8 Great Movie Musicals To Watch This Holiday Season

3. Moulin Rouge!

Watch With: Your music-obsessed brother. Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge is often labelled the movie equivalent to marmite: you either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it. The 2001 Oscar-winning musical is, however, universally agreed to have sparked a twenty-first century renaissance of the movie musical and many will find much to love in this film. A sparky, vibrant, unique pop-music-filled movie, Moulin Rouge is a brilliant choice for watching over Christmas. The movie tells the story of young writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) who travels to fin-de-siècle Bohemian Paris and falls in with a group of eccentric Bohemians, including Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo) who are putting on a play. Christian finds himself appointed playwright and becomes embroiled in a love affair with the beautiful Satine (Nicole Kidman) a cabaret singer and courtesan at the infamous Moulin Rouge. Luhrmann's 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet aimed to make Shakespeare's classic love story relevant to the MTV generation. In Moulin Rouge, Luhrmann attempts a similar effect, aiming to capture the vibrancy of the Moulin Rouge and Bohemian Paris in the late 1890s through utilising modern-day popular music. Consequently famous songs by artists such as Queen, Madonna, Elton John and The Police are reworked and become the score to Luhrmann's musical. This should not work, but is in fact magnificently effective. The movie's score, the beautiful, ethereal sets and the vivacious performances capture the spirit of Bohemian Paris with an effervescent vitality. McGregor and Kidman demonstrate strong singing voices and are captivating as the doomed lovers Christian and Satine. One to watch with the music fans in your family, Moulin Rouge is one of the best movie musicals of the noughties and wonderful Christmas viewing.