Wow! I don't know where to begin or what to say to perfectly illustrate the richness of this elegant, musical-fantasy masterpiece. A truly extraordinary production - directing, editing, acting, sound, lighting, cinematography and choreography with glamorous sets and costumes.
Aside from the jarring opening, the tragic love story was ardently conveyed through extravagant onslaught of poetry, lyrics, songs (with real, mesmerizing voices of the actors - live) and dances in a surreal setting. Visually stunning, vivaciously colorful, lavishly enticing, musically daring, emotionally captivating. By and large, the movement from scene to scene was fast and ferocious, yet it still managed to move me fluidly from reverie to reality and vice versa. In short, it was vividly electrifying.
There were lots of spectacular scenes. One worth mentioning was the rooftop Elephant Medley scene when they sang with fervor under the moonlight, floated on the velvety air and through the stars with the striking backdrop of the night skyline of Paris. And many more.
But the one really took my breath away was the riveting tango; juxtaposing the one between the underworld performers of Moulan Rouge with the Duke and Satine. The parallel movement between two completely different scenes at different places, zapping back and forth, was ingenious. Brilliant. Just brilliant editing! It's one of those movies that I wish I had a remote control to pause or rewind.
DVD: http://tinyurl.com/y9sa3fy