Analysis of Movie Moulin Rouge Essay -- Film Cinema Baz Luhrmann Paper

Analysis of Movie Moulin Rouge In this essay I will be analyzing in depth four scenes from Baz Luhrmann's critically acclaimed Moulin Rouge that was released in 2000. I will be analyzing the opening sequence, the sequence in the Moulin Rouge itself, the two dancing sequences 'Like a Virgin' and 'Tango Roxanne' and the final scenes of the film. Throughout this essay I will be commenting on the filming techniques that Luhrmann uses and what affects these have on the audience, also I will be analyzing how the film is similar and different to typical Hollywood Musicals. There are many elements of film musicals, which are present in typical Hollywood, and Broadway musicals. For example the synchronized dancing can be seen in many musicals such as 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' and 'Cabaret'. The musical films are a development from the dance halls and silent movies and became very popular in the 1930's. This popularity remained until the television boom in the 70's and 80's, and also due to the fact that more realistic films were being released and people saw the films as unrealistic and fantastical. Busby Berkley was a film director and choreographer who built a reputation as dance director of numerous Broadway shows and early musical films before directing the Warner Brothers' backstage saga Forty-Second Street (1933). Berkley perfected the still new technique of synchronizing the filmed image to a pre-recorded soundtrack. As a result, microphones were not needed during musical sequences, making fluid camera motion and intricate editing possible. Berkley set cameras on custom built booms and overhead views of geometrically arran... ... of the dancing scenes the dancers are synchronized; also the men in the Moulin Rouge wear the same. The fact that the 'baddy' of the film is portrayed as being English is similar. The Moulin Rouge is all about putting on a show which is what musicals are all about, especially Broadway musical. There is a huge element of romance throughout the film. The film on the other hand is different to typical musicals as there isn't a happy ending. Typical musicals end with, for example, the two main characters getting married or driving off into the sunset, however Moulin Rouge ends with the death of the main female character and love interest, Satine. The sepia is different to typical musicals. The prostitutes in the Moulin Rouge itself wear different clothing, which isn't seen in musicals, which adds to the films diversity.