Product Details

• Actors: Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Leonardo DiCaprio
• Directors: Baz Luhrmann
• Writers: Baz Luhrmann, Andrew Bovell, Craig Pearce, William Shakespeare
• Producers: Baz Luhrmann, Antoinette Albert, Catherine Knapman
• Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: September 10, 2002
• Run Time: 342 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000682UD
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,681 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy (Strictly Ballroom / Romeo + Juliet / Moulin Rouge)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Baz Luhrmann has coined the term red curtain cinema for his technique of using theatrical conventions to invigorate films to dazzling and dizzying heights, as shown in the three contained in this set: Strictly Ballroom (1993), William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (1996), and Moulin Rouge (2001). Luhrmann notes the important characteristics of this style: take a well-known myth or fable and set it in a heightened creative world that the audience can participate in. In Strictly Ballroom, it's both David and Goliath and the Ugly Duckling set in the supercharged world of ballroom-dancing competition. For Romeo & Juliet, it's the star-crossed lovers transplanted to modern-day Verona Beach yet still peppered with Shakespeare's iambic pentameter. Moulin Rouge takes the story of Orpheus descending into the underworld in search of love then sets it in 19th-century Paris and adds modern pop songs.

The Red Curtain Trilogy includes these three films in loaded special-edition DVDs (all available separately), with featurettes and commentary tracks by Luhrmann and production designer (and Luhrmann's wife) Catherine Martin among others, and, in the case of Moulin Rouge, a second disc of features. Fans may opt for this trilogy rather than the separate discs because of its exclusive bonus DVD, "Behind the Red Curtain," the centerpiece of which is the documentary "Red Curtain Cinema," in which Luhrmann explains his theory behind this system of storytelling. It's 20 minutes if you watch it straight through, but numerous onscreen links offer two hours of older interviews, clips from other Luhrmann works, scripts, and an example of the Bollywood style. Other items include a 6-minute tour of the "House of Iona" (the home of the Bazmark creative team), and a grab bag of other materials such as all three scripts, DVD-ROM features, and an early example of the "red curtain" style, a pop interpretation of a Benjamin Britten opera excerpt called "Now Until the Light of Day." No doubt Luhrmann fans will consider the Red Curtain Trilogy "spectacular spectacular." --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Contains: *Moulin Rouge *Moulin Rouge Bonus Disc *Romeo and Juliet Special Edition *Stricly Ballroom *Behind the Red Curtain

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The "Curtain" rises, July 30, 2004

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The colorful, whirling world of Baz Luhrmann is brought to life in the Red Curtain Trilogy, comprising "Strictly Ballroom," "Romeo + Juliet," and "Moulin Rouge." While there are sticky patches -- particularly the pairing of Danes and DiCaprio in "Romeo + Juliet" --the overall effect is beautiful and poignant.

"Strictly Ballroom" is the problem in Scott's (Paul Mercurio) life. He's an outstanding dancer, but he refuses to conform to the Australian ballroom rules -- he wants to dance his own steps. When he loses his partner, awkward Fran (Tara Morice) enters the scene and asks to dance with him. These two outcasts of the ballroom start to fall in love as they try to win a major competition.

"Romeo + Juliet" gives a modern Californian twist to the classic tale of feuding families and starcrossed young lovers. Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet (Claire Danes) come from a pair of families locked in a deadly feud, but they fall in love anyway. Their desperate efforts to be together lead to tragedy...

"Moulin Rouge" gives us another kind of bittersweet love story -- a musical rather than a revamped classic. Bohemian poet Christian (Ewan McGregor) dips into the sensuous, flashy world of Moulin Rouge. There he falls in love with the beautiful, sickly Satine (Nicole Kidman), a star at the club, and a well-known courtesan. Unfortunately, their growing love is threatened by a duke, who wants Satine all for himself.

As a boy, Baz Luhrmann grew up around ballroom competitions, which give the heart to these movies. But the soul is in the presentation. It's theatrical, colorful, dazzling to the eyes and centered on classic tales of doomed love and succeeding against the odds.

Luhrmann's sense of the theatrical is included in his direction -- it can be very sharp and fast, and sometimes downright crazy. With another director, it might seem flashy and gaudy, but Luhrmann's unique style works. A particular risk is making a musical, something which spelled death for movies for a long time... until Luhrmann revived it with Moulin Rouge. Or the postmodern tale of Romeo and Juliet, which is imperfect, but still quite pleasant.

The acting tends to be excellent, although the acting in "Romeo + Juliet" is spotty, and DiCaprio and Danes have zero chemistry. But McGregor and Kidman in particular are outstanding, and Tara Morice and Paul Mercurio of "Strictly Ballroom" have electricity and sweetness to spare. The supporting actors are quite good as well.

And the three-DVD set is graced with plenty of extras -- documentaries, commentary on each film, behind-the-scenes peeks, featurettes, and some gorgeous music videos. And there's even an extra disc included with a "Red Curtain" documentary about Luhrmann's style, scripts, screensavers, more music videos, and more.

Baz Luhrmann reinvented the musical and gave his movies a lush, strange look that entices viewers even now. Sensuous, fun and funky, this is a trilogy to definitely check out.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What A Delightful Masterpiece to Own!, February 11, 2004

By	Susan Shams (West Des Moines, IA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an awesome DVD set. It has two of my favorite movies, Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom.

Moulin Rouge
I had no desire to watch this movie as I do not enjoy musicals. I usually get embarrassed for the characters who break into song, but with this movie I was amazed. The acting of Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor (what a hottie!) was superb. I was amazed a what good voices they had. I was mesmerized from the very beginning. The songs are just beautiful.
Listening to Ewan McGregor's woefull voice tell the tale of his beloved Satine was heartbreaking. I was sucked into the vortex of Moulin Rouge. I cannot understand how anyone who watched this movie did not fall in love with it and the characters. Granted the main character is a courtesan, but who cares? She falls in love with the penniless writer and true love prevails, she understands what 'true love'is. From the very beginning we know that their love was doomed, but we still rooted for them, for love is 'like oxygen' and we wanted them to be happy.

All in all, this was an amazing movie. I would suggest that you watch it before believing the hype. Amazing movie, I loved it!!

Strictly Ballroom
I must admit, it took me approximately 20 minutes to actually get into this movie. I so wanted to shut if off, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and decided to give it more time. I am extremely happy that I did.

While this is not a 'masterpiece' as 'Moulin Rouge', it is definately VERY good. The acting was stupendous. The actors made me feel that the story was very real. In a very 'slight' way, I was reminicant of 'Dirty Dancing'.

Scott is this Awesome ballroom dancer who does not adhere to 'Strictly Ballroom' rules. He loses a major competition due to his unorthodox dance moves. His overly dramatic dance partner dumps him right before another major competition, and poor Scott is left partnerless. In appears an extremely 'ugly duckling' who wants to dance with him. What happens next is ..... well, I guess you should watch it to know the rest.

Overall this was a delightfully lighthearted movie with some poignant scenes that will leave you teary eyed. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Romeo & Juliet
This was a very good movie. Most everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet and this is a good adaption with a funky twist. This was not one of my favorite movies in the set, but as stories go, this was very unique.

Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio were outstanding as the star crossed lovers in this newly updated tale of love and woe. They are both fairly young and that makes the story all the more heartbreaking. If you are looking for an old classic with an unusual twist, then this movie is for you.

All in all, this 4 DVD set is Awesome. There is a 4th DVD with special inside information and unique interviews. If you like these movies than this is a must buy. I recommend it greatly.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute MUST for Baz fans!, September 17, 2002

By A Customer

Anyone who loves Baz Luhrmann will adore this box set. I was hesitant to buy it at first, wondering if it was worth the money. It is!! All three movies are absolutely wonderful, and the extra disk is a great view into the world of Mr. Luhrmann. It's a fan's dream come true.