Baz Luhrmann Style

Baz Luhrmann is an Australian director, know best for his movies:

• Strictly  Ballroom
• Moulin Rouge
• Romeo and Juliet
• Australia
• The Great Gatsby

He has created the phrase "Red-Curtain" to desribe his style of films. His films are all very theatrical, and full of high-energy and bright colours, and feels as if it has "been birthed from the stage"

"Luhrmann's films take place in a world that can best be described as heightened reality, and they combine elements of theatre, opera, traditional cinema, and numerous elements of pop culture to create an almost completely new genre."

I found this quote online, and found that this best describes what I feel is Luhrmann's style. His films are very theatrical, and have a very large influence from music.

Moulin Rouge:

This is the opening shot in the film.  It very instantly and obviously represents Luhrmanns theatrical style, as it shows a theatre stage.

This is a still from the film Moulin Rouge. It shows the energy and striking colours that are clearly evident as one of the key elements of Luhrmann's style. The film includes many large, energetic chorus scenes in this film; which is a musical, so largely features musical and dance numbers.

This image shows the two lead characters, Satine and Christian, whom are having a secret love-affair. Luhrmann's use of colour in his films is clearly evident here, through the use of the colour red, which is the key feature of this image. The colour red has many connotations with love, passion and danger, which are all aspects of the two character's relationship.  There is also the very obvious imagery that Luhrmann uses in this still, as both the locket and the window are heart shaped, signifying the relationship between the two.

This image shows the "Green Fairy" in the film, which shows Luhrmanns Surreal, Pop-culture inspired aspect to his fillms.


Luhrmanns' style is very apparent in the trailer for the film:







Romeo + Juliet:

This shot shows Luhrmanns use of colour again. The use of the light blue and whites is the frame represent Juliet's innocence and purity.

The use of the carousel in this shot is an example of Luhrmanns use of both Pop-culture influence in his work, and the symbolism that he includes within the frame. The Fair-ground rides represent the youth and innocence of Romeo, yet as they are set within a rough setting and are quite shabby, this is hinting that the innocence is not thorough/ will not last long.