Paramount Gets Baz-y with Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!
Romeo + Juliet: Saturday, January 16, 7pm and Sunday, January 17, 4:30pm
Moulin Rouge!: Saturday, January 16, 9:20pm and Sunday, January 17, 2pm
Paramount Theatre (713 Congress Avenue)
$7 online, $9 regular admission
[info] | [tickets]
As innocent, greasy middle schoolers, we might have bawled at the end of Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. With those leads and that score, you would have to be as old and unaware of your surroundings as Larry King to not shed a tear. While Luhrmann's take on Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers doesn't elicit such strong emotions, it definitely offers a slew of beautiful sights for the big screen. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes pine just fine, but it's the supporting cast (Harold Perrineau, John Lequizamo) and the striking sets that linger in this 1996 version. Also of note: the soundtrack. Now that was a compilation you could steal from your sister and emote to! They used #1 Crush before everyone else did and had an über-depressing Des'ree song that was perfect for laying on uncomfortable carpet in oversized flannel. Then again, we would go just to see a ginormous version of that final scene ridden with fire hazards. Beautiful!
You’ve just got to be honest when it comes to Moulin Rouge!; we're all probably not going to find that fairytale multitakser that can mash up the world's best known love songs and maintain constant eye contact while twirling us on a rooftop (a medley for the ages, people). All the more reason to get involved in some red-toned, sparkly escapism that will constantly throw song and dance in your face to keep your mind from wandering back to the trials of everyday life. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor star as two entirely different star-crossed lovers...actually, just take the general skeleton of Romeo + Juliet and make it a musical set in Paris. Sure there's that whole consumption bit that doesn't exist in the other film, but we know you don’t need a synopsis when it comes to Romance. Seriously, though, there is a great deal of Baz magic in this 2001 musical (although this one still feels like the 90s to us for some reason) and our bet is that you sing your way out of the theatre.
Given that these films excel in atmosphere, "Austin's Movie Palace" seems like the perfect setting for the stars, hearts, fireworks, clouds, candles and porcelain Kidman/Danes skin of a Baz Luhrmann movie. The Paramount’s stage and beautiful, dramatic red curtain will especially compliment Moulin Rouge!, but don’t start channeling Nicole or Ewan ‘cause an usher will most definitely take you down before you can make your skip-jump onto the stage.
There is at least one more weekend (January 22) planned for the Paramount's Winter Film Series and it has a sci-fi slant this time: Mars Attacks! and The Fifth Element.
