Moulin Rouge (1952)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Moulin Rouge |
| Original title | Moulin Rouge |
| Country of production | Great Britain , France |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 119 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Huston |
| script | John Huston Anthony Veiller |
| production |
John Woolf James Woolf Romulus Pictures for United Artists |
| music |
Georges Auric William Engvick |
| camera | Oswald Morris |
| cut | Ralph Kemplen |
| occupation | |
| |
Moulin Rouge is a 1952 biography by the American director John Huston about the life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec . The script of the film is based on the novel of the same name by the French writer Pierre La Mure , published two years earlier . The Swiss title is A Song from Paris .
content
Paris in 1890
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is sitting in the Moulin Rouge variety theater in Paris and sketching the dancers. The operator of the amusement facility is impressed by the sketches and suggests that the artist design an advertising poster for the Moulin Rouge and receive free drinks for a month. Henri leaves at curfew and as the last guest, whereby his small stature becomes visible for the first time in the film. On the way home he remembers his youth (in flashbacks one learns of his aristocratic descent and of a fall down stairs in his parents' castle, in which he broke both legs). The poor healing of the fractures is the reason for the small body size and forces Henri to occupy himself a lot while sitting. He uses the time by painting motifs from his surroundings. A few years later you can see him lingering around the hand of a childhood friend, but he is sharply rejected with reference to his appearance. This disappointment shaped the young man and convinced that he would never find a woman who could love him, he decided to move to Paris to become a painter.
On his way home, he meets Marie Charlet, a young woman from a poor family who is wanted by a police officer, and gives her the alibi that they have spent the whole evening together. Marie accompanies Henri to his apartment and stays overnight. Henri wants to buy her a dress, but she goes alone, not without accepting money from the painter, and announces that she will be back in an hour. She only reappears the next day and claims to have been to her sick sister. She moves into the apartment, but continues to disappear regularly.
Some time later, Henri made a portrait of Marie and offered her to take her to an expensive restaurant that evening. There he only hears complaints from Marie and she runs away again before the food is brought. When she later reappears in front of the apartment, Henri does not open the door for her, which makes her disappear from his life. To forget his grief, he drinks more cognac than usual and doesn't paint anymore. When he is looking for Marie on the advice of his mother, he finds her very drunk and learns that her affection for him was only faked in order to get more money out of him for her boyfriend. Henri goes home and turns on the gas taps in his apartment to kill himself. But suddenly he remembers the poster and starts painting again. The poster caused a sensation in the city, brought the Moulin Rouge a huge crowd and gave him a lot of recognition as an artist.
Paris in 1900
The plot jumps to 1900: Henri meets - through the singer Jane Avril - Myriamme, who proves to be a great admirer of his painting. The two spend a lot of time together. When Myriamme tells him that she has received a marriage proposal from a suitor, he reacts coldly and snippily, repeatedly suggesting that there can be no true love. Still, it becomes clear that he is in love with Myriamme himself. Myriamme does not see this, however, and so she writes a letter to the artist in which she tells him that she has accepted the marriage proposal. Henri storms to her apartment, but is informed that she has moved without leaving an address. Henri, deeply worried, drinks more and more and finally collapses on the floor of a bar. He is carried home and laid in his bed, and when the helpers leave, he storms out of the apartment, followed by an imaginary host of cockroaches, and falls down the stairs and seriously injures himself. The seriously injured Henri Toulouse-Lautrec is brought to his parents' castle. The dancers of the Moulin Rouge reappear on his deathbed and he dies with a smile on his face.
History of origin
The exterior shots took place in Paris, the interior shots in Shepperton Studios in England.
José Ferrer, who plays both Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and his father in this film, went on his knees in many scenes with his feet tied back to match the artist's small stature. This was painful for him, which made Toulouse-Lautrec, who suffered from pain himself, look even more realistic. The walking stick he used in the film was essential for this type of movement. A small double was used for shots from a greater distance . However, the kinked folds of the trouser legs in the knee area then show up - as a mistake in direction - when walking.
Director John Huston wanted to shoot this film in brilliant colors similar to those in Toulouse-Lautrec's pictures, so he hired Eliot Elisofon , who, together with cameraman Oswald Morris, used many color filters and colored lighting as a “Special Color Consultant” .
There are long cut scenes in the film (especially in the jump between the years 1890 and 1900) with recordings of works by Toulouse-Lautrec.
The first performance in the Federal Republic of Germany was on July 29, 1953.
criticism
“The story is set in a kaleidoscopic, sentimental and dramatic Paris shortly before the turn of the century. John Huston makes an important and remarkable attempt to use color dramaturgy consciously - he shapes the world of the painter in his own forms and colors and makes them the principle of style in film. Worth seeing: José Ferrer in the lead role. "
“A remarkable film about the French painter Toulouse-Lautrec because of the artistic color scheme. The brilliant director John Huston neglected to take a clear position on the pathological model case of the crippled and alcoholic artist through sheer cinematic perfection. "
Awards
The film received two Oscars : for best production design , for which Marcel Vértes and Paul Sheriff were responsible, and for best costume design (also Marcel Vértes). He was nominated for five other Oscars: best film , best director , best leading actor , best supporting actress and best editing .
John Huston received the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival for directing , as well as the British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography .
Colette Marchand received the Golden Globe for best young actress for her portrayal of Marie Charlet .
literature
- Dieter Krusche, Jürgen Labenski : Reclam's film guide. 7th edition, Reclam, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-15-010205-7 , pp. 372f.
Web links
- Moulin Rouge in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ The Shrinking of José Ferrer . In: LIFE Magazin , September 29, 1952. Retrieved August 26, 2010
- ^ Razzle-dazzle Paris . In: LIFE Magazin , January 19, 1953. Retrieved August 26, 2010
- ^ Film lexicon: Moulin Rouge .
- ↑ Moulin Rouge. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Ev. Munich Press Association, Review No. 511/1953
- ^ Moulin Rouge Awards . In: The New York Times , Retrieved September 6, 2010