My mouth was agape!

Rating: Null/10 (2 June 2001)

This is an absolute delight for music lovers and those who like their cinema more than a little adventurous. From The Sound of Music to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, from Nirvana to Elton John, Baz Luhrmann doffs his cap to popular icons and delivers one himself.
Kidman CAN act. The two main roles are so left of centre they almost fall off the screen. And Macgregor? From Jedi Knight to belting out show tunes, this man has versatility in spades.
From the swooping opening shots through a bleak collage like France to the iridescent colour of the stage sets, this is a delight to the eye and the set pieces are something to behold.
This film left images in my mind that will take a long time to shake. I have no comprehension how Luhrmann could have an idea like this and then somehow transfer the idea to film. There are some influences evident to even my untrained eye, the use of colour seems like George Millers `Pig In The City', bold and deep; some of the dance scenes had my mind back at `Strictly Ballroom.' But despite this, Moulin Rouge is truly original and deserves to be seen by the throngs in the U.S. and should be an unmitigated success.
Congratulations to Fox for taking what must have been a sizeable risk, and more power to Australian moviemakers.