Moulin Rouge: Critic Reviews

Dazzling musical romance for teens.

Vibrant, luxurious, full of razzle-dazzle fantasy and a delicious visual feast, yes, but watching it is rather like devouring a box of expensive chocolates in one go.

Moulin Rouge! is a movie that works hard to earn that exclamation point after it.

Baz Luhrmann's absinthe-dripped extravagance becomes contagious. Operating with the precision and crazy adornments of a cuckoo clock, what could've been a migraine becomes a film so visceral and enchanting that even the man in the moon sings out.

Electric Cannes opener.

Everything in it is appropriated from somewhere else.

One of the year's best films: This tragi-comic musical is Luhrmann's most audaciously innovative feature, one that creates its own hightened world, aggressively defying historical authenticity and the established conventions of Hollywood musicals.

A sense of timelessness and irony-free romance make this a winner.

'Gorgeously decadent, massively contrived, and gloriously superficial.'

Giving this film more gravity would have sunk it like the Titanic; like a pop song, it floats on hot air. It's risky, gutsy, and (how rare) entertaining.

Baz Luhrmann has created the most innovative movie musical since, well, his last one -- William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.

...a train wreck of a film.

If one is able to give oneself over to the heady mix of improbable fantasy that Luhrman paints with his broad brush, MOULIN ROUGE can be something akin to ecstasy.

Nicole Kidman is absolutely stunning in this film . . . MacGregor is equally charismatic and heartbreaking . . . has the rare ability to stir every emotion in the human soul

This spectacular production cannot fail to impress - especially if you believe in Freedom, Beauty, Truth, and (above all) Love.

A luscious, inspired flight of fancy that will delight fans of Luhrmann and deconstructionist cinema, but may quickly tire conventional audiences.

Gurgling through all of Luhrmann's intricate pipery is real, unabashed emotion-this movie not only loves its audience, it loves entertaining them with a movie about love.

This movie takes musicals to a level never before experienced, and which may never be equaled in its exaggerated style.

The Best Film of 2001!

A kaleidoscope of color and choreography -- a glittering pop opera... rich in detail and imagination.

The breakneck edits, freakish costumes, eccentric sets and matte effects come across like Fellini orchestrating a rave party.

Luhrmann rabidly Hoovers up a century or so worth of pop culture detritus and then projectile vomits it all over the screen with a vengeance.

If I wanted to make a musical today, I would want it to be like this movie.

The music is fun, familiar, and most importantly not forced. When characters break into song it doesn't seem quite as akward as it does in the standard musical.

That's what this two-hour workout for the senses is all about: exploring, embracing and exploding all the cliches of the musical comedy genre. ... walks a tightrope between gaudy camp and full-bodied romance.