Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Moulin Rouge (1952)

"Oh, Monsieur Lautrec, why couldn't you be tall and handsome?" Jane Avril

"Two more drinks and I shall be." Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Director John Huston magically re-creates gay nineties Paris and the Can-Can dancers at the fabled Moulin Rouge. The can-can is a lively dance done to the infectious strains of Offenbach and Lehar.

As our vehicle into the world of the demimonde, we are guests of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, one of the great post-impressionist painters - putative inventor of the modern advertising poster.

Lautrec is played by talented actor Jose Ferrer, who accepted the difficult role with relish. Lautrec was only 4'6" tall due to a childhood deformity of his legs, which required Ferrer to strap his lower legs up and walk on his knees for the few full length shots that occur in the movie. I believe they also used doubles in some of the long shots showing Lautrec slowly walking through the darkened streets of Paris. Thus Lautrec, with his full-sized upper body and shrunken legs was considered a freak in the hedonistic world of fin de siecle Paris. His unfortunate infirmity, combined with a prodigious intake of spirits, sharpened his wit and many sardonic utterances sprang nimbly from his lips.

Lautrec was a keen observer of life that nightly unfolded in Montmartre, spending his time sketching what he saw including the whirling dancers, habitues, and prostitutes that populated the red light district. His art made some of the most memorable visual records in the time before photography sucked the life out of individual creative art. Lautrec's unique view of perspective, often framing his action in shadowy silhouettes, pointed the way cartoon artists of the future would mimic in addition to establishing the format for many advertising posters.

Director John Huston created a special visual language to depict life at the Moulin Rouge, employing a pair of color specialists to create a unique Technicolor spectrum that mimicked the flat colors of Lautrec's paintings. He used a similar creative method in Moby Dick to make the cinematography resemble the darkened hand-tinted whaling prints of the 19 th Century. As in Moby Dick, Huston again employed the expert services of Oswald Morris as cinematographer.

As in almost all of Huston's work, the attention to detail is remarkable. The sets and costuming and even the physical types represented in the characters reflect Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings to a "T." The sight affects you as if you stepped into one of his paintings yourself. That said, the film remains a bit distant, as Lautrec himself apparently was, allowing the viewer to look, but never get too close.

Having been disappointed in love too many times, Lautrec is too drunken with alcohol and self loathing to open himself to the possibility of true love when it offers itself. Although the movie dramatizes his demise, he drank himself to death by age 36.

Jose Ferrer did a magnificent job with the prickly character of Tolouse-Lautrec, supporting cast was variable with Suzanne Flon and Collette Marchand excellent as sometime love interests while Zsa Zsa Gabor was disappointing. Visually stunning but absolutely clueless at lip syncing and dancing. The film won Academy Awards in the relatively unimportant categories of Art Direction and Costume Design.

The MGM DVD is presented in 1.33:1 theatrical format, in Technicolor and runs 119 minutes. Only subtitles are provided as extras. Those who enjoy biopics or art lovers are a good bet for liking Moulin Rouge.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening