Moulin Rouge! DVD Review

Wow! This is one fantastic looking DVD thanks to the exceptional anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer 20th Century Fox has supplied on the disc. Luhrmann's film is a mixture of deep blacks and glowing neon reds and blues - prime candidates for colour bleed and digital smearing on a substandard transfer, but not here. The colours are crisp and vivid and brilliantly rendered, while the blacks are solid and full of fine detail. All of this, without the blight of excessive edge enhancement.

The presence of a DTS audio mix on UK DVDs has (thankfully) become far more common in the last few months, and Moulin Rouge is no exception. The mix is beautifully presented with an impressive range and warmth, plenty of action going on in the surrounds, and just enough bass to keep your subwoofer happy and your neighbours annoyed. A major plus is that unlike the US disc, there appear to be no lip-sync errors with the DTS track on this disc. Also included on the disc is a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix which sounds equally impressive, if a little lacking in the bass department.

Spread across the two discs in this set are a ridiculous number of supplementary features which take you through every aspect of the making of this lavish movie. In addition to the film, the first disc features an audio commentary by the director, production designer and cinematographer, a second commentary recorded by the writers, and a Behind the Red Curtain feature which allows you to drop out of the movie to see how certain sequences were put together and the changes they underwent. The second disc serves up a 25 minute making of... featurette, numerous crew interviews, interviews with the five principal actors, an early treatment for the film, five pieces of deleted footage, a selection of mock 'previsualisations', extended and multiangle versions of the Tango, Coup D'Etat and Can Can, an extended version of the Hindi dance, rehearsal footage, an interview with Fatboy Slim, a featurette on the making of the film's music soundtrack, nine set design galleries, the Come What May music video, four costume design galleries, an animated gallery of posters and signs from the film, a live performance and the music video for Lady Marmalade, featurettes on the making of the film's introduction and Green Fairy sequences, an international promo reel, six stills galleries, a poster gallery, trailers and a music promo spot. All this and we haven't even got round to mentioning the Easter Eggs... Spectacular.A stunning film gets a stunning disc. This is one of those wonderful moments when it is impossible to find fault.