AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Portia Hilton
Blistering performances.
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Jem Odewahn
There were moments when I was watching this in which I felt intensely interested, and moved. But there were too many "blah" moments for me to see it as a really good picture. It's a very loose biopic of the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Jose Ferrer), crippled in early life by an accident, shown as brilliant artist but a tragic, lonely drunk. Director John Huston and photographer Oswald Morris capture the atmosphere of 19th century Paris very well, with often gorgeous compositions. It also surprisingly captures the vulgarity of this life, with Colette Marchand's desperate, animal-like prostitute a standout. But Jose Ferrer's performance is so average that it ruins the picture. He just stands and delivers his lines in a monotone scene after scene. The relationship between Marchand and Ferrer, who so desperately wants love that it's killing him, is interesting but you can't help thinking that Ferrer is just a dumb sap, which kills the picture. And when a decent woman comes into his life later in the picture, he's too blind to see it! His obsession with Marchand just gets really irritating after a while, because her character is just not worth the trouble.
thinker1691
The artist Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec, came from a grand and Noble family. Handicapped with a birth deformity brought about when cousins marry, he nevertheless rose to prominence as a post Impressionist in Paris during the 1890s. Created for the silver screen, by director John Huston, this incredible movie " Moulin Rouge " stars the very versatile actor, Jose Ferrer. Although it encapsulates the artist's brief life of 36 years, it nevertheless highlights the auspicious moments of his career and his lonely search for acceptance in and out of love. The film depicts the early painful years at his family's estate and his beloved Montmartre where other famed artisans, writers and philosophers of the day, came to share their thoughts. Recognition for his artistic ability, like so many, was slow in developing. While associating with the lowest street segments of Paris, he was always cognizant of the fact he would never be considered anything but a grotesque figure of a man. Ferrer played Lautrec as a tortured soul with an immense talent for painting as well as a sober alcoholic which would eventually destroy him. As a result, we see him at his usual nightly seat at the Moulin nightclub where the "French Can-Can" was created and would go on to become as world renown as the visiting artist. The movie also contains other notable stars such as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Peter Cushing and Theodore Bikel. The result being a Classic film which is so superbly made it will live on as long as the paintings of Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec. It that, the artist never knew how well he had succeeded. *****
bobsgrock
I have seen many biopics, but very few if any have the sympathy and heart for the main character as much as this John Huston-directed film about famous French painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. A childhood accident left his legs to stop growing at the same rate as the rest of his body, which in his mind and many around him left him an ugly monstrous creature too short to be minded. Born into aristocracy, the accident left him feeling below his father's expectations so he found his niche in painting and soon moved to Paris to further explore this output.Despite being a fictional account of this great painter's life, Huston is able to derive a certain amount of realism thanks to the marvelous art and costume direction. Set in the late 1800's of Paris, the opening scene is a wild and rambunctious evening at the famous dancing café Moulin Rouge, a favorite hangout of Lautrec and other artists. The film focuses mostly on his trauma from his deformity, which in turn affects any relationship he has with women as well as his feelings for himself. Being very cynical, he views the world simply as a drawing which he can never be a part of. Jose Ferrer perfectly captures his tortured soul in each scene and it is a great performance. The supporting cast is good including Zsa Zsa Gabor as a woman with whom perhaps he has the best kind of relationship; purely platonic. The film does tend to head into some melodramatic material in the final quarter, but that is a small quibble for an otherwise magnificent production that is gorgeous to look at as well as truly loving of this incredible painter who didn't let his shortcomings affect the one thing he could give to this world.
headhunter46
Jose Ferrer is absolutely convincing as Henri Toulouse-Lautrec the artist. A man tortured by a childhood accident that revealed an inherited genetic defect and left him in constant pain with legs that did not grow to full length. As a result he was shorter than most women. He was emotionally unable to overcome this and fell into despair thinking himself to be ugly and undesirable to women. The pain and the disability caused him to seek relief in the form of Cognac drank with increasing frequency. It occurred to me that death at so young an age was a tragic loss of talent. And yet, had he not developed his disability, he would most likely have grown up and been much like his father, a gentleman, statesman, and wealthy socialite, his talent as an artist never developed to its potential. His self deprecating attitude prevented him from trusting his feelings with others. After one bad experience with an emotionally damaged woman he never allowed himself to admit love again. He immersed himself in his art and his surroundings, but never another woman. His love interest was played exceptionally well by a lovely, spirited, enchanting woman, Colette Marchand. She too was a tortured soul, wanting happiness and a better life so badly it hurt, but she was so emotionally damaged she was not content in the "upper class" life of Lautrec. According to the movie plot Henri loved her to the end. An end that came much too soon due in part to his alcoholism and his illness. His parents were first cousins which caused some serious health problems due to inbreeding. This movie was so well executed I gave it a 9 but I always leave room for a 10 "just in case". Great detail is given to his art form and there are many of his paintings displayed throughout. (I am certain they were authentic looking duplicates) The costumes and clothing look spot on perfect. Lots of color, wild dancing and music. I am certain if you like movies from this period you will enjoy a look into the life of Henri Toulouse Lautrec. I have not seen the more recent version of this movie but I find it hard to believe anyone would think themselves capable of doing justice to the original. Perhaps I will have to rent it just to satisfy my curiosity.
