How does the opening sequence of Moulin Rouge inform the audiences understanding of the film using the cinematic codes?
How does the opening sequence of Moulin Rouge inform the audiences understanding of the film using the cinematic codes?
Moulin Rouge - Lhurman, 2001, US
The opening sequence of Moulin Rouge is both informative and dramatic. It tells the story of Christian as he tells the story of the Moulin Rouge. The bright colours and music give the impression of joy throughout the film; this is enhanced through the use of erratic camera movements within the Moulin Rouge. In contrast the woeful voice of Toulouse can be heard singing the story over the top, informing the audience that the film will also include great tragedy and sorrow. It's lavish use of colour and mise-en-scéne work well with the intricate use of cinematography. Every shot is carefully planned to give the audience a preferred reading. The high angle shots of Christian make him seem weak and vulnerable. The slow paced editing also allows the audience to take in the surroundings, to gather thoughts and ask questions such as; why is he crying? From the camera angles used we feel sympathy for Christian when we learn of Satine's death.
Consider the 'stage-setting' techniques used: the curtains of the stage are deep red suggesting to the audience themes of love, passion, desire and danger, stage setting for the story that is about to unfold. The curtains are gold trimmed creating a sense of grandeur and decadence.
Intertextuality is employed in the use of the theme music from 'The Sound of Music'. This music is bright and celebratory and it indicates the idealism of love. The screen is showing, in silent movie style, 'A Bazmark Production' and this is contrasted as the music changes to 'Roxanne', and the credits change to say 'Moulin Rouge!'. The atmosphere becomes dark; 'Roxanne' connotes the dangers of love. Silhouettes of Can-Can dancers and top-hats can be seen, giving the audience its first glimpse of the characters involved in this Technicolor drama. The jubilant Can-Can music creates a feeling of excitement and thrill.
Music in the opening sequence reflects the moods, joys and tribulations in the forthcoming love affair between Christian and Satine. The two start off in love and everything is fine until the Duke finds out about their affair and threatens to have Christian killed. Although Satine dies in the end, she and Christian were in love when it happened, and have expressed their feelings to one another. The music swings between celebration, tragedy, and celebration, mirroring the narrative structure of the story to come.
The music links in well with the editing which comes to an abrupt ...
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Music in the opening sequence reflects the moods, joys and tribulations in the forthcoming love affair between Christian and Satine. The two start off in love and everything is fine until the Duke finds out about their affair and threatens to have Christian killed. Although Satine dies in the end, she and Christian were in love when it happened, and have expressed their feelings to one another. The music swings between celebration, tragedy, and celebration, mirroring the narrative structure of the story to come.
The music links in well with the editing which comes to an abrupt stop as 'Paris 1900' appears on the screen. It is in black and white, whereas the other credits were in sepia. Solemn music, played by the strings fades in as Toulouse fades into the shot. He is in the foreground on the left hand side of the screen, and behind him is a windmill, with its blades slowly turning. The shot has a sepia look, indicating to the audience that they are being told an old story. Toulouse is directly addressing the audience with his song which is telling the audience the story. The music is melancholy implying tragedy, enhanced by the use of blue light giving the scene a cold atmosphere. A CU of Christian's face fades in on the right hand side as Toulouse sings the line "A very strange enchanted boy". Christian looks happy, which contrasts with the mood of the song.
In the next sequence the camera has faded to an overview of the city of Paris. The camera begins to travel through the city at a slow rate, allowing the audience to take in the surroundings and absorb the view of Paris in 1900. As the camera passes a church tower the audience can hear the diegetic sound of church bells ringing, and the wind rushing past. This clashes with the non-diegetic sound of Toulouse addressing the audience. The camera enters the town in which the Moulin Rouge is situated; voices can be heard of people going about everyday jobs. The people of the town look directly at the camera as if they are staring at the audience; this can be daunting and unsettling to an audience and is precisely the effect it has. The audience is meant to feel disturbed. There is a vicar preaching "Turn away from this village of sin" connoting that something will go wrong within the village. It becomes apparent that the women are prostitutes from their codes of dress and make-up; this unsettles the audience even more as they are not sure what to expect.
There is a shot of Christian's father saying "You'll end up wasting your money on the Can-Can dancers of the Moulin Rouge" another indication that trouble is ahead. The camera continues to travel symbolically passed Christian's father, as if ignoring him, and starts winding through the streets of Paris. The editing is speeded up until it turns the last corner, going away from the light and into dangerous and unknown territory. There is a man dressed in scruffy clothes and wearing a top-hat leant against a wall, smoking a cigarette. As he turns to face the camera only the whites of his eyes can be seen shocking the audience. The camera travels up past the Moulin Rouge and through a window in the adjacent building. The sound of wind can be heard as the curtains ruffle when the camera passes through them.
Christian is sitting hunched up on the floor with his head between his knees, he has a bottle in his hand and appears desolate. The audience is aware that some tragedy has befallen him. The music becomes louder as he lifts his head. The light coming through the window just catches half of his face; the rest is still in shadow. The audience can see through Christian's appearance that he is deeply troubled; he is unshaven and appears to be crying. The camera fades to a shot of a typewriter. From this depiction the audience understands that a story is about to be told. As Christian sits at the typewriter you can hear his heavy breathing as he sniffs and whimpers. The camera movement is put into slow motion as if he is trying to come to terms with something tragic. Toulouse sings the line "The greatest gift you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return", simultaneously Christian types these words and the diegetic sound of the typewriter keys can be heard. The sound switches from diegetic to non-diegetic - the typewriter and Toulouse's song - to give the idea that a real story is being told as there is the realism of the diegetic sounds. The music swells on the word "return" and as Christian types "The Moulin Rouge" however it is now Christian's voice over, not Toulouse's.
The camera fades to a shot of the windmill as Christian begins to tell the story of The Moulin Rouge. The exuberant clamour of the Can-Can dancers, wearing bright colours and wearing happy expressions on their faces, contrasts with images of the Moulin Rouge as it is now, in ruins. It also contrasts with the sorrowful sound of Christians voice. As the camera moves through the dancers it is constantly spinning as if it were on the end of a windmill blade. The bright and jubilant music that is playing clashes with the screams of laughter coming from the people that work in the Moulin Rouge. Christian explains what the Moulin Rouge is. The audience start off as voyeurs then Christian starts to directly address them which in turn causes them to empathise with him. He calls the Moulin Rouge the "underworld" and its dancers are the "beautiful creatures". The word "underworld" suggests that it is bad and seedy, ironic considering Christians happiness at being there. The colours within the Moulin Rouge are very bright, with lots of red in every shot giving the impression of love, passion, desire and danger again. This reminds the audience that they are discomforted.
The music is quieter whilst in the building of the Moulin Rouge; enabling the audience to concentrate on Christian's story. As he talks about Satine a shot of her appears in black and white, with half of her face in shadow. This is a big contrast to the images that have previously been shown. "They called her the Sparkling Diamond, and she was the star of the Moulin Rouge." The audience knows from this that Satine is the reason for Christian's sorrow. The camera cuts to shots of the Moulin Rouge as it is now, in ruins.
There is no colour as everything is covered in dust, this relates with the mood of Christian's voice. As he says "Moulin Rouge" the words appear on screen in spinning lights and bright colours.
The end of the opening sequence reveals a shot of Christian sitting at the typewriter. "The woman that I loved is..." there is a pause in which Christian looks out of the window as if he is lost in thought, church bells can be heard in the distance, and the sound of Christian crying as he says the word "...dead". The camera cuts to a symbolic shot of the Moulin Rouge in ruins. The audience now knows that not only is Satine dead, everything to do with her past is dead, and Christian's life is also in ruins.
This film is colourful, noisy and exotic. It reveals joy, tragedy, seediness, grandeur, poverty, wealth and ambition throughout. Decadence in the extreme. An entire gamut of human emotion and experience. The opening sequence successfully employs music and dramatic camera techniques to suggest to the audience the nature of this film, which is an assault on the senses from the outset.
Grace French - 12LN
Word count - 1,630 - 1 -
