks seem to love it or hate it.

I loved it.

9/10 Good on you, Baz.


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Michael Goucher
Film Handler

Posts: 34
From: New York, NY USA
Registered: Oct 1999


 - posted 05-25-2001 07:31 PM      Profile for Michael Goucher   Author's Homepage   Email Michael Goucher   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
John, you couldn't have hit the nail more precisely. I believe this will become the "Citizen Kane" of movie musicals and college students will be studying this film for decades to come. Baz has used every digital effect to good purpose--even his speeded-up whooshes and whizzes which give the audience the minute details without spending time and slowing down the story's pace, which is super-fast--so bring oxygen! (but Love Is Like Oxygen, so bring lots of love).
What I dread is that film history will be made when the mass audience latches on to "Moulin Rouge" and Baz will then have his imitators. The cinemadrivel to be expected from this phenomenon gives one pause....


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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 05-26-2001 04:05 AM      Profile for John Wilson   Email John Wilson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Mostly the movies in recent years have been, well, crappy...but every now and then along comes a film that revives the pride in what you are doing in the booth. This is one of those films.

They were speaking about this on the radio the other day. In particular, about some of the negataive reviews for the film. The announcer (who loved the film) said he watched Disney's 'The Kid' on video the night before and hated it for being such formulatic drivel but critics didn't mind it. Yet here we have a director who is prepared to do something very different and he gets slammed for it!

One person rang up and said something to the effect of "I didn't think it was fair that he used other people's songs and changed some of the words to make his movie".

To those sorts of comments, I say: "Get a life".

Baz Luhrman was interviewed the other day also and said of the reviews which are mostly extremes of Awful to Excellent, that the reviews for Strictly Ballroom and Romeo and Juliet were exactly the same and he loves it. He loves that he can invoke such a response from reviewers and the public instead of them just coming out of the movie saying...'It was alright...where do you want to eat?', they come out and are passionate about the films he makes.

Baz was known to move from theatre complex to theatre complex in Sydney when Romeo was released checking for quality and audience reaction. Hopefully, he'll be out there again even as we speak.

Again, good on you, Baz. Thanks for being different.

---------------

...all you need is love.


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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 05-26-2001 04:27 AM      Profile for John Wilson   Email John Wilson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Just found this at the IMDB. I couldn't agree more. They are applauding at our theatre too.

----------

Never in 28 years as a movie-goer have I heard a packed cinema stand and clap at the end of a film. What a feeling this movie generates, a visually spectacular (spectacular!) experience with a beautiful story line and a love to last the ages. The use of modern day songs and lyrics kept the audience amused and at the edge of their seat to see what song they could recognise next. And who knew that Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman could sing? These were the words whispered while filing out of the cinema by hundreds of movie goers through their now subsiding tears. The whole cast surely surprised and mesmerised alot of people with their seemingly unlimited talent but none more-so than Nicole and Ewan. This movie was beautiful in every way and I would strongly recommend it to all ages. I loved this film and believe if the promotion of it is right it may become of Sound of Music notoriety.

------

For more, go to http://us.imdb.com/CommentsShow?203009


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Michael Barry
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 584
From: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Registered: Nov 1999


 - posted 05-26-2001 01:42 PM      Profile for Michael Barry   Email Michael Barry   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
We're getting applause at the end of sessions, too, which is great! Not only that, but something I just haven't seen for a long time - a huge number of people stay UNTIL THE FINAL CURTAIN! That's right - they sit through 11 minutes of credits and leave only when the curtains have shut, and this happens every session. That's got to be a positive sign! And best of all, we're getting our biggest turnouts in ages.

I haven't seen it yet, so I will post my review when I do. I have seen the 'Spectacular Spectacular' pitch scene and thought it was so hilarious and outrageous that I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. If the rest of it is like that, it's going to be a lot of fun.

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 05-27-2001 01:35 AM      Profile for John Wilson   Email John Wilson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Michael, same at the Ritz...people wait for the curtain to close.

If you want to be amused...wait till you see a certain number between Richard Roxburgh (who is also excellent here, unlike his role in MI2 where his talent was completely wasted as a South African thug!!!) and Jim Broadbent. I started to laugh when I realized what they were actually saying and didn't stop until they finished...over three minutes later!

------------------
Children really brighten up your life...they never turn off lights.


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Aldo Baez
Master Film Handler

Posts: 266
From: USA
Registered: Mar 2001


 - posted 05-30-2001 12:15 AM      Profile for Aldo Baez     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I just saw it earlier today. Wow. Great editing, music, funny, everything you could ask for. This one has sleeper ALL over it. I'm going again tomorrow. This is what moviemaking is all about.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000


 - posted 05-31-2001 08:00 AM      Profile for John Pytlak   Author's Homepage   Email John Pytlak   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The June 2001 issue of "American Cinematographer" features an article about Don McAlpine's cinematography for "Moulin Rouge". It was shot in 35mm anamorphic, mostly using Kodak VISION 500T Color Negative Film 5279. The article contains numerous diagrams of the lighting used. Principal photography took about eight months, mostly on stylized sets in Australia.
The camera negative was processed and color timed at Atlab in Sydney. The lab colorist was Arthur Cambridge, who also timed "The Getting of Wisdom" and "My Brilliant Career".

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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Will Morrow
Film Handler

Posts: 91
From: Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2001


 - posted 05-31-2001 11:58 AM      Profile for Will Morrow   Author's Homepage   Email Will Morrow   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Nine out of Ten Stars

I loved this film. It was gorgeous. USA today had a review that slammed it, and included comments that began with "Take away the...". IDIOTS, take away anything from this film and it sucks. That is why it is so damn good. I have to admit, I liked RnJ. But this was different. I liked the POP aspect, the comedy had great timing and the soundtrack is awesome. Also in the USA today review, they asked the question everyone wants to know, "what demographic?". Oh, wait, NOBODY CARES. How about a movie done for artistic purposes, or maybe they were going for the "intelligent" group, that can find beauty behind Like a Virgin, and Roxanne covers. I certainly know I did, and I hope others will as well.


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Dwayne Caldwell
Master Film Handler

Posts: 323
From: Rockwall, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2000


 - posted 06-01-2001 10:20 AM      Profile for Dwayne Caldwell   Email Dwayne Caldwell   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
This film had great cinematography, wonderful sets and art direction, a good story, and the songs (with the exception of Like a Virgin and Ewan's part in Roxanne) are amazing!

So why the hell didn't I like this film?

It's a shame. I really wanted to enjoy this like I've enjoyed both of Baz's previous movies. But the editing and camera work in the beginning was just too fast and obnoxious for me to handle. It's like I was hit by a barrage of sensory information with the quick cuts, the singing, the sets, the music, the camera work, and the dancing in the first few numbers, and I'm sure that disorientation was the point, but it was just annoying. And I know the film must focus on Ewan and Nicole's characters but couldn't there have been more development with the Bohemians? I mean the narcoleptic only passed out on us twice. I'm sure Baz could have slipped in another seizure on us once or twice more without running the joke into the ground.

Now by this point my fellow Techers are probably a little pissed at me for being the first to bring any negativity towards this film. Well... get ready to be a little more pissed.

As I was watching this film, I thought to myself, nobody does musicials nowadays like Trey Parker. The next thing I knew, I was recasting the movie in my head. Trey of course was Christian, Matt was Zidler (I know he's too young but it was the only part I could fill him in with), Dian was the midget Toulouse, Toddy Walters (Polly Pry in Cannibal the Musical) was Satine, and for some strange reason, I thought Richard O'Brian would be good for the part of the bald pianist. And I didn't think to change the Duke's part because he was goofy enough. That cast in mind, I suddenly had a better time. But it still required some effort on my part to actually watch the show. Towards the end, it got a little more enjoyable without my backup cast, but it doesn't help my overall opinion of the film, and I was disappointed.

I'm really not trying to say this just to possess a different point of view or intentionally go against the tide of the feelings towards the previous posts just to have a unique voice. I really truly did not like this film. As I said before, all the elements were there, but Baz had to go super stylish on us with his quick paced editing (which is weird because I kept looking at my watch) and it ruined the experience for me. So, needless to say, I am still on the lookout for a really good film this summer. Okay. I'm done. Now I will await the inevitable pommeling from the fans of this movie.

------------------
The man with the magic hands.


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Aaron Sisemore
Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day!

Posts: 3061
From: Rockwall TX USA
Registered: Sep 1999


 - posted 06-01-2001 03:45 PM      Profile for Aaron Sisemore   Email Aaron Sisemore   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
* * * * * !!! This is the best movie of the year to date! Amazing visuals, great treatments of the songs! John Leguizamo, McGregor, and Kidman were outstanding!!! This is one of those films that I would see again and again!

Dwayne: I agree with you that Richard O'Brien would have been perfect for the bald pianist. and I could see Gary Oldman pulling off the Duke with ease as well.

Aaron

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Dwayne Caldwell
Master Film Handler

Posts: 323
From: Rockwall, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2000


 - posted 06-02-2001 02:12 AM      Profile for Dwayne Caldwell   Email Dwayne Caldwell   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Gary Oldman! Of course! Why didn't I think of that.

------------------
The man with the magic hands.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99


 - posted 06-02-2001 02:59 AM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Isn't it some sort of law that any movie, EVERY movie, with John Leguizamo will be horribly bad? I have not seen this movie, but every movie with John Leguizamo has always been horribly bad, no exceptions.

Ian! Do you think that Steve K would LOVE this movie? It seems like his type of flick. How 'bout Ky?


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Jason A. Forno
Film Handler

Posts: 8
From: Ormond Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 06-02-2001 03:01 AM      Profile for Jason A. Forno   Email Jason A. Forno   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
You didn't think of that Dwayne, because you were appraently trying to hard dislike this film. Cannibal The Musical?! Moulin Rouge swallows that film whole.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99


 - posted 06-02-2001 05:33 AM      Profile for Brad Miller   Author's Homepage   Email Brad Miller       Edit/Delete Post 
I am with Dwayne on this one that the first part of the movie was way too spastic to be enjoyable. I think Baz must've done the first reel or two on speed or something. I also hope Madonna doesn't go out and kill herself after seeing the bastardized version of her song "Like a Virgin". (I didn't like the version of "Roxanne" in this film either, but I did enjoy the rest of the music.)

That being said, the DP work and especially the sound mix was extremely well done! Very high ratings go to this flick for technical reasons.

Personally, I found myself thinking how much more humorous the film could've been if every part was played by one of the Kids in the Hall.

(Joe - I believe John Leguizamo was in "Executive Decision". That movie got high scores if for no other reason than because Steven Segal died!)


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