Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 musical film directed by Baz Luhrmann, based largely on the Giuseppe Verdi opera La Traviata. It tells the story of a young British poet/writer, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine, played by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, respectively. It uses the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two: for art direction and costume design. It was shot at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia.

In 2006, Moulin Rouge! ranked twenty-fifth on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals.

Plot:

The year is 1900. Christian (Ewan McGregor), a British writer who came to Montmartre a year before, sits in a garret overlooking the closed-down Moulin Rouge. He has just begun typing on a new biographical work, detailing his love and loss of Satine (Nicole Kidman), a courtesan who has since passed away.

Production:

Kate Winslet, Charlize Theron, Renée Zellweger, Sharleen Spiteri, and Catherine Zeta-Jones were all contenders for the part of Satine. Courtney Love was almost cast in the role, but lost out to Kidman at the last minute because Luhrmann felt that Love would not fit into the movie. Heath Ledger, Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Russell Crowe were all considered for the part of Christian; Ewan McGregor was chosen for the role.

Production on the film began in November 1999 and was completed in May 2000, with a budget of just over $50 million. Filming generally went smoothly, with the only major problem occurring when Kidman injured her knee while filming one of the more complicated dance sequences. The production also overran in its shooting schedule and had to be out of the Fox Studios in Sydney to make way for Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones (in which McGregor also starred). This necessitated some pick-up shots being filmed in Madrid.

In the liner notes to the film's Special Edition DVD, Luhrmann writes that "[the] whole stylistic premise has been to decode what the Moulin Rouge was to the audiences of 1899 and express that same thrill and excitement in a way to which contemporary movie-goers can relate." With that in mind, the film takes well-known popular music, mostly drawn from the MTV Generation, and anachronizes it into a tale set in a turn-of-the-century Paris cabaret. The movie also features editing that several critics compared to a music video, involving swirling camera motion, loud music, dancing, and frenetic cutting. Some of the songs sampled include "Chamma Chamma" from the Hindi movie China Gate, Queen's "The Show Must Go On" (arranged in operatic format), David Bowie's rendition of Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy," "Lady Marmalade" by LaBelle (the Christina Aguilera/P!nk/Mýa/Lil’ Kim cover commissioned for the film), Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl," Elton John's "Your Song," the titular number of "The Sound of Music," "Roxanne" by The Police (in a tango format), and one of the few films to use "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. The film uses so much popular music that it took Luhrmann almost two years to secure all the rights to the songs.

Cast:

Nicole Kidman as Satine
Ewan McGregor as Christian
John Leguizamo as Toulouse-Lautrec
Jacek Koman as The Narcoleptic Argentinean
Kylie Minogue as the Green fairyMatthew Whittet as Satie
Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler
Richard Roxburgh as The Duke of Monroth
Kylie Minogue as The Green Fairy
Kerry Walker as Marie
Garry McDonald as The Doctor
Deobia Oparei as Le Chocolat
Natalie Mendoza as China Doll
David Wenham as Audrey
Caroline O'Connor as Nini Legs In The Air
Kiruna Stamell as La Petite Princess

Release and reception:

Originally set for release on December 25, 2000 as a high profile Oscar contender, 20th Century Fox eventually moved the release to the following spring so director Baz Luhrmann would have more time during post production. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 9, 2001—making it the festival's opening title. A limited release on May 18, 2001 in the United States followed, and the film was released to theaters across the United States on June 1, 2001.

The film was an instant success in limited release, grossing $185,095 in only two theaters on opening weekend. Representatives from the studio said that many audiences even burst into applause during the screenings. The numbers continued to increase over the Memorial Day weekend, with the film making $254,098. When it expanded into over 2500 theaters, it made $14.2 million in its first weekend of wide release. The film eventually grossed over $57 million in the United States. It had a brief re-release in October 2001 for Oscar consideration, with Luhrmann stating that his intent was to get Kidman and McGregor nominated.

The movie was even more successful internationally. It broke box office records in Australia where it was given a rare theatrical re-release at the end of 2001, and found a stable audience in almost every country. It eventually made over $120 million internationally, resulting in over $177 million worldwide.

The critical and financial success of the film renewed interest in the then-moribund musical genre, and subsequently films such as Chicago, The Producers, Rent, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, Across the Universe, The Phantom of the Opera, Enchanted, and Mamma Mia! were produced, fueling a renaissance of the genre.

The critics were somewhat mixed upon its release. Many praised Kidman's performance, though many others also criticized the overwhelming use of elaborate visuals.

Awards:

Academy Awards record
1. Best Costume Design
2. Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Golden Globe Awards record
1. Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
2. Best Actress - Musical or Comedy
(Nicole Kidman)
3. Best Original Score
BAFTA Awards record
1. Best Supporting Actor
(Jim Broadbent)
2. Best Film Music
(Craig Armstrong)
3. Best Sound
The film was selected by the National Board of Review as the best film of 2001 over many other contenders. After that, it picked up six Golden Globe nominations including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (for Nicole Kidman), Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (for Ewan McGregor), Best Original Score (for Craig Armstrong), Best Director (for Baz Luhrmann) and Best Song ("Come What May"). It won three including the coveted Best Picture trophy. A few weeks later, it received 13 nominations at the BAFTA Awards, making it the most nominated film of the year for that ceremony. It took home three, including Best Supporting Actor for Jim Broadbent.

When Oscar nominations were announced, the film received eight nominations including Best Actress in a Leading Role (Nicole Kidman) and Best Picture. The film was not nominated for Best Director (Baz Luhrmann); commenting on this during the Oscar ceremony, host Whoopi Goldberg remarked, "I guess Moulin Rouge! just directed itself." It took home two Oscars when the winners were announced for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction; subsequently many proprietors of the film claimed that it had been unjustly snubbed at the Academy Awards.

It should be noted that "Come What May" (the only original song in the film) was disqualified from nomination for an Oscar because it was originally written (but unused) for Luhrmann's previous film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and not written expressly for Moulin Rouge!

Awards:

Award wins:

Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Nicole Kidman)
Academy Award for Art Direction-Set Decoration (Catherine Martin & Brigitte Broch)
Academy Award for Costume Design (Catherine Martin & Angus Strathie)
Golden Globe Award Best Original Score - Motion Picture (Craig Armstrong)
Producers Guild of America's Award for Best Picture
National Board of Review's Award for Best Picture
Award nominations:

Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Actress (Nicole Kidman)
Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Donald McAlpine)
Academy Award for Film Editing (Jill Bilcock)
Academy Award for Makeup (Maurizio Silvi & Aldo Signoretti)
Academy Award for Sound (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Roger Savage, Guntis Sics)
Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture (Baz Luhrmann)
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Ewan McGregor)
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song - Motion Picture (David Baerwald - song "Come What May")
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media