Moulin Rouge Film example essay topic

Introduction. Moulin Rouge, the Red Windmill situated in Montmartre, Paris, was recreated by Baz Luhrmann who inevitably made it astonishing for all in many different ways. The director creates an accurate, historical account of the Moulin Rouge at the turn of the century, from the 19th century to the 20th century. Many people quickly welcomed the base lines of the Moulin Rouge. The public had discovered a new dance with rhythm and proposition through the Moulin Rouge, and this was the French Cancan.

It came to the public through the Chahuteuses who were the unruly girls. What with its boisterous rhythm and shocking costume designs along with the dance routines, the Moulin Rouge had become quite famous. These dancers who were seen to have elasticity in them because of the way their legs were launched in and out of the air. 'Moulin Rouge' a musical fantasy is set in a notorious, but glamorous nightclub in Paris, one of which everyone would dream to be set in. The director Baz Luhrman devised and utilised a method known as the Red Curtain style in the making of this film.

The techniques used in this film were very evident in the opening scenes of the Moulin Rouge. The Red Curtain style at the opening of the film indicates it is a typical Hollywood film, with its one main aim to promote the audience's participation. The story line is very thin, but not as simple as you would have presumed. It is about a writer called Christian who searches the Moulin Rouge to fall in love for the first time, and does so with a courtesan named Satine.

Baz Luhrman created the background, ideas, emotions, and priorities of the characters just as they were in the real world Moulin Rouge. It was as if by magic you escaped from any problems in the real world and absorbed yourself in a Bohemian artistic lifestyle, only believing in beauty, truth, freedom and love. The term Bohemian lifestyle came from the movements' place of origin in Prague, which was capital of the state of Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. The money driven club's manager, Zidler and the duke reflects the nations and ethics of the real world that people sought to escape to inside the Moulin Rouge. The film is a mixture of wild extravagance and intoxicating substances, with hallucinations, and as you watch the film you gather up a sense of distortion.

Hallucinations in the sense that, because the fast moving dancers and the blinding colours the vision seems to cause confusion amongst the audience and gives a distorted feeling. The use of camera lighting and techniques are significantly effective throughout the film. At the beginning of the film there are tilt shots, crane shots and 45-degree angles of the camera that provides a giddy chaos mood for the audience. The characters were very well premeditated and had a number of different characteristics.

The main characters were: an impecunious writer called Christian, who was played by Ewan McGregor, a rich, gripped and obsessed fan called the Duke of Worcester, who was played by Richard Roxburgh, A considerate courtesan torn between love, named Satine, who was played by Nicole Kidman, and the ring leader of them all Zidler who was played by Jim Broadbent. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman are seen as actors and actresses, but when Christian bursts into song and sings "The Hills Are alive With The Sound Of Music" the other characters' mouths drop open, this reaction would also be the reaction from the audience because they are finding that he has entered a musical film and not his normal genre film. As the curtains open, there is the non diagetic sound of an applause in the background; signifying as the curtains open at the theatre, that it is the turn of the century. A conductor stands and conducts the commonly music heard at the beginning of Hollywood films that have been made.

The significance of the conductor being stood there shows that the film has strong well played music and is as the band would play inside the Moulin Rouge. The music played which is "The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music"; this indicates the genre of the film that of course is a musical. The curtains close and re open to introduce the '20th Century Fox' which has huge searchlights to signify the importance of the logo presented through the Red Curtain fashion production. Compared to the little spotlights upon the stage they are very insignificant towards the huge spotlights which show how important the logo is. The title "Moulin Rouge!" pops onto the screen, which is as if it has been stated as the title. Diagetic sounds are used throughout the film such as clapping, this is important because it represents the appreciation expected when the movie is released.

At the end of the title there is an exclamation mark, which is dotted with a windmill, it is made known as a shocking, exciting bold statement which is what a title should imply. The Moulin Rouge film is a very loud film which stands out amongst the few, just like the title has done with the big bold exclamation mark. The windmill represents the Moulin Rouge because in French, Moulin Rouge is translated into English says Red Windmill. The Moulin Rouge title is set in Sepia tones of colour that are introduced to the scene; the conductor who is Baz Luhrmann himself is still conducting as the Cancan song comes on.

Behind the credits are silhouettes of dancers dancing the Cancan, then as the title fades, credits come up making us aware that the production is a Baz Luhrmann production. The scene opens in black and white with Toulouse Lautrec on the left hand side singing about Christian. Toulouse sings a verse of this song "The greatest thing you " ll ever learn, is just to love, and be loved in return". The significance of Toulouse Lautrec being in black and white is that it represents what old films on scene used to look like before colour was introduced onto the scene.

Before we even know the story line, we are shown the ending. As Toulouse is singing, we se images of Christian that are wiped off the screen. The type of colour tones are called Sepia tones which are implying that the film was set quite some time ago and the colours in the background are yellows and browns. The camera shoots down past Toulouse Lautrec in a tilted sort of manner and sets the scene with a black picture of Christian, he does not immediately come into colour, we get the impression he is depressed and upset. The colour starts to set in Christian's face is lit up on his right side with a blue light which emphasis the fact that he is not happy and is very upset. The blue light indicates depression and sadness.

Baz Luhrmann has created this effect to show the audience how distraught and upset Christian is. There are editing techniques then used to show us the ways of how Christian is living. Blue lights highlight the typewriter; this is significant because the whole story is told through the typewriter. Empty bottles of beer are highlighted blue, which indicates Christian has been drinking alcohol.

Alcohol drowns the sorrows and so that is why Christian is drinking it. The blue light signifies the mood that Christian is in, he is depressed because the one person he has fallen in love with for the very first time, he has lost and that person has died. Mise-en-scene is French for what you see on the scene, for instance it was the character Christian on the right hand side as we come through the window with the camera, then on the left hand side there were blue-lit bottles and screwed up paper, then the typewriter which the whole story evolves around. The movement of the actors in the film also illustrates the atmosphere. The characters on the dance floor move in a very fast, somewhat aggressive fashion. This recreates the effects that would have been achieved by the dancers in the Moulin Rouge at that time.

The dancers were very fast moving, creating a dizzy sense. Baz Luhrmann does this to create confusion in the audiences' minds. The actions of the Bohemian Revolutionaries in the premier scenes of the film are also very vigorous and almost larger than life, which was most likely the manner of such people in Paris and in other bastions of culture in Europe at that time. The actions taken by the Bohemian Revolutionaries was like a free will to do anything way of life. Their own rules, but not breaking any others. Along with the actors' movements, the costumes and sets are also aspects of the film's making that add depth to Luhrmann's outcrop of the atmosphere of the Moulin Rouge at the height of its appreciation.

There is a distinct contrast between the costumes of the dancers and the clubs' patrons. The dancers with their elaborate dresses and multi-coloured petticoats show the loud and intense atmosphere and nature of the Moulin Rouge. The colour red is also very common among these characters, which signifies the courtesan colour and nature of dancing and the way that they act. The way the dancers act is in a playful manner but not a pleasant manner for women to attend the Moulin Rouge. The women would lift up their skirts or dresses to the men and show off their fancy knickers. The Moulin Rouge brings many emotions such as emotions like passion, anger and love; love being a support of fashion, anger being the dance routines, and passion being the love for the money.

The suits worn by the characters such as Satine being the one in love but trying desperately to maintain her job as a courtesan. Christian who wears the suit of the love and at the begging and end of the film he wears the suits of the depressed and distraught. Then Toulouse Lautrec who wears the suit or happiness and drowning sorrows away. Zidler wears the suits of leadership. All these suits represent the serious and restrained life in the large metropolises that many wished to escape by entering the Moulin Rouge. The lighting in Moulin Rouge plays its part and brings out the feelings from the characters.

At the beginning of the film as the camera spins through Montmartre and through Christian's window and greets his discontented face which is lit up by a blue light from one side, making the other half of his face look shadowy and ominous. This is showing the audience the mood of which Christian is in. During most of the scenes the lighting is very bright but for the bulk of the scenes, there is a feeling of depression found within them. The outside of the Moulin Rouge is dark atmosphere which signifies that being inside the Moulin Rouge which is full of vibrant colours and dazzling lighting, is better than being outside the Moulin Rouge. This represents the contrast between the reality world itself and the fantasy world of which the Moulin Rouge lies within.

There are other techniques in the mise-en-scene which are on film along with more advanced computer generated images such as the Green Fairy who was played by Kylie Minogue. These images were created in the minds of the characters because of the Absinthe of which they had been drinking. Absinthe has a very high alcohol percentage; it is an alcoholic drink, which stimulates the sexual desires, and gets you very under the influence. In one of the beginning scenes Toulouse Lautrec, who is played by John Leguizamo drinks a glass of Absinthe, and because the drink is so high in volume, he dribbles because the alcohol makes the mouth insensitive and strapping.

Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rogue provides a vivid image of the kind of impression that the original nightclub would have had on those who visited and beheld it at the Zenith of it popularity, at the turn or the 20th century. Luhrmann's use of the mise-en-scene is the pivotal point in this achievement, as well as the use of modern computer ed generated imagery, and including many of the ideas of the clientele most that view it. However the one un disputable factor regarding this film is that it conveys a sense of the atmosphere in the Moulin Rouge in its prime. Baz Luhrmann recreates the atmosphere through out the Moulin Rouge with a huge sense of imagination, skill on camera and computer generated scenes. The lighting and scenery creates a better view for the audience to see what is happening in the screen. The lighting and sounds are effective through out the audience of the Moulin Rouge production.

This creates the accurate atmosphere for the Moulin Rouge and the audience viewing it. 2,177 words.