Film study – the evolution of Baz Luhrman
With reference to Romeo+ Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby.
Jessica Spalding-Jones
Topic
"Baz Lurhrmann’s films are designed to tell real, emotive stories through a world of artifice.”
- Kathryn Murrell: Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy
With reference to the three Baz Luhrmann films which you have studied, discuss how
Luhrmann’s use of post-modern film techniques creates the films that Murrell describes
above
Baz Luhrmann's films Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby are designed to tell
authentic, delicate stories through a world of deception. Baz Luhrman constantly draws the
audience in emotionally by the theme of pain and loss; however, through self-reflexivity and
the red curtain aesthetic, Luhrman reminds the audience that they are watching a constructed
reality and not real life. Furthermore, he uses participation to assault the audience's senses and
forces them to engage with the film emotionally. Even though he uses these different
techniques to create this highly artificial world, the stories told are still heartfelt, moving and
honest, which emotionally engages the audience. Throughout his career, these techniques
evolved from being explicit to more subdued, nonetheless maintaining their effectiveness.
Luhrmann integrates postmodern film techniques with his cinematic philosophy, which evokes
emotion within the audience. This is evident in his films Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! but
more subtle in The Great Gatsby.
Luhrman uses self-reflexivity as a constant reminder that the films are portrayed as a
constructed reality rather than real life within his films. Luhrman's use of metafiction and self-
reflexivity contrasts this constructed reality with the honest emotions of each character in the
films. In Romeo + Juliet, this is most evident when observing the opening scene, where the
flickering TV immediately highlights the fact that the film is represented as a news report rather
than the original presentation of Shakespearean's play. The run-down theatre at the Sycamore
Grove beach, where we meet Romeo, is reminiscent of The Globe theatre, originally where
Romeo and Juliet were performed. This integration of a theatre, the use of title cards in the
news report, and symbols such as theatre masks in the party scenes remind the audience that
the construct is not the original but a re-adaptation of a Shakespearean play and displays the
film's self-awareness. Furthermore, Moulin Rouge! begins with the opening of a red curtain, a
conductor, and Christain narrating the story. The positioning of the audience as a viewer makes
the audience conscious that they are watching a 'play' and not witnessing reality. Within the
film, the audience is made aware of what Christain is typing on the screen, further enforcing
the idea of self-reflexivity and a constructed world. In The Great Gatsby, self-reflexivity is
evident, however, not as noticeably as in Romeo+ Juliet and Moulin Rouge! Luhrman wanted to
With reference to Romeo+ Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby.
Jessica Spalding-Jones
Topic
"Baz Lurhrmann’s films are designed to tell real, emotive stories through a world of artifice.”
- Kathryn Murrell: Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy
With reference to the three Baz Luhrmann films which you have studied, discuss how
Luhrmann’s use of post-modern film techniques creates the films that Murrell describes
above
Baz Luhrmann's films Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby are designed to tell
authentic, delicate stories through a world of deception. Baz Luhrman constantly draws the
audience in emotionally by the theme of pain and loss; however, through self-reflexivity and
the red curtain aesthetic, Luhrman reminds the audience that they are watching a constructed
reality and not real life. Furthermore, he uses participation to assault the audience's senses and
forces them to engage with the film emotionally. Even though he uses these different
techniques to create this highly artificial world, the stories told are still heartfelt, moving and
honest, which emotionally engages the audience. Throughout his career, these techniques
evolved from being explicit to more subdued, nonetheless maintaining their effectiveness.
Luhrmann integrates postmodern film techniques with his cinematic philosophy, which evokes
emotion within the audience. This is evident in his films Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! but
more subtle in The Great Gatsby.
Luhrman uses self-reflexivity as a constant reminder that the films are portrayed as a
constructed reality rather than real life within his films. Luhrman's use of metafiction and self-
reflexivity contrasts this constructed reality with the honest emotions of each character in the
films. In Romeo + Juliet, this is most evident when observing the opening scene, where the
flickering TV immediately highlights the fact that the film is represented as a news report rather
than the original presentation of Shakespearean's play. The run-down theatre at the Sycamore
Grove beach, where we meet Romeo, is reminiscent of The Globe theatre, originally where
Romeo and Juliet were performed. This integration of a theatre, the use of title cards in the
news report, and symbols such as theatre masks in the party scenes remind the audience that
the construct is not the original but a re-adaptation of a Shakespearean play and displays the
film's self-awareness. Furthermore, Moulin Rouge! begins with the opening of a red curtain, a
conductor, and Christain narrating the story. The positioning of the audience as a viewer makes
the audience conscious that they are watching a 'play' and not witnessing reality. Within the
film, the audience is made aware of what Christain is typing on the screen, further enforcing
the idea of self-reflexivity and a constructed world. In The Great Gatsby, self-reflexivity is
evident, however, not as noticeably as in Romeo+ Juliet and Moulin Rouge! Luhrman wanted to
