"Moulin Rouge" is the sort of film you simply must accept for what it is--a modestly entertaining but silly film. It has the sort of plot that seems rather old fashioned and filled with holes.
When the film begins, a famous stage actress from the famed Moulin Rouge is thrilled to have a visit from her daughter. It seems the young lady is planning on getting married and the mother is happy for the couple. However, later when the mother is alone with the girl's fiancé, he suddenly declares his love for the mother! Weird, I know...and where all this goes is a bit far-fetched. It is exciting but kind of silly.
This film brings up lots of problems: why didn't the mother tell her daughter that the boyfriend was a creepy guy and why did the nightclub look NOTHING like anything from the Moulin Rouge (after all, everyone here had lots of clothes)? And, for that matter, why a black-face number?! It all is kind of silly (and a tad offensive) but did have really nice camera-work.
Plot summary
Parysia is the rage of Paris. She has a daughter, secretly engaged to Andre, and the boy's aristocratic father objects to the alliance because of Margaret's mother being a revue artist. Director Ewald Andre Dupont took almost a year to make Moulin Rouge at a production cost of $500,000, a huge amount for 1928.
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Director
Top cast
Movie Reviews
Decent but the plot does leave a bit to be desired.
A absolute must-see gem!
Everyone knows E.A. Dupont's Variety (1925) even in Paramount's somewhat abbreviated USA version on a rather dark but quite watchable 7/10 Grapevine DVD. Karl Freund's astounding photography combined with the noirish script, Janning's powerful Boss Huller, Lya de Putti's sensual Bertha and Warwick Ward's spivy Artinelli - all molded into an atmosphere maelstrom by E.A. Dupont - make this one an absolutely rivetting must-see!
But I regard Dupont's Moulin Rouge (1928) as the better movie. It is also available from Grapevine in a 7/10 - no, make that an 8/10 DVD because it does have the original music and sound effects track plus the run-out music.
This one stars that absolutely gorgeous Russian, Olga Tschechowa, as the mother who quite puts her movie daughter, Australian actress, Eve Gray, in the shade.
If the movie is somewhat predictable in plot, it is always brilliantly off-beat in both its montage and directorial style, thanks to the charismatic genius of writer/producer/director (and no doubt supervising film editor) Dupont.
The musical interludes are an intrinsic part of the plot. Here they are breathtakingly realized right from the night-montage opening to the dramatic conclusion.
The love triangle
Moulin Rouge is a British film made by German director Ewald André Dupont.
At its best, it displays the talent of Russian born silent movie star Olga Tschechowa who plays Parysia. She is the sultry star of the Moulin Rouge in Paris performing her alluring dances.
At its worse it is an absurd melodrama as Parysia meets her daughter Margaret, after several years at finishing school where she is introduced to her fiance, Andre.
After Parysia persuades Andre's father to consent to the marriage, she finds that her prospective son in law has become spellbound towards her after seeing her perform in the Moulin Rouge.
Emotions become highly charged when Margaret gets severely injured in an automobile accident.
Moulin Rouge has little to do with the famous Parisian theatre. It is a drama of its time, when moving pictures were still in its infancy.