How do the cinematic codes, specifically mise-en-scene and sound, in the opening sequence of Moulin Rouge inform the audience's understanding of the extract?

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Michelle Holcroft 12LN

How do the cinematic codes, specifically mise-en-scene and sound, in the opening sequence of Moulin Rouge inform the audience’s understanding of the extract?

All four cinematic codes work together in a film to inform the audience’s understanding of a film and to convey meaning and the ideology in a preferred reading favoured by the film-maker so that the audience interprets the film in the way intended.  In the film Moulin Rouge (Luhrman, 2000, US) the cinematic codes, mise-en-scene, sound, cinematography and editing all work well together in the opening sequence to set up the film-maker’s preferred reading.

The film opens with a conductor on a stage in a grand theatre, signifying a ‘show’ which links well with the idea behind Moulin Rouge, informing the audience that it is like a show.  The curtains behind the conductor are red, a motif in this film, which is used repeatedly throughout the film, and this colour connotes love, death, lust, danger, sex and passion and these are all vital elements running throughout the narrative.  The character is quite a small figure in front of a vast background informing the audience that he is not a key character in the film as he is isolated by the mise-en-scene, his costume is a conductor’s costume and is similar to that of Harold Zidler’s, a character introduced later in the sequence.

The first few seconds include an intertextual reference when the sound we first hear is the song The Sound of Music playing loudly and boldly.  This song connotes joy and is quite celebratory, as if celebrating the joy of love and happiness, it signifies themes running throughout the film such as the idealism of love and how wonderful it supposedly is.  The song informs the audience that this film will be about love, although it does signify that the film will be about the celebration of love and it’s beauty as opposed to the pain that comes with love.  The music is loud and orchestral, immediately capturing the audience’s attention; the tempo is also quite slow to begin with.  Suddenly changes to a song with a much faster tempo, The Can Can.  This song is also a famous one and helps inform the audience that the film is set in Paris.  All the way through this shot, the camera is slowly zooming in very slightly, and this camera movement helps to draw the audience into the action.  It stops when the stage frames the shot perfectly.  The song ends abruptly and as it does it links with the editing as “Paris, 1900” appears on the screen to inform the audience of the time and place it is set.

This shot then dissolves into a much darker shot, informing the audience that maybe this film isn’t about the celebration of love, and that something sinister is going to happen, the sound also links well with this as it is quite melancholy, this song signifies to the audience that the story beginning to unfold is a tragic one.  The character singing is directly addressing the audience as he narrates the story through song, and the contrast between the sound here and the sound in the previous shot is extremely noticeable as it is much more depressing.  It is known as parallel sounds as it matches the action in the shot and emphasized by the morose characters and the shadowy lighting.  The character singing is placed in the corner of the shot and is in front of the Moulin Rouge; the fact he is in the corner informs the audience that their attention should not solely be focused on him but on the song he is singing and on the mise-en-scene, the positioning in the frame also echoes how ‘theatrical’ and ‘circus-like’ Moulin Rouge is.  He is wearing a clown’s costume and his face is made up like a clown too, but more like a dejected clown to tie in with the narrative.  This also adds to the understanding that the whole film is presented like a show.  The windmill is a key feature in this shot, as it is where the tragedy began, and in this shot the blades are the source of lighting, drawing the audience’s attention to it.  The lighting flickers as the blades turn around and this is appropriate as the film is set a long time ago and the lighting is reminiscent of an old silent film.  The shot is also in black and white, which creates a shadowy atmosphere, creating a feeling of danger and tragedy and discomfort for the audience.  It also sets up confusion for the audience and they begin to question the narrative as the cinematic codes here are setting up various enigmas.  The audience were first informed this was a story of love and happiness and celebration and this is confusing for the audience as the cinematic codes certainly aren’t connoting the idealism of love anymore, but more the destruction and tragedy of love.  The Eiffel Tower is placed on the right of the shot and helps to establish the setting for the audience.  When Christian is introduced and image of him dissolves into the shot as the narrator speaks his name.  

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The next shot is an extreme long shot of the whole of Paris and it appears quite monotonous, dreary and lifeless, signifying that everything is dull now that Christian has lost his love; the gloominess is emphasized by the black and white colour.  Suddenly the crane shot begins to take the audience through Paris, towards Montmarte and at this point the cinematography works amazingly with the sound to create a feeling, for the audience, that they are like the wind travelling through the city towards the tragic story unfolding before their eyes.  The jerky, hand-held movements and the sounds ...

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