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Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Moulin Rouge! (2001) poster

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Drama, Romance, Music • 2h 7m

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, Garry McDonald, Jacek Koman, Matthew Whittet, Kerry Walker, Caroline O'Connor, Christine Anu, Natalie Mendoza, Lara Mulcahy, David Wenham, Kylie Minogue, Ozzy Osbourne, Deobia Oparei, Linal Haft, Keith Robinson, Peter Whitford, Norman Kaye, Arthur Dignam, Carole Skinner, Jonathan Hardy, Plácido Domingo, Kiruna Stamell, Anthony Young, Johnny Lockwood, Dee Donavan, Don Reid, Tara Morice, Daniel Scott, Veronica Beattie, Lisa Callingham, Rosetta Cook, Fleur Denny, Kelly Grauer, Jaclyn Hanson, Michelle Hopper, Fallon King, Wendy McMahon, Tracie Morley, Sue-Ellen Shook, Jenny Wilson, Luke Alleva, Andrew Aroustian, Stephen Colyer, Steve Grace, Mark Hodge, Deon Nuku, Shaun Parker, Troy Phillips, Rodney Syaranamual, Ashley Wallen, Nathan M. Wright, Susan Black, Nicole Brooks, Danielle Brown, Anastacia Flewin, Fiona Gage, Alex Harrington, Camilla Jakimowicz, Rochelle Jones, Caroline Kaspar, Mandy Liddell, Melanie Mackay, Elise Mann, Charmaine Martin, Michelle Wriggles, Michael Boyd, Lorry D'Ercole, Michael Edge, Glyn Gray, Craig Haines, Stephen Holford, Jamie Jewell, Jason King, Ryan Males, Harlin Martin, Andrew Micallef, Jonathan Schmölzer, Bradley Spargo, Joseph 'Pepe' Ashton, Jordan Ashton, Marcos Falagan, Mitchel Falagan, Chris Mayhew, Hamish McCann, Adrien Janssen, Shaun Holloway, Darren Dowlut, Dennis Dowlut, Pina Conti, Nandy McClean, Maya McClean, Patrick Harding-Irmer, Albin Pahernik, Aurel Verne, Kip Gamblin, Wilson Alcorn, Kerry Casey, Peter Collingwood, Cass Cumerford, Matthew Dale, Brenda De Lacy, Nash Edgerton, Tim Elliott, Nicole Fantl, Sandi Finlay, Scotty Gregory, Kahlia Greksa, Karinna Greksa, Troy Harrison, Harold Kissin, Ian Lind, Tony Lynch, Liliya May, Chris Pickard, Greg Poppleton, Brett Praed, Greg Robinson, David Scotchford, Neeraj Singh, Sotiri Sotiropoulos, David Whitford, Matt Wilson

Best video release

Updated 1 year ago


About the film

A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate affair with the club's most notorious and beautiful star.

TSPDT
2026: #745
2025: #721
2024: #717
2023: #791
2022: #791

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Director: Baz Luhrmann

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

UK Visions Home Video 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

UK Visions Home Video 4K Blu-ray caps & impressions

Best Audio:

The Visions Home Video 4K Blu-ray 5.1 is worse than the previous 5.1, and original stereo is only on LaserDisc or some PAL DVDs (and sounds much better)

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Director: James Gray

4K · Solid
Best Video & Audio:

Fox 4K Blu-ray

Director: John Ford

Best Video:

Fox Blu-ray

Director: Mike Judge

Video format: 4K Streaming

Best Video:

4K Streaming on HBO MAX/Disney+ or Fox Blu-ray

Director: David Fincher

Best Video & Audio:

20th Century Studios Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Digipack release includes an Amazing Amy book the standard edition doesn’t have.

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion and BFI very similar

Best Audio:

Fox Lorber DVD

Director: Chris Columbus

Video format: 4K Streaming

Best Video:

Disney+ has Streaming in 4K

Video Notes:

Fox has Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1995 Fox LaserDisc

Director: Terence Young

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain

Best Audio:

UK mix: 1984 CBS Fox VHS Hifi but missing one scene
International mix: WB 4K Blu-ray though source origin is unknown

1995 MGM stereo remix: 1998 LaserDisc and 2000 DVD fix gunbarrel dropout

Director: David Butler

Video format: Only Unofficial Sources

Sources: archive.org (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

The DVD isn't an official one, and according to a user review on Amazon:

This DVD comes from Archive.org, where the movie can be viewed for free. The original source, comes from the Fox Movie Channel

Director: James Cameron

4K · Disappointing
Best Video:

Fox Blu-ray

Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Fox Blu-ray for original cuts without the extra scene added in the re-release and AI upscaling

Newer Blu-ray/4K has the extra scene, but is poor and has excessive AI upscaling

Additional Info:

An additional scene was added to the ending of the movie in the 2022 re-release: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=493908

Director: Peter Faiman

Best Video:

Australia Cut: Australia Fox DVD

International Cut: Paramount Blu-ray

Encore Cut: Germany Winkler Film 4K Blu-ray, censored but good encoding

Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

US Paramount 4K Blu-ray, is the International US Cut and not the Encore Cut

Best Audio:

Australia Cut: Laserdisc

Additional Info:

The film exists in three versions:
- the original Australian cut (~104 minutes at 24fps/~100 minutes at 25fps);
- the American/international version (~98 minutes at 24fps/~94 minutes at 25fps) trimming some exposition in the Outback first half of the film and some shorter extensions of a few seconds in the New York section, altering some of the dialogue – including censoring a "fuck" to "screw" – but featuring one additional dialogue extension not in the Australian version (a comparison of the two cuts can be found at Movie Censorship);
- the Australian Encore Cut (~95 minutes at 24fps/~91 minutes at 25fps) which uses the international version source so it already has those alterations but also removes approximately three minutes consisting of parts of two scenes featuring Mick grabbing the crotch of a cross-dressing prostitute and a later sequence when he does the same thing at a party to a woman with a deep voice (a comparison of the international version and the Encore Cut can be found at Movie Censorship).

More Drama on Blu-ray

Director: Vittorio De Sica

Best Video & Audio:

2020 Arrow Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

2020 Arrow Blu-ray is new 4K restoration and encoded by FiM.

Directors: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

4K · Excellent
Best Video & Audio:

Imprint 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Imprint AU 4K is world UHD debut and encoded by FiM. Part of the The Cinema Of Powell & Pressburger - Collection Two set.

Director: Anthony Mann

Best Video & Audio:

Shout! Factory Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Shout! Factory's Blu-ray has both cuts of the film in addition to the 3.0 stereo and 2.0 mono mixes making it the first time the full theatrical cut is available with the 3.0 mix. The new commentary is good. The 3.0 stereo sounds wonderful and the mono sounds solid.
That's where the positives end. This is the same terrible Universal DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc with a terrible encode making both versions share the disc separately taking up more space. This master was already poor for DVD and is nearly unwatchable here on the Shout! Factory disc. It looks virtually identical to the upscaled DVD most of the time with only a bit less noise due to it being 1080p. This is one of the most appalling cases of "DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc" you can possibly find. Absolutely shameful video presentation. This should have never been released this way. Sadly it's still ever so slightly better than the DVD and the only way you get the proper theatrical cut with lossless 3.0 stereo. This is still the best source we have for the film.

Director: Anthony Mann

Best Video & Audio:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Additional Info:

This is an ancient Universal master of a film in dire need of restoration. This only looks somewhat better than the old Universal DVD upscaled and is clearly the same master. Tons of wear, color fringing and other issues abound. The film is stuck at the theatrical widescreen ratio of 1.85:1 when it was composed for Academy ratio. The proper ratio is only found on the trailer, original VHS master and Region 2 PAL DVD. The Kino Lorber Blu-ray is their usual barebones affair except for flawed low res trailer files and a basic commentary. The film's 3.0 stereo mix is intact alongside the more limited mono mix thankfully. The Blu-ray does edge out over the old Universal DVD but that is merely due to it being the same master resolving better in 1080p. This presentation is sadly poor and the film deserves much better.

Director: Jonathan Demme

4K · Excellent
Best Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray vs Criterion

Audio Notes:

Three masterings of the original Dolby Stereo SR mix exist: the original Orion video releases, the Criterion (which is from their LD) and the Arrow. All three are excellent with slight mastering differences between them. The original Orion still is probably the one with the most fidelity, the Criterion is the cleanest with a kind of warm feel to it and the Arrow has a bit of both aspects. The Arrow mastering has a tiny almost imperceptible bit of audio bleeding into the surround that isn't on the Criterion. Each has their own pluses and minuses but you can't go wrong with any of them. Whatever you do though: DO NOT WATCH WITH THE 5.1 REMIX. It is another MGM botch job that fundamentally alters the impact of many scenes. It is vastly inferior to the original mix in every way.

Additional Info:

Criterion Blu-ray has exclusive extras, Arrow UHD has the most extras of any release

Director: Robert Altman

4K · Excellent

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Cinematrographe's HDR grading is overcooked, which is a known VinSyn tendency. Additionally, their booklet mis-credits the encode to FiM.

YMMV, but for some, the included BD encoded by Marcus Johnson—ironically may make for a more pleasing experience.

Director: Roman Polanski

4K · Solid

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

UK 4K teased by 88 Films https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=24252379

Video Notes:

Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray > Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray (better encode on Carlotta without any low-pass filtering, more extras and English subtitles on Vinegar Syndrome)

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Best Video:

Olive Films Blu-ray

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Best Video:

MGM Blu-ray

Director: Steve Gordon

Best Video:

WB Blu-ray

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· last reviewed 1 year ago

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