Every successful filmmaker, over the course of their career, develops his or her unique style of film making.
Baz Luhrmann is known for his colorful and sometimes eccentric films.
Bursting into Hollywood with his 1992 film, Strictly Ballroom, Lurhmann often tells stories of characters trying to succeed against seemingly impossible challenges.
His 1996 adaptation of Romeo + Juliet, starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Clarie Danes as the young lovers. Standing in the way of their happily ever after was John Leguizamo as Tybalt, Paul Rudd as Paris and Paul Sorvino as Fulgencio Capulet. The genius of this film was that while the Shakespearean text was unaltered, Lurhmann wisely chose to set the film in modern day Verona.
Five years later, he tried his hand at the musical genre with Moulin Rouge. In 1899, Christian (Ewan McGregor) is an idealistic young poet who has come to Paris to follow the Bohemian Revolution. His companions take him to the Moulin Rouge, where the star is Satine (Nicole Kidman). Christian and Satine fall in love, but the Moulin Rouge’s patron, the Duke (Richard Roxburgh) also has eye on Satine. Utilizing modern pop music, the story is about love against all odds.
I recommend both.
Writergurlny 