Moulin Rouge

Synopsis: The year is 1899, and Christian, a young English writer, has come to Paris to follow the Bohemian revolution taking hold of the city's drug and prostitute infested underworld. And nowhere is the thrill of the underworld more alive than at the Moulin Rouge, a night club where the rich and poor men alike come to be entertained by the dancers, but things take a wicked turn for Christian as he starts a deadly love affair with the star courtesan of the club, Satine. But her affections are also coveted by the club's patron: the Duke. A dangerous love triangle ensues as Satine and Christian attempt to fight all odds to stay together but a force that not even love can conquer is taking its toll on Satine...
Director(s): Baz Luhrmann
Production: 20th Century Fox
  Won 2 Oscars. Another 84 wins & 129 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.6
Metacritic:
66
Rotten Tomatoes:
76%
PG-13
Year:
2001
127 min
$55,093,223
Website
9,838 Views


[SINGING]

There was a boy

A very strange enchanted boy

They say he wandered very far

Very far

Over land and sea

MAN:

Don't be fooled! Evil!

TOULOUSE:

A little shy

Turn away from this village of sin!

TOULOUSE:

And sad of eye

But very wise

Was he

And then one day

A magic day

He passed my way

And while we spoke of many things

Fools and kings

This he said to me

The greatest thing

You'll ever learn

Is just to love

And be loved

In return

CHRISTIAN:

The Moulin Rouge.

A nightclub...

...a dance hall and a bordello...

...ruled over by Harold Zidler.

A kingdom of nighttime pleasures...

...where the rich and powerful

played with...

...the young and beautiful creatures

of the underworld.

The most beautiful of all these...

...was the woman who I loved.

Satine.

A courtesan, she sold her love to men.

They called her

"The Sparkling Diamond."

And she was the star...

...of the Moulin Rouge.

The woman I loved...

...is...

...dead.

I first came to Paris...

...one year ago.

lt was 1 899, the Summer of Love.

I knew nothing of the Moulin Rouge,

Harold Zidler or Satine.

The world had been swept up in

a Bohemian revolution, and l had...

...travelled from London to be a part of it.

On the hill near Paris

was the village of Montmartre.

It was not,

as my father said--

A village of sin.

--but the center of

the Bohemian world.

Musicians, painters, writers.

They were known as

the Children of the Revolution.

Yes. I had come to live a penniless

existence. I had come to...

...write about truth, beauty,

freedom...

...and that which l believed in

above all things: love.

Always this ridiculous obsession

with love!

There was only one problem.

I'd never been in love.

Luckily, right at that moment, an unconscious

Argentinean fell through my roof.

[YELLS]

He was joined by a dwarf

dressed as a nun.

How do you do?

My name is Henri Marie Raymond

Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa.

I'm terribly sorry. We were upstairs

rehearsing a play.

A play. Something very modern called

Spectacular Spectacular.

It's set in Switzerland.

Unfortunately, he unconscious Argentinean

suffered from narcolepsy.

TOULOUSE:
Perfectly fine

one moment, then suddenly:

[IMITATES SNORING]

...unconscious the next. Ha, ha.

AUDREY:
How is he?

Wonderful. The narcoleptic Argentinean

is unconscious.

Therefore the scenario will not be finished

to present to the financier tomorrow.

I still have to finish the music.

We just find someone to read the part.

Where in heaven's name are we going

to find someone to read the role...

...of the young, sensitive

Swiss poet goatherder?

Before I knew it, I was upstairs, standing in

for the unconscious Argentinean.

TOULOUSE [SINGING]:

The hills animate

With the euphonious symphonies

Of descant

Oh, stop!

Stop that insufferable droning!

It's drowning out my words!

Can we just stick

to a little decorative piano?

There seemed to be artistic differences

over Audrey's lyrics to Satie's song.

Don't think a nun would say that

about a hill.

What if he sings, "The hills are vital

intoning the descant"?

"The hills quake and shake--"

No, no, no. "The hills--"

"The hills are incarnate

with symphonic melodies"!

No.

"The hills--" "The hills--"

"The hills--"

"The hills--"

[CHATTERING]

[SINGING]

The hills

Are alive

With the sound of

Music

"The hills are alive with

the sound of music." I love it!

The hills are alive....

With the sound....

[SINGING]

Of music.

It fits perfectly!

With songs they have sung

For a thousand years

[GASPING]

Incandiferous!

Audrey, you should write the show together.

I beg your pardon?

But Toulouse's suggestion that

Audrey and I write together...

...was not what Audrey wanted to hear.

Goodbye!

Here's to your first job in Paris.

Toulouse, Zidler will never agree.

No offense, but have you ever

written anything like this before?

No.

Ah! The boy has talent!

I like him.

Nothing funny. I just like talent.

"The hills are alive

with the sound of music."

With Christian, we can write...

...the truly Bohemian revolutionary show

we always dreamt of.

How will we convince Zidler?

Toulouse had a plan.

Satine.

They would dress me

in the Argentinian's best suit...

...and pass me off

as a famous English writer.

Once Satine heard my poetry, she'd be

astounded and insist to Zidler that...

...I write Spectacular Spectacular.

The only problem was

I kept hearing my father's voice:

You'll end up wasting your life at

the Moulin Rouge with a cancan dancer!

I can't write the show for the Moulin Rouge!

Why not?

I don't even know if I am

a true Bohemian revolutionary.

Do you believe in beauty?

Yes.

Freedom?

Yes, of course.

Truth?

Yes.

Love?

Love? Love?

Above all things,

I believe in love.

Love is like oxygen.

Love is a many-splendored thing.

Love lifts us up where we belong.

All you need is love!

See, you can't fool us. You're the voice of

the Children of the Revolution.

We can't be fooled!

Let's drink to the new writer of the world's

first Bohemian revolutionary show!

It was the perfect plan.

I was to audition for Satine

and I would taste my first glass of absinthe.

VOICE [SINGING]:

There was a boy

I am the green fairy.

[SINGING]

The hills are alive

With the sound of music

[LAUGHING]

Freedom, beauty

Truth and love

The hills are alive

With the sound of music

CHRISTIAN:

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Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann is an Australian writer, director and producer with projects spanning film, television, opera, theater, music and recording industries. As a storyteller, he 's known as a pioneer of pop culture, fusing high and low culture with a unique sonic and cinematic language. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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