Is Moulin Rouge! (2001) One of the *BEST* Musicals?! - First Time Watching - Movie Reaction/Review 

I think the Roxanne song/sequence is my favorite performance of any musical ever! Tied with the final duet. Glad you appreciate it too!

That scream/cry that Christian lets out at the end-- it just F*CKING. DESTROYS. ME. EVERY. TIME. I don't care how many times I've seen this movie, I WILL cry EVERY time I hear him. On a lighter note, fun fact in case nobody's mentioned it, but Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor really did sing their parts throughout the film. I love the music and the way everything is done, it's so beautiful. As you both said, the creativity in this movie is so good! 😊❤

Ewan mcgregors voice!!!! I almost fell out of my chair in the theatre because my knees gave out when he started singing “my gift is my song” Instant love😍😍😍

Fun Fact: The Green Fairy is pop sensation Kylie Minogue!

I remember when this came out, dragging my boyfriend to see it against his will, him grumbling the whole time. Fast forward 24 hrs, he'd gone out and bought the soundtrack, played it nonstop for weeks, it was his new favorite thing ever!

Ewan McGregor just stole my heart in this movie. His talent and charm and voice!

The Roxanne tango scene is one of the best pieces of cinema ever!!

Toulouse-Lautrec is a real person. He was an artist, with some of his work focusing on the underclasses and prostitues of Parisian society, and the Moulin Rouge and its dancers and patrons.

I dare you to find another movie where the chemistry is as off the charts as it is between this entire cast, but especially Nicole and Ewan. They’re just amazing together. I heard the cast had a blast filming, and that they all partied often lol, and you can see the payoff in every scene. Gorgeous and fun and an incredible performance from a stacked cast. Adore this movie ❤️☺️🎥✨I think you guys would also enjoy his Romeo + Juliet. Its sooo 90s and magical ✨ P.S. the soundtrack SLAPS 💃💃💃

I don’t like romance films. I don’t like comedies. I don’t like musicals. I don’t know why I love moulin rouge so much

I use the phrase “generally, I like it” so much and almost no one gets the reference 😅 and also “isn’t it funnay, this feeling insiiiide” 😂

When I recommend this movie to friends & colleagues, I always tell them to stick with it as the first 15 minutes can be jarring and you wonder wtf is going on but once you get past the first 15 mins- it turns into an absolute masterpiece. The acting, the film score, the orchestral interpretations of modern songs, the story, the choreography, the set designs, the costumes; everything is so perfectly done. The live stage version is currently playing in London's West End. Moulin Rouge Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 soundtracks are a must in your playlists ;P Hardly mentioned, so underrated.

Yes, Satine has "consumption" -- what they called tuberculosis at the time. HIGHLY contagious by the way -- so I think Christian, the Duke, Zidler, anyone she's breathed on may well die. She certainly wouldn't be able to sing much after a certain point. And as a courtesan (a kind of high-class sex worker), she probably has syphilis, which was untreatable at the time. So either way, she's doomed. Glad you liked the movie, though! Now go watch Chicago.

This movie checks exactly zero boxes of the things I like in movies, and yet for reasons I cannot explain, it is one of my all-time favorite films. I loved it instantly from the very first time I saw it.

Baz Luhrman is a genius. Another great work of his is Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet starring Leo DiCaprio. It sets the play in modern times, using the original dialogue... and yet makes it fit! Genius is not a strong enough word!

Absinthe was known as The Green Fairy. The Paris elephant existed.

I like it when the comic relief character is the villain. You’re always happy when they’re on screen.

If you want another crazy movie with Ewan McGregor, I recommend Down With Love (with Renee Zellweger) or A Life Less Ordinary (with Cameron Diaz when they were both super young)

The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return. I wish I wrote that lyric.

That Lady Marmalade song was huge when this came out. I mean it was already a big song from the 70's, But Pink, Maya, Christina, and Kim were big at the time.

If you like the styling of this another one to check out is Strictly Ballroom, an early offering from Baz Lurhmann. Not a musical but stylistically very recognisably Lurhmann. Don't be put off by the ballroom setting - you don't need to know anything about that world, it just serves as a backdrop for some incredible storytelling and cinematography.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE * THE WIZ * DREAMGIRLS * HAIRSPRAY (2007) * AUGUST RUSH * RAY * LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986) * CINDERELLA (1997) * ANNIE (1982) * SCHOOL DAZE (1988) * THE COUTRY BEARS * RENT * THE JACKSONS: AN AMERICAN DREAM (mini series)

The soundtracks (both!) for this movie were on heavy rotation for me when I was younger. Best tracks: Hindi Sad Diamonds; Bolero; One Day I’ll Fly Away (Tony Phillips Remix); Complainte de la Butte

Baz Luhrmann definitely has a style. For me it sometimes works. I’m team: “Strictly Ballroom”, “Romeo + Juliet”, “Elvis”. Moulin Rouge sits in the middle for me but 100% love that he has such an unmatched style.

Great reaction guys, Nicole Kidman elevates everything she is in IMHO. A very under rated film of hers I would love to see you react to is THE OTHERS released in 2001, I would describe it as a supernatural but very non gory non bloody horror film with a mind blowing ending that makes you want to re watch for clues of the ending. For Ewan ,I would suggest THE IMPOSSIBLE co starring Naomi Watts and a very young Tom Holland, its about the tsunami of 2004, its very very touching. Another musical you might like is Les Miserables starring Russel Crowe, Hugh Jackman, and Anne Hathaway....and Eddie Redmayne

I was 17 when this movie came out, and a theatre kid. We used to spontaneously break out into the entire Elephant Love Song Medley. Moulin images made it into yearbook ads. We were obsessed just like with Romeo + Juliet 5 years before. Listened to that CD obsessively. Moulin sold hugely because of the Lady Marmalade remake. It was really the first time that 4 major singers came together to do a super number. Remember John Leguizamo’s in Encanto too. If you do R&J, that’s him as Tybalt too. The overall plot is based off the opera La Traviata Fun context- This came out 2 years after Phantom Menace, and 1 before Attack of the Clones. Loved Ewan since 1996. Clone Wars’ Satine is named after this Satine Consumption was the old word for Tuberculosis. “Come What May” is one of the few songs that was not already known. It was initially intended for “Romeo + Juliet.” Another recommendation from the same era of Ewan’s career is “Down With Love.” Completely different character. Renee Zellweger. Fun movie.

Great reaction. I was a professional dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris from Dec 1986 to Jan 1988. The best year of my life.

On the topic of musicals I'd like to promote a couple of great ones: "Singing in the Rain" (1952) and "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" (2008).

My favorite director of all time as well!!! Watch more of his work!!! Strictly Ballroom, Romeo & Juliet(with DiCaprio), Elvis.

Baz Luhrmann is a director with a really wild, recognizable style.... Moulin Rouge - French for Red Windmill. An area of Paris that was notorious for prostitutes and crime in the early 1900's Every song in the movie is a re-worked version of well known pop songs from all different eras - Look them up. The Madonna 'Like a Virgin' is a crazy remake!!! Absinthe in its original version contained wormwood (a hallucinogen) and as 50-70% alcohol Love seeing two young, straight guys being engaged in this type of musical.....love your reactions.

The weird fun fact I remember about this film is that Nicole Kidman was giving an interview afterwards and said that she had her kids on the set because they were too young to not be with her every day. And so she would leave the set in those glittery corset costumes, walk to her trailer, and cook dinner for her kids in those outfits. I thought that was pretty cool! This was definitely one of the more phenomenal and creative movies I’ve ever seen. Everybody did a great job!

You guys need to react to "Cabaret" (a best musical) and "Harold and Maude".

You just saw this for the first time? I'm jealous. 😂 It's my favorite musical and eye feast of all time. Did you know that the entire creation process for this movie was the longest of all time? The director literally started writing the script for this when he was in middle school. Literally EVERY shot is perfect. I want to see it in the new 4 - 8K or whatever it is they're up to now.

I remember watching the Oscars the year this won, and seeing Whoopie Goldberg making her entrance on a swing, in costume just like in the film. I was so mesmerized and wanted to watch the movie so bad. But I was only 8, so I wasn’t allowed to watch it yet. When I turned 14 my parents bought me the dvd and both soundtracks for Christmas. My friends and I had all of it memorized within a week. It’s a still a nostalgic comfort film to me all these years later.

Perfect date night movie. Watch this with your ladies. You won't regret it. ✌️

Surprisingly the Duke played the vampire in Van Helsing. Ziddler played Professor Slughorn in Harry Potter. This movie's version of Roxanne is my jam. The ending always makes me cry.

I love that you guys are really invested in the story. This movie is beautiful in all aspects ❤

You’ll need to check out ‘The Others’ with Nicole Kidman. She does an excellent job in that film.

The best way to describve this is a Jukebox Musical. The current version of the show is running on broadway, pretty much all diff music.

I believe that necklace for a time was the most expensive piece of jewelry made for a film. I realize this movie is polarizing, and I get it, but I love it. Thanks for the reaction.

Greatest end-credit non-scene ever. Hope you guys caught it.

My favourite part is when the guy sings 'Roxanne' with all the dancers.

I absolutely love this film and it is quite the shocker. I am not a fan of musicals (only 4 musical movies total that I like) and I will rewatch this one at least once a year. I saw it as a kid when it came out so I always try to get people to watch this and forget about their dislike of musical. I'm not even a Kidman fan so it really surprised me that this is one of my favorite movies!

Great choice with brilliant actors also tryout Chicago ❤ and Strictly Ballroom ❤

If you love Ewan McGregor, he’s in “Little Voice” with Michael Caine, Brenda Blethyn, Jim broadbent, Jane horrocks, Annette badland.

If you loved Nicole Kidman in this, you must watch her in The Others, one of the best psychological horrors ever

this movie singlehandlely revived the musical genre at the time!! after MR, then came Chicago, Hairspray and Mamma Mia as boxoffice smashers!!!

This one is always a tough watch. Nicole Kidman is gorgeous

THANK YOU FOR REACTING TO THIS MOVIE!!!! It is at the top of my list.

You would love "Hairspray". Great reaction.

Thanks for this one. So glad you enjoyed it!!

The opera it is based on, the same as the musical 'Rent', is La-Boume' where the heroine has TB.

This is one of my favorite musicals. It is so well done and such good music and good singing throughout. And my favorite Nat King Cole song at the end.

"He's a Cuphead villain." I'm dead. :D

If u like this try Romeo and Juliet

I've seen the live musical a few times, in both London and New York. It's great, but it doesn't quite match the film, in my opinion, as Moulin Rouge was crafted perfectly for film, in the way that the filmic directorial decisions made in Les Mis render it inferior (again, in my opinion) to the original stage show.

My husband and I adore this movie. Couple thing I wanted to mention 1. Christian is supposed to be that innocent in the beginning. He has spent so much of his life thinking love is this perfect, beautiful thing, and learns that it’s also jealous and tragic and not always lead to the happy ending. 2. The stage show (IMO) is light years below the film in most aspects. It’s not a bad show per se, but if you go into it expecting this story on stage, your going to be disappointed. So if you do go see it someday, do not expect this movie. The stage show is its own thing. Great reaction. Genuinely enjoyed watching ❤

Such a good movie! I must have played the soundtrack 1000 times, on my Discman 🤣

OMG THIS IS LITERALLY MY FAVORITE FILM OF ALL TIMMMMEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I’m so so so excited for you guys to watch it 😁😁 Edit: ok I finished the reaction and I just want to thank you guys for getting the vibe so completely. Baz has a very specific style of filmmaking and most people either love it or hate it, so I’m really happy you guys loved it. Immaculate acting, singing, costuming, music, choreo, just alllllll of it (Baz’s wife actually won an Oscar for the costume design in this film). It’s so chaotic and yet manages to be so relatable at the same time. The first time I saw this movie I was home sick in middle school and rented it via directtv all day ticket…and then proceeded to watch it all day (about 7 times in a row). It was an instant obsession. I also wore out the soundtracks. It’s been 22 years and I’m still as in love with this film as I was back then. I actually walked down the aisle at my wedding to the piano version of Your Song that plays in the film (briefly during the first part of the rehearsal montage) and our first dance song was actually the full Ewan version of Your Song. So yeah, thank you again for posting this to youtube and thanks to the special sponsor who suggested it! PS Another fun fact is the guy who plays Audrey (director at the beginning who Christian replaced) is David Wenham, who you might know better as Faramir in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Man has range lol. Baz is Australian, as is David, and since the film was shot down in Sydney there were opportunities for Aussies to cameo (like Kylie Minogue playing the Green Fairy).

This movie is so good and one of those films that cant really be explained and needs to be experienced. Nicole kidman is absolutely everything and more in this. If youre interested in seeing another phenomenal acting job from her, check out The Others, just dont look into it too much bc it has major spoilers. Its a really great gothic horror/thriller, and also filmed really beautifully!

0:36 Fantastic movie! The Baz Luhrman trilogy is Strictly Ballroom (1993), William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Moulin Rouge (2001). All of these movies are exceptional.

If you love this, you should DEFINITELY check out Baz Lurhmans other masterpieces! 90's Romeo + Juliet and Strictly Ballroom, 00's Australia, and my personal favourite: The Great Gatsby from 2013!!! Baz definitely adds a lot of creativity to his films and the soundtracks are always fire. And help tell the story.

one of the more popular, the absolute best musical of all time is Singing in the rain (1952).

I saw this in the theater on opening day and instantly loved it. It was nominated for Best Picture the same year that THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (my favorite film) was nominated. Unfortunately they both lost to a boring movie that no one cares about anymore called A BEAUTIFUL MIND. That's why the Oscars are dumb. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I did see the stage version in Boston before it moved to Broadway. It starred Aaron Tveit who I became a fan of in the film version of LES MISÉRABLES oddly enough. The stage show was good but they changed quite a few songs so there's that. It did win some TONY'S tho. But nothing beats the visceral impact of the film. I've probably watched it close to 100 times by now. I worry that people will recommend the craptastic LA LA LAND after this movie. It's extremely derivative. It'd be great if you watch THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, which it was desperately trying to be. It's another musical and a foreign film so two birds, one stone.

He is SOO GOOD in this role.

Yes Ewan and Nicole sang their parts. Ewan sings in a few other movies, like Down with Love - Here's to love, with Renée Zellweger (awesome movie by the way, I definitely recommend it, it's crazy too, a bit like Moulin Rouge crazy, but very different.) A Life Less Ordinary - Beyond the sea, with Cameron Diaz (another crazy movie) Beauty and the beast - Be our guest Pinocchio - Better tomorrows Velvet Goldmine - he plays a rock star, very different style Miss Potter - Let me teach you how to dance He also did a broadway show, Guys and Dolls, so live performance. All of those are available on YT.

If you love the crazyness, the colours and everything look Romeo & Juliet from the same director Baz Lhuzman

The Roxanne choreography is so sensual and sadistic at the same time. Feel the heat, man! The necklace that the Duke puts on her at dinner was on loan. It cost $15Million dollars! Nicole was so nervous wearing it in those few scenes. I don’t know why she was nervous. That’s how much her small hut in the outback costs. 🙄 The WORST acting in this was Nicole doing all that crazy crap while she was “getting off” on poetry being read to her… and actually that whole sequence. Baz Lerhmann is such a genius but there he could have just cut that entire part out. The use of blue lighting really smoothed out the connections between sets and the CGI mixed in it, which was a lot of the film. When Nicole was standing on the elephant singing, she was tied to suspension wires to make sure she didn’t fall but she said it was still scary. The scenes where Satine “sees” Christian’s predacious “talent” (I hope you know what I am talking about,) Ewan is actually a normal size. He did an indie film called “The Pillow Book” and he is full frontal quite a bit of the time. I like that film. You can only order the dvd of it now, which I have! To me the best thing about this film is Nicole’s makeup. It’s absolutely perfect! The first film she got critical acclaim, and all the critics yelling for her to be nominated for an Oscar was “To Die For”. I agree, but her first role I remember her in was “My Life” with Michael Keaton, who was dying and she was his wife.

Now you need to do Romeo + Juliet from 1996. Baz Lurhman's other great movie. Harold Perrineau is the best Mercutio Ive ever seen.

still the best musical...Baz Luhrmann knocked it out the park with this! The Duke's actor also appears in Baz Luhrmann's 'Elvis' movie (2022) as Elvis' father!

Id love to see you guys watch Phantom of The Opera with Gerard Butler. Moulin was phenomenal... Bazz is a genius

I’m glad you guys really liked the film. Baz Luhrmann gets a lot of hate from the critics for his aesthetic. If you haven’t yet, check out his version of Romeo and Juliet. It’s not my favorite but it’s worth watching. There’s also The Great Gatsby which I don’t think was very good.

In really hope, you do the whole 'Red Curtain' trilogy. This, Romeo & Juliet and Strictly Ballroom.

Your reaction to this was brilliant! This is one of my all-time favourite films, and I fell head-over-heels in love with Ewan McGregor the first time I saw it. His crying and wailing at the end is so heart-rending. I remember seeing extras on the DVD of an interview with Nicole, who said it was very hard NOT to fall in love with Ewan in this! (I think they were both married at the time).

some bullshit: "come what may" was ineligible to be nominated for best original song at the oscars because it was technically written for another movie even though it was cut from that movie. i don't know if it was even recorded! more bullshit: the finale version of the song isnt even on the OST! wtf?! but seriously, i love how much you guys loved this movie. so, so often, people tend to dismiss this movie because it's so odd and SO melodramatic; many don't even get past the first section of the movie because it's so wacky and weird. literally, some people walked out of theaters at that back in 2001

Ahh, one of my favorite films! I loved this as a teenager, and I still do but for different reasons now. McGregor & Kidman totally killed in this one!

As a theatre kid, the show at the end stresses me out so much. Can you imagine having to deal with ALL of those random script and scene changes only to hold the curtain while your lead dies!?! That entire cast is traumatized for life.

Great reaction, guys! It seems like you understood and noticed everything, unlike a lot of others who reacted to this movie. Thank you!

The tragicness of this musical nobody talks about is that TB is extremely contagious so Christian very likely also died from consumption less than a decade after this.

I’m so happy y’all watched this and loved it. I think you’d love Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd as well

You want another great Nicole Kidman film? See "The Others".

Ewan McGregor sang his parts, and so did Nicole Kidman (sang her parts, not his. lol.) They were two pleasant surprises to all audiences. Although nowadays Moulin Rouge is not really all that chaotic, to the 1990s audiences it caused a huge issue. The cuts were too fast for most audience members to follow and people got dizzy from it. Even me, at 30, and a member of the MTV generation, I found it just a bit too fast for comfort. This wasn't really a "Jukebox" Musical, even though most songs were covers. It was a brand new art form which was taking the world by storm at the time -- the Mashup videos were all over the beginnings of RU-vid, back when original artists didn't have copyright defense lawyers standing by to block stuff. It was the end of Web 1.0, Napster was still hot and new, and Metallica had come to represent the establishment in the most ironic turn of events because they were losing money off of the media distribution sales model because streaming and peer to peer torrenting had just been invented. Gary Oldman was the Duke. He plays the most wonderful villains in a very wide variety of character range. Truly one of the screen greats. If you want more of him, check out another 90s film he villains for -- The Fifth Element. Sci Fi, just as cheezy in places but still somehow redeeming. True story, I took my future husband to our first date to see Moulin Rouge (and didn't tell him I had seen it with another guy the weekend before. Color me 'Satine' I guess). Our marriage happened two years later, and we were married for 20 years before we amicably split. Still friends from a distance, though, and we do talk all the time. But the romantic impact of that movie definitely set the stage for our early love affair. Good reaction, Great memories, Greater film. Glad you both enjoyed it.

Boys.. no musicals? See The Blues Brothers! It's gorgeous!!😊

Same director that did Moulin Rouge did Romeo & Juliet (1996)

If you liked this Baz hit… try out Romeo + Juliet! It’s even crazier.

Please react to "The Others" with Nicole Kidman. This is the one of the best thrillers/horrors I've ever seen.

Thank you for this! This film really exercises every chamber of your heart. Such a beautiful story.

I love how they give you the entire plot of the movie in the beginning... and it still shocks you

Baz is an incredible director if yall havent seen it you gotta do his version of romeo and Juliet with leo dicaprio

----- I - HATE - MUSICALS! hate. hate. hate....and as a gay guy, that probably revokes my gay card, but -------- I really do like this musical, a lot!

One of my 5 roommates was 7 years younger than the rest and had never seen it. We watched it together and did not understand our love for Ewan until Your Song. She was hooked, just like us.

I went to the cinema to see MR when it first came out. The Baz Luhrman ''style'' wasn't well known back then, and a few people walked out early on! I myself did wonder what was going on initially, but as you guys have found out too, its such a phenomenal film on so many levels. I love Nicole and Ewan's natural voices, it just adds another beautiful layer. What a heart breaking climax. And I can attest that this is such a rewatchable film! Thanks for your reaction! x

Best part? Queen. 😊

“El Tango de Roxanne” is one of my fav songs ever. I listen to it at least 1x per day.

The Duke is played by Richard Roxburgh an Australian actor, writer and producer who is best known for portraying Dracula in the 2004 cult classic monster movie Van Helsing starring, fellow Australian, Hugh Jackman. He starred as Hugh Stamp in Mission: Impossible 2 and many collaborations with Baz Luhrmann, particularly Moulin Rouge. He has appeared in 75 movies/tv productions with 5 more currently set for release. He is a highly respected world talent. That’s why you probably knew his face 😊

One of my all time favorites! 🎉 I grew up watching this movie 😊

This is a fun movie. I remember seeing it way back in theaters, lol...nonstop laughter

I think you guys would enjoy the original "Arthur", with Dudley Moore. Lots of laughs!

I saw this about 8 times in the theater...for as much of an experience as it is on a tv...in the theater...man the sound hits different and just gets your adrenaline pumping!

You guys should watch "Cabaret".