An Analysis of Moulin Rouge Essay Example

Two types of musical cinema have come about; straight musical and backstage musical. Straight musical refers to musical films like Grease where the film is a story (usually a romance) in which the characters sing and dance to tell the story.

“The myth of spontaneity suggests that the musical is not artificial, but rather completely natural. ” (Cohan, 2002, pg 38) Backstage musical is where the story is centered around performers in their own story world.As Martin Rubin said; it is the idea of a “show-within-a-show. ” (Cohan, 2002, 55) The characters themselves are performing for the audience within the diegesis (the film world). (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008, pg 333) Moulin Rouge is one such example.

The film is the story of Christian, a young man who goes to Montmartre, Paris and writes a play at the Moulin Rouge called Spectacular, Spectacular. He falls in love with a Courtesan, Satine, who is coveted by a jealous Duke. Their love affair remains secret while they rehearse the play.The film ends with Christian writing their story. IMDB.com calls Moulin Rouge a “Stylish musical, with music drawn from familiar 20th century sources. ” We first recognize Moulin Rouge as a musical in the opening credits. The film begins with the fade in of a proscenium arch stage and the silhouette of a conductor in the orchestra pit. Applause is heard and the conductor begins conducting the orchestra as the curtains open to reveal the credits playing on a flickering screen (reminiscent of early film) accompanied by a medley score of popular songs from the film.

This opening sequence accompanied by an orchestra and conductor sets the tone for the musical genre.

Similarly, at the end of the film, the red velvet curtains come down on the words and it is as though the play we were watching has ended. The play is full of singing, dancing and the romantic idea of the harmony of two souls; “The hero and heroine realize that they form the perfect romantic couple because they perform beautifully together. ” (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008, pg 333).

The first scene I will analyze occurs approximately 35 minutes into the film.The Duke has returned to Satine’s room to find her unconscious on the bed with Christian on top of her. Satine claims that they had arranged an emergency rehearsal and the cast arrives just in time to keep up the facade. Soon, all the characters are improvising a script with a full musical number; Spectacular, Spectacular! The song is made up on the spot and the sound that we hear is a mixture of diegetic (from within the film world) and non diegetic. The singing and the piano heard during the song are diegetic; the composer, Satie, plays the piano seen in the room and we see the actors singing the song.

However, there is non-diegetic orchestral accompaniment. This is often done in musical film to fill out the sound in a scene or accompany otherwise acapella singing. “The convention of a character bursting into song or breaking into dance with inexplicable orchestral accompaniment [is] the hallmark moment in any movie musical. ” (Cohan, 2002, pg 1) The music in this scene is loud and melodic with a lively tempo which sets the frantic and enthusiastic tone for the scene. The rhythm of the song changes

with each verse and addition reinforcing the improvisational element.Aside from the music, we hear a number of other unusual sound effects associated with the movement of characters; for example, when Zidler spins around, there is a small whooshing sound and a multitude of pops and tings while the characters rush around.

These sound effects add to the idea of absurdity and fun present in the scene. The tempo of the scene is not only dictated by the sound, but also the editing choices. During the dialogue, there are many quick, shot-reaction shots between the 8 characters as they workshop the play script.In terms of cinematography, the scene consists mainly of close up and medium shots so that we can focus on the expressions and reactions of characters.

To follow the dialogue, Luhrmann crosses the axis of action. Bordwell and Thompson define the axis of action as; “the imaginary line that passes from side to side through the main actors, defining all the spatial relations of all the elements of the scene as being to the right or left. The camera is not supposed to cross the axis at a cut and thus reverse those spatial relations. ” (2008, pg 477).

Luhrmann manages to cross the axis of action by moving his camera around the outside of the group of characters. This way, the audience doesn’t get disorientated by a constant changing of character positions but also enables them to see all the characters in relation to one another and their reactions to the dialogue. When the music begins and the characters are doing choreographed dance steps, the takes become longer and the shot scale is long to medium.

This is done specifically so that the audience can take in all the action and spectacle in each shot.Related essay: “An Analysis of Max Shulman’s Love is a Fallacy”Luhrmann also makes use of quick camera movements; such as the whip pan (quick rotation on the horizontal axis) when moving from character to character during the song which once again enforces how busy the scene is.

The entire scene takes place in the elephant outside the Moulin Rouge which is Satine’s private boudoir and the place that she entertains all her male guests. The decor inside is very oriental and opulent; the predominant colours are red and gold with rich fabrics on the bed, red velvet cushions and tasseled drapes.It is very luxuriant but at the same time, kitsch, gaudy and over the top; which sets a perfect tone for the melodramatic performance of the play and the exaggerated comedy. Various items around the room inspire the progression of the story and are used as props in the impromptu performance.

For example; the gold Elephant God statue prompts Christian to set the play in India and a decorative sitar inspires a key character in Spectacular, Spectacular. Tying in with the brightness of the set is the high key lighting; “illumination that creates comparatively little contrast between the light and the dark areas of the shot. (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008, pg 479). It is all very bright and colourful. During the impromptu performance, a red wash is used.

This red wash makes Satine’s pale skin very rosy and it could be suggested that it is used to emphasize the ‘unspoken’ dialogue between Christian and Satine, a foreshadowing that

the improvised play is just a version of their own tragic love story. In stark juxtaposition with the bright and gaudy red lighting and setting, the costumes are monochromatic.All the men apart from Satie and the Arabian are dressed in black tuxedos with white shirts. Satine is wearing a black corset under a sheer black gown.

As the scene goes on, these become ‘base costumes’ as each of the characters adds props from around the room to transform their look into that of their Spectacular, Spectacular characters. The movement of the figures within the space and in relation to each other is significant. Their movements are always quick and jerky and the Duke is usually isolated from the rest of the group by his location or position.For example, the characters dance around the seated Duke a number of times and the Duke stands apart from the rest when they are pitching the idea for Spectacular, Spectacular to him. This isolation of the Duke from the offset is significant because throughout the play, he remains ‘out of the loop’.

While everyone else knows that Christian and Satine are having an affair, the Duke only realizes after a can-can dancer points it out to him. Overall, the scene is vital in the establishment of the narrative for the rest of the film.The plot of Spectacular, Spectacular foreshadows the relationship of Christian and Satine and establishes the love triangle between Satine, and Christian and the Duke. Its lively atmosphere however is in direct contrast with the next scene that I will explore stylistically. El Tango De Roxanne occurs about an hour and fifteen minutes into the film and from the

first shot of the Argentinean walking down the stairs into the rehearsal space, we have a tangible sense of the tension in the scene.

Christian has just been taunted by one of the Moulin Rouge dancers about Satine and the fact that she is having dinner with the Duke.Christian is insanely jealous. The scene crosscuts between two, and later three, different places. The first is inside the Moulin Rouge and the other is the Duke’s dining hall where Satine goes to reassure the Duke of her loyalty to him. Inside the Moulin Rouge, the Argentinean tells the story of the man who fell in love with a prostitute in Buenos Aires by singing El Tango De Roxanne. Gradually, all of the can-can dancers who have been lying around in tense anticipation fall into a choreographed tango sequence and Christian leaves.

Now there are three different places of action; inside the Moulin, outside the Moulin and the Duke’s home. The sound in this scene alternates between diegetic and non diegetic sound. El Tango De Roxanne makes use of the editing technique of crosscutting; defined by Bordwell and Thompson as “editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places simultaneously. ” (2008, pg 477) In the rehearsal space, the music is diegetic; we can see the performers and the Argentinean, who is singing.

The other plane of action is the dinner scene.Although the sound comes from within the film world, it is not occurring where the dinner is happening and Satine and the Duke are not hearing it. The pitch and timbre in this scene are very different from the previous example. The harmonic

ensemble of voices from Spectacular, Spectacular has been replaced by the harsh and gravelly voice of the Argentinean. Later in the song, he is joined by Christian.

The combination is tense, passionate and almost scary. The beat of the song doesn’t vary; it maintains the Tango rhythm.More offensive than the two men’s passionate singing, is the moments when the tango music dies down. When the Duke gives Satine the exquisite diamond necklace, the music is barely audible in the background.

As the Duke says “let Zidler keep his fairytale ending” (2001), the music builds up to a crescendo once again. When Christian walks out of the Moulin Rouge and looks up at Satine on the balcony, the music once again cuts down dramatically. As the Duke realizes that she is still in love with Christian and takes her inside, the sole violin creates an ominous feeling with its plucky notes.The music is used to such great effect in this sequence because of its simplicity.

The editing is almost inseparable from the sound in this scene. As mentioned before, the director uses crosscutting to show the three simultaneous places of action. Another significant editing technique used is graphic match; “two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements. ” (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008, pg 479) The close up shots of the dancers match up with shots of Satine and the Duke when he is abusing her.

The cuts are rapid; often not lasting a whole second which heightens the tension, passion and tempo of the scene. The cinematography of the scene is incredibly complex with a combination of close up, medium, long and establishing shots

with cameras placed at all angles from eye level to high and low angles to achieve the effect of Christian looking up at Satine from below. The lighting for this scene is also more varied than Spectacular, Spectacular. The blue and red washes are used when contrasting Satine in her tower and Christian down below.The colour blue is significant as it represents Satine’s sadness and the coldness of the environment. Christian on the other hand is bathed in the red light which is symbolic of his ‘hot bloodedness’ and the passionate jealousy he feels.

All three places are lit with low key illumination which emphasizes the stark contrast and creates deep shadows. This works well to augment the harsh and unforgiving tone. It also creates a fear and suspense in the shots between the Duke and Satine. The scene is tragic and very passionate as it is the beginning of the end for Christian and Satine.

The lighting and sound are especially important in creating this effect and it is interesting to note how the same elements create such a different mood in Spectacular, Spectacular. The beginning of their relationship is warm and colourful while the end is monochromatic, cold and heartbreaking. Just in the simplified analysis of two scenes, it is possible to see why Moulin Rouge was nominated for 8 Oscars. It is an incredibly intricate example of the film musical and can be assured a place in film history books because of its elaborate use of all the effects in the director’s arsenal.

Luhrmann’s attention to detail and respect of the musical genre gives the play its magic, so to speak. He has used the

stylistic elements of cinematography, sound, mise-en-scene and editing to create a tragic love story full of life, energy and passion.

REFERENCES

• Bordwell and Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. Eighth Edition. (2008)
• McGraw-Hill, New York. Cohan, S. (Ed.) Hollywood Musicals: The Film reader. (2002)Routledge, London.
• Introduction by Cohan, S. pg 35-55: Essay by Jan Feurer. Luhrmann, B. Moulin Rouge (2001).