Search - Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy (Strictly Ballroom / Romeo + Juliet / Moulin Rouge) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 6/4/2023...

Moulin Rouge - A musical classic!

The "Curtain" rises

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 07/31/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The colorful, whirling world of Baz Luhrmann is brought to life in the Red Curtain Trilogy, comprising "Strictly Ballroom," "Romeo + Juliet," and "Moulin Rouge." While there are sticky patches -- particularly the pairing of Danes and DiCaprio in "Romeo + Juliet" --the overall effect is beautiful and poignant.



"Strictly Ballroom" is the problem in Scott's (Paul Mercurio) life. He's an outstanding dancer, but he refuses to conform to the Australian ballroom rules -- he wants to dance his own steps. When he loses his partner, awkward Fran (Tara Morice) enters the scene and asks to dance with him. These two outcasts of the ballroom start to fall in love as they try to win a major competition.



"Romeo + Juliet" gives a modern Californian twist to the classic tale of feuding families and starcrossed young lovers. Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet (Claire Danes) come from a pair of families locked in a deadly feud, but they fall in love anyway. Their desperate efforts to be together lead to tragedy...



"Moulin Rouge" gives us another kind of bittersweet love story -- a musical rather than a revamped classic. Bohemian poet Christian (Ewan McGregor) dips into the sensuous, flashy world of Moulin Rouge. There he falls in love with the beautiful, sickly Satine (Nicole Kidman), a star at the club, and a well-known courtesan. Unfortunately, their growing love is threatened by a duke, who wants Satine all for himself.



As a boy, Baz Luhrmann grew up around ballroom competitions, which give the heart to these movies. But the soul is in the presentation. It's theatrical, colorful, dazzling to the eyes and centered on classic tales of doomed love and succeeding against the odds.



Luhrmann's sense of the theatrical is included in his direction -- it can be very sharp and fast, and sometimes downright crazy. With another director, it might seem flashy and gaudy, but Luhrmann's unique style works. A particular risk is making a musical, something which spelled death for movies for a long time... until Luhrmann revived it with Moulin Rouge. Or the postmodern tale of Romeo and Juliet, which is imperfect, but still quite pleasant.



The acting tends to be excellent, although the acting in "Romeo + Juliet" is spotty, and DiCaprio and Danes have zero chemistry. But McGregor and Kidman in particular are outstanding, and Tara Morice and Paul Mercurio of "Strictly Ballroom" have electricity and sweetness to spare. The supporting actors are quite good as well.



And the three-DVD set is graced with plenty of extras -- documentaries, commentary on each film, behind-the-scenes peeks, featurettes, and some gorgeous music videos. And there's even an extra disc included with a "Red Curtain" documentary about Luhrmann's style, scripts, screensavers, more music videos, and more.



Baz Luhrmann reinvented the musical and gave his movies a lush, strange look that entices viewers even now. Sensuous, fun and funky, this is a trilogy to definitely check out."

What A Delightful Masterpiece to Own!

Susan Shams | West Des Moines, IA | 02/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an awesome DVD set. It has two of my favorite movies, Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom.

Moulin Rouge
I had no desire to watch this movie as I do not enjoy musicals. I usually get embarrassed for the characters who break into song, but with this movie I was amazed. The acting of Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor (what a hottie!) was superb. I was amazed a what good voices they had. I was mesmerized from the very beginning. The songs are just beautiful.
Listening to Ewan McGregor's woefull voice tell the tale of his beloved Satine was heartbreaking. I was sucked into the vortex of Moulin Rouge. I cannot understand how anyone who watched this movie did not fall in love with it and the characters. Granted the main character is a courtesan, but who cares? She falls in love with the penniless writer and true love prevails, she understands what 'true love'is. From the very beginning we know that their love was doomed, but we still rooted for them, for love is 'like oxygen' and we wanted them to be happy. All in all, this was an amazing movie. I would suggest that you watch it before believing the hype. Amazing movie, I loved it!! Strictly Ballroom
I must admit, it took me approximately 20 minutes to actually get into this movie. I so wanted to shut if off, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and decided to give it more time. I am extremely happy that I did.While this is not a 'masterpiece' as 'Moulin Rouge', it is definately VERY good. The acting was stupendous. The actors made me feel that the story was very real. In a very 'slight' way, I was reminicant of 'Dirty Dancing'.Scott is this Awesome ballroom dancer who does not adhere to 'Strictly Ballroom' rules. He loses a major competition due to his unorthodox dance moves. His overly dramatic dance partner dumps him right before another major competition, and poor Scott is left partnerless. In appears an extremely 'ugly duckling' who wants to dance with him. What happens next is ..... well, I guess you should watch it to know the rest.Overall this was a delightfully lighthearted movie with some poignant scenes that will leave you teary eyed. I recommend it wholeheartedly.Romeo & Juliet
This was a very good movie. Most everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet and this is a good adaption with a funky twist. This was not one of my favorite movies in the set, but as stories go, this was very unique.Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio were outstanding as the star crossed lovers in this newly updated tale of love and woe. They are both fairly young and that makes the story all the more heartbreaking. If you are looking for an old classic with an unusual twist, then this movie is for you.All in all, this 4 DVD set is Awesome. There is a 4th DVD with special inside information and unique interviews. If you like these movies than this is a must buy. I recommend it greatly."

Nicely Packaged Set

Susan Shams | 09/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I would recommend this set. If you average out the price, you're probably paying about the same amount for this set as you would if you bought each movie separately. I bought this because i liked Moulin Rogue but didn't care enough to buy it when it came out and I loved Romeo and Juliet and also really like Strictly Ballroom- the bonus DVD Inside the Red Curtain- is ok- you may watch it once but shouldn't be a deciding factor in buying the DVD set. Both Moulin Rogue and Romeo and Juliet seem to have a fair amount of DVD extras (MR has a second disc, of course) Strictly Ballroom seems a little slim, but i haven't watched the dvd yet, just browsed through the menu"