1h 59min | Biography, Drama, Music | 23 December 1952 | Color
Director: John Huston
Stars: José Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon.
William Chappell ... dances director
I don't like JF, but that makes him perfect for Toulouse Lautrec, an unpleasant character, to say the least.
I'm grateful that this is made in the era of censorship; supposedly TL's life is much more sordid, and I don't need that.
The art direction is excellent; this looks like TL's artwork. That, and the costumes, won Oscars for this film.
The music is a lot of can-can, which is the Moulin Rouge signature entertainment. The dancing is not dazzling, especially for a hall that held 2,000 people. We get very few dancers, and the featured quartet (2 men, 2 women) take turns dancing. Lots of uplifted skirts, waved feet and splits accompanied by squeals to heighten the excitement. We also get a few more dancers, but always fewer than 10, I think. Frankly it seems fewer than 8. Baz Luhrmann did it better, of course.
The art direction is excellent; this looks like TL's artwork. That, and the costumes, won Oscars for this film.
The music is a lot of can-can, which is the Moulin Rouge signature entertainment. The dancing is not dazzling, especially for a hall that held 2,000 people. We get very few dancers, and the featured quartet (2 men, 2 women) take turns dancing. Lots of uplifted skirts, waved feet and splits accompanied by squeals to heighten the excitement. We also get a few more dancers, but always fewer than 10, I think. Frankly it seems fewer than 8. Baz Luhrmann did it better, of course.
I like watching this after seeing An American in Paris ('51), because both films featured TL's drawing of Chocolat, the black dancer in the skin-tight beige outfit. Here they bring him to life to show TL sketching him, and he dances well, but doesn't strike that pose that G.Kelly did so well.
IMDb trivia includes an explanation of the various methods for JF giving the illusion of having shrunken legs. The few times his is shown in full figure with the floor visible, he is on kneepads with his legs strapped behind him. Ouch.
The pace is good and the story is engaging. I'm tempted to seek a biography of TL, but I'm not reading much these days.
indie, distr. UA, dir. Huston; 8+
