Moulin Rouge Analysis

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Baz Luhrmann is rambunctious in terms of knowing how to get the audience to participate in a work that he is adapting. He achieves this through the use of his unique style of cinematic language. He does this through fastidious observation of Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby and Romeo and Juliet – each are different from each other in terms of which cinematic technique is highlighted.

The 20th Century Fox logo is presented as the red curtains are drawn aside in the film Moulin Rouge. A tiny man stands on the bottom of the screen, conducting an unseen orchestra that booms out the Fox theme song which then segues into the title of the film whilst the tiny figure goes berserk. This unique twist on the 20th Century Fox introduction as well as the …show more content…

A suitable example of this would be Christian’s first visit to the Moulin Rouge. The scene encapsulates the rich colour and overdone costumes that Luhrmann uses to enthral the audience. The cancan number conveys the exhilaration of Christian’s experience in the Moulin Rouge with a flurry of legs, painted faces and extraordinary costumes. Satine’s entrance is one which sparks curiosity and awe as she is dressed in diamonds and mysteriously lowered on a swing into the crowd below her. The screen then dives into a spinning shot. Two hundred men stand shaking their hands in a semi-circle below her. The men are wearing identical penguin suits and top hats which causes a visual hyperbole of a night at the Moulin Rouge. This shot bombards the senses in a way that catches the audience’s attention by moving quickly from shot to shot causing a jarring sensation, this simultaneously aids Luhrmann’s technique of audience participation. Luhrmann 's way of accessing the viewer’s imagination is through his use of modern day pop culture in olden day time-frames as well as overwhelming cinematography. The first scene captures the Moulin Rouge lifestyle which shows this technique in action. Song selections such as ‘’Here we are now, entertain us’’ as well as ‘’Sound of music’’ are popular songs that are sung by the dancers. Luhrmann aims to include the audience in singing the lyrics. The use of rapid zoom-ins and cutting, dazzles the audience and forces viewers to concentrate. Another Baz Luhrmann film that encapsulates these two techniques is The Great

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