Moulin Rouge (1952 film) Moulin Rouge (1952 film) Moulin Rouge is a 1952 British drama film directed by John Huston, produced by John and James Woolf for their Romulus Films company and released by United Artists. The film is set in Paris in the late 19th century, following artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in the city's bohemian subculture in and around the burlesque palace, the Moulin Rouge. The screenplay is by Huston, based on the novel by Pierre La Mure. The cinematography was by Oswald Morris. This film was screened at Venice Film Festival (1953) where it won the Silver Lion. The film stars José
Moulin Rouge! (Reprise)"). The storyline of "Moulin Rouge" can be traced back to Alexandre Dumas, "fils"' "The Lady of the Camellias", although Luhrmann, as an opera director, was probably more directly influenced by Verdi's adaptation, "La traviata". When asked about his inspiration for "Moulin Rouge!", Luhrmann remarked: Luhrmann revealed that he drew from the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice in the DVD's audio commentary. The legend of Orpheus says he was a musical genius, far surpassing anyone in his world; the filmmakers chose to replicate this by using songs from the mid-to-late 20th century, many decades after the film's 1899 setting.