Customer Reviews

Moulin Rouge

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Many of those who have seen the film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman (2001) may not know about this film which appeared about 50 years earlier. Based on Pierre LaMure's biographical novel and directed by John Huston, this Moulin Rouge focuses entirely on the life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Two years previously, Jose Ferrer received an Academy Award for leading actor in Cyrano de Bergerac. He was nominated again in 1952 for his portrayal of Toulouse Lautrec (he also plays the painter's father, Comte Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec, a small but significant role in this film), losing to Gary Cooper (High Noon).

How interesting that each of Ferrer's two greatest performances on-screen is of a French aristocrat with a significant physical deformity who encounters only failure and despair in his love life. In any event, Ferrer is brilliant in a cast of consistently high quality. As chanteuse Jane Avril, Zsa Zsa Gabor essentially plays herself: beautiful, vain, melodramatic, self-absorbed, good-hearted, and charming. Also noteworthy are Colette Marshand (as Marie Charlet), Suzanne Flon (Myrianne Haven), Katherine Kath (La Goulue), and Christopher Lee (Georges Seurat). Although nominated for several Academy Awards, this film received only two (for Color Art Direction and Color Costume Design), both richly deserved. Huston skillfully directs an excellent cast while blending seamlessly Oswald Morris' cinematography with George Auric's musical score.

Born in 1864, Toulouse-Lautrec spent his childhood years on family estates near Albi, with Paris becoming his home in 1872. The victim of a genetic bone condition that made him vulnerable to fractures, he walked with a cane by age thirteen and grew to be only four feet eleven inches tall. One example of Huston's genius is the fact that much of the film is shot from Toulouse-Lautrec's perspective. That is, we see the aristocrat-artist's world almost literally through his eyes as he sits and sketches in the music hall, then drags himself to his stunted feet and slowly, painfully resumes his late-night debauchery.

In frail health throughout his adult years, Toulouse-Lautrec exacerbated his situation with alcoholism which no doubt hastened his death in 1901. Lying in bed and near death, he learns from his astonished father that his paintings will be on exhibition at the Louvre. ("The Louvre, Henri, the Louvre! I did not know, Henri, I did not understand....") This final scene reminds me of the final scene in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), starring Robert Donat. Both Toulouse-Lautrec and Charles Chipping are near death, barely conscious. Both imagine being visited by those they once knew, bidding them a fond farewell. For Toulouse-Lautrec, the performers from the Moulin Rouge; for Chipping, many of the boys he taught over a period of several decades at Brookfield School.

This film is a feast for the eyes. At least for about two hours, it enables us to return to Paris near the end of the 19th century, to a world which remains vivid in the great art of Seaurat, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Manet, Bonnard....and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

This is one of the most interesting biographies I've ever seen on film.
Until I acquired the DVD, I never fully realized how beautiful this film looked, either. I was stunned to see how spectacular the colors were and how much it helped capture the flavor of the dance hall and the cobblestone streets of France 100 years ago.....and, of course, Tolouse-Lautrec's great artwork. This movie is a feast for the eyes.

The DVD also offers an opportunity to do something I suggest other fans of this movie try: use the English subtitles. This way, you don't have to strain to understand the French accents, notably Colette Marchand's, and it makes this intriguing story even better.

Story-wise, it's a bit of a soap opera but one I still found fascinating, thanks mainly to Lautrec's dialog. He had some really interesting things to say, mostly in a cynical way. That cynicism, unfortunately, caught up with him in the end. Jose Ferrer captured this tortured soul about as well as any actor could expect to do. I'm sorry he didn't win an Academy Award for this performance.

Viewers who only saw the more recent "Moulin Rouge!" missed the real story. That movie was a farce; this is the real thing.

When you compare this film with the current remake you must wonder why the remake. It will be a real loss to the community of those who collect great films if this is not made available on DVD. What must one do to encourage the DVD effort?

The 1952 version of Moulin Rouge is truly a masterpiece. It captures the struggles and the life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec beautifully. I found the movie profoundly touching as it displayed the pain felt by Henri as he searched for love and friendship, but could not find any that did not prey on his money. It also showed how he made his famous lithographs and paintings. I encourage everyone to see this movie... and to view the art of Toulouse-Lautrec as well!!!

I don't want to offend anyone, but the reason this wonderful film arrives in full screen on dvd, is because it was shot that way. The very first widescreen movie was "The Robe", 1953. So any film which you buy on DVD before 1953 will be a 4:3 aspect ratio. We as movie going fanatics back then didn't know any better. "The Robe" was produced in widescreen as a way of drawing people back into movie houses, since theater goers were staying home to watch old movies on 4:3 televisons.

So, if you're upset about the aspect ratio of this DVD, feel better about it. There never was a widescreen version of this movie. Enjoy it for lush sets and wonderful performances, all directed by a man who knew exactly how to use every single inch of a 4:3 screen, John Huston. He made some of the greatest movies ever produced in that aspect ratio, and this is one of them.

I just returned from the Lautrec exhibit at the Art Institue of Chicago. I was able to purchase the DVD of the "original" Moulin Rouge with Jose Ferrer.

After having seen the original drawings the movie only served to bring home what a truly gifted artist Lautrec was.

It is a wonderful film, glorious in color, dancing and spectacle.

Don't short change yourself by watching Nicole Kidman. Opt for this original film.

The characters and plot of Huston's 1952 ground-breaker can't be confused with Nicole Kidman's 2001 contrived schlock, nor will this revived classic be to everyone's taste. It's strictly an art-house product, though it earned big bucks in '52 and much critical acclaim. Like many Huston works, it refuses to become dated. Still, in hindsight, Ferrer's Toulouse-Lautrec is a brilliant but oddly remote portrayal (an odd mix that characterized Ferrer). The real Lautrec was an artistic outlaw of his day, a complex, talented, intractable rebel whose work was often considered pornographic (if only those critics could see Nicole's movies!) but who helped change 19th century sensibilities and even invented new printing processes. I think Ferrer plays him a little hard, but many might disagree. The editing seems rushed and choppy (having been finished mere hours before the film's debut); Suzanne Flon's playing of Myriamme flatly steals female honors from Colette Marchand, who wildly overplays Marie Charlet. Zsa Zsa Gabor's singing is flagrantly dubbed -- but "Bubbles, Bangles" is still a hauntingly lovely tune. Flaws aside, this movie has many seriously brilliant moments. Contrary to most Hollywood bio's of the era, Huston's Lautrec is unsanitized and unglamorous. The color is simply terrific, with many shots worthy of a gallery showing. Huston flaunted Technicolor's usual rules, creating images the way artists use paint, though the result often looks more like Matisse than Lautrec. I noted a bit of flicker in some sequences, visible on 3 DVD players. But few films approach the immersive color of many M.R. images, originally processed in British Technicolor. Some disappointments: with so much fascinating history behind the film's crew and the story's real-life characters, the only extra is a poorly rendered trailer. Some segments of audio are distorted. And the script wasn't all that great (though it easily trounces the 2001 insult). Not Huston's best film, but a landmark that seldom fails to fascinate and which is essential to every film buff's collection.

How nice it feels to be 100% satisfied with a MGM release! (I'm still close to tears when I think of the horrible treatment they gave Garland's "I Could Go on Singing" recently!) This is certainly one of the best three strip Technicolor transfers available on DVD. The image quality is absolutely gorgeous from start to finish! I find it hard to believe that this haunting work of art looked any better when it was initially shown in first class cinemas way back in 1952. I've seen Mr. Huston's film maybe 50 times over the years, but never in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine that it was possible to restore it into something as beautiful as this DVD. A loud BRAVO to MGM!

To me, some of the greatest movies are about artists, because the intensity inherent in the artist is also inherent in his art, minimalism notwithstanding. And, of course, cinema is an art. "Lust for Life," "The Red Shoes," "Moulin Rouge" - each is a statement by great visual directors depicting visual art.

"Moulin Rouge" is the story of the great artist-caricaturist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Its excellence is due to the handiwork of John Huston and José Ferrer - Huston for his unflinching view of the pathos of the Parisian demi-monde, and José Ferrer for his delicious and moving portrayal of the tormented, self-absorbed artist who loved everyone except himself, which means that he never knew real love.

This is Ferrer's greatest rôle, surpassing the Cyrano which won him his Best Actor Oscar. It is so typical of the Motion Picture Academy not to get it right.

According to IMDb, "Moulin Rouge" was shot in 1.37, not widescreen. Therefore you're not losing that much to view this in 1.33 (full screen) format.