Musicals. Mayhem. Soap.

Musicals. Mayhem. Soap.

Moulin Rouge is good. It is very good. Granted, not everyone agrees with me, but musical cinema is a wonderful thing. We have Singin’ in the Rain, Dancer in the Dark, Wizard of Oz, and nearly anything with Fred to prove it. There is some kind of inner joy brought forth by watching a good musical. That same joy that drives people to listen to musical soundtracks learn the songs, and sing them at the slightest provocation. It is fun.

If any of you wondered, the Moulin Rouge (which means red windmill) is a real place, still operating in Paris. Where scantily clad dancers still do their can-can thing. And they are still as weird as they are in the movie. The official website, says this about Mrs. Février, who prepares feathers for the Moulin Rouge.

“…There she receives raw feathers from every corner of the world, she brushes, washes and boiles them, and then she beats and dyes them. Mrs. Février is very demanding, so she refuses to let out of her workshop any feather that would not have been tested for its highlights and heat-proof qualities. Wasn't Mistinguett herself the first one who wore feathered hats designed by Mrs. Février ? Did Josephine Baker, Line Renaud and Zizi Jeanmaire not climb these stairs, rue du Mail, to become even more impregnated with their ‘light costume’? ”

Right. You got all that? Me too. But wait, there’s more.

• Interesting.com: It’s not all fake: The real history of the Moulin Rouge, as it pertains to the life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. He was short you know.
• PostmodernVillage.com: But most of it is fake: Moulin rouge and history Recreation.
• On that subject. HistoPortal.com lists Moulin rouge as a "Historical Movie." Good to know.
• LeMoulinRouge.net: Rhode Island fakes it. Give it up for 12 foot windmills.
• RomanticMovies.about.com: The Moulin Rouge soundtrack breaks records.
• MoulinRougeMovie.com: The movie does have and official site. If that interests you.

Xian 02:47 AM, 04.29.02 - p-link