Character of the Week: Christian from Moulin Rouge

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and every Valentine's Day I have a tradition where I watch Moulin Rouge. Moulin Rouge has been one of my favorite movies ever since it came out when I was about 11 years old. I love everything about this movie, but one of my favorite things about it is Ewan McGregor as Christian. I remember being 11 years old and falling madly in love with this fictional character. Christian is a young man who moves to Paris to be a writer and live among the bohemian society. Eventually he fall in love with Satine, a courtesean who is dying of consumption (but he doesn't know that...) He also has a great singing voice and is incredibly gorgeous.

Just Finished Reading: The Lady of the Camellias

Such a sad story. I HAD to read this book when I found out that two of my favorite movies, Camille and Moulin Rouge were based on the same novel. Well technically, Moulin Rouge is based on La Traviata, which is based on the novel. I mean, I noticed that they were basically the same story, but on Moulin Rouge's Wiki page, it says La Traviata and not The Lady of the Camellias, and I had never heard of La Traviata before. Camille and Moulin Rouge are actually a lot closer to each other in plot than they are to this book. While there are a lot of similarities, there are even more differences. I still really liked this book, and it kind of made me wish that I was a 19th century stage actress, so that I could play Marguerite. There was one particularily sexy scene where she goes to Armand's house after he sends her a cruel letter and she ends up stripping off her clothes in front of him. Hot! It was even hotter because I really wasn't expecting it, especially in a novel as old as this one. What is really neat is that there were photos from different film adaptations and stage productions of this. So there were a few pictures of Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor, and even a photo of Colin Firth and Greta Scacchi. I haven't seen the latter pair's version yet, but now I'm really curious to. I saw it on sale at Barnes and Noble the last time I went shopping, and I knew I should have bought it! Next time...

Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar Love Triangle

One way that is sure to add drama to a romance film is to have a love triangle. My favorite kind of love triangle is what I call the Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar Love Triangle, named after three characters from Wuthering Heights. This type of love triangle involves two men and one woman. The woman has to choose between marrying the rich man and living a life of luxury and security with the Edgar character, or being with the man she loves, who is usually poor and better looking like Heathcliff. Sometimes the Edgar character is a good man who truly cares for the woman, or other times he is a bastard who only wants a pretty wife. One of the major themes you see in this kind of love triangle is a theme of jealousy. Here are a few examples of the Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar Love Triangle in film.

Wuthering Heights (1939, 2009) Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar

While there have been at least a dozen adaptations of Wuthering Heights, these two are my favorite. In Wuthering Heights, Cathy is in love with Heathcliff, but chooses to marry Edgar because he is "handsome and pleasant to be with" but also because he is rich. This of course breaks Heathcliff's heart, but he gets even by marrying Edgar's sister.

Camille (1936) Armand/ Marguerite/ Baron de Varville

In Camille, Margeurite is in love with Armand. She abandons being taken care of by Baron de Varville to go away with him, but unfortunately for her, Armand's father doesn't approve of their relationship. He threatens to take away all of Armand's fortune if she does not leave him. So, in order to try to make him stop loving her, she leaves him for the Baron.

Room With A View (1985) George/ Lucy/ Cecil

In room with a view, Lucy has to choose between George, the man she loves, or Cecil, the stuffy aristocrat whom she is supposed to marry. Unlike the previous films, this one does have a happy ending for Lucy and George.





The Princess Bride (1987) Westley/ Buttercup/ Humperdinck

This version of the Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar love triangle is a little different. Buttercup only gets engaged to Prince Humperdinck because she believes that Westley is dead. When she finds that he is alive, however, she wants to break off her engagement with Humperdinck. He makes an agreement with her, however, that she will marry him unless Westley comes and stops the wedding. This is a really shitty video, but I couldn't find a good version that could be embedded...



Titanic (1997) Jack/ Rose/ Cal

In Titanic, Rose starts off the movie already engaged to the rich Cal, but then falls for the poor Jack while on the "unsinkable ship." We all know that she chooses Jack over Cal, even making the stupid decision to jump back on the sinking ship to be with him.



Shakespeare in Love (1998) Shakespeare/ Viola/ Lord Wessex

In this film, Viola falls in love with William Shakespeare, even though her parents have arranged for her to marry Lord Wessex. Obviously she chooses the famous writer...



Shrek (2001) Shrek/ Fiona/ Lord Farquaad

In Shrek, the title character rescues Fiona from the fire breathing dragon so that he can bring her back to Duloc and she can marry Lord Farquaad. On the way, Fiona and Shrek fall for eachother, but Fiona intends to marry Farquaad because she thinks that only he can break the spell. Luckily, Shrek stops the wedding (even though he was a little late) and Farquaad gets eaten by a dragon.



Moulin Rouge! (2001) Christian/ Satine/ The Duke

Along with Shrek, Moulin Rouge is an example of when the Edgar character is a bastard. Satine and Christian fall in love, but Satine has to charm and seduce the Duke so that he will finance turning the Moulin Rouge into a theater. This film is actually a lot like Camille and deals a lot with jealousy. There is even a similar plot element to Camille where Satine has to make Christian believe that she doesn't love him.



Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Will/ Elizabeth/ Norrington

In the first Pirates of the Carribean movie, Elizabeth must choose between Will, her childhood friend, and Commodore Norrington who has asked her to marry him. She agrees to marry Norrington, but chooses Will in the end.



The Notebook (2004) Noah/ Allie/ Lon

Noah and Allie are together for one summer and fall in love. After she leaves to go back home and then to college, she thinks that they are never going to see eachother again. So, she gets engaged to a handsome guy named Lon. Before her wedding, however, she sees Noah's picture in the paper and goes to visit him. It is then that she realizes she still loves him.



Tristan and Isolde (2006) Tristan/ Isolde/ Lord Marke

In Tristan and Isolde, Isolde is in love with Tristan, but is forced to marry Lord Marke. Marke is a kind man, so Isolde does not hate him, which leads to Tristan getting jealous. Isolde does love him, though, so she sneaks out to see him. When the guy is James Franco, how could you not love him?



Red Riding Hood (2011) Peter/ Valarie/ Henry

In Red Riding Hood, Valarie is in love with Peter, but is arranged to marry Henry. In this film, Henry actually gets a clue that Valerie doesn't love him and he breaks off the engagement. That is something that you don't usually see in these kinds of love triangles.

My Favorite Movie Kisses

In honor of tomorrow being Valentine's Day, I am making a list of my favorite movie kisses. I have never been a huge fan of romance films, but these are the kisses that left an impression on me.

The Kiss (1896)

The one that started it all....this is the first kiss ever put on film.



The Gold Rush (1925)

I saw this movie for the first time a few days ago, and I thought that this was the cutest thing I had ever seen. I'm pissed because the only version of The Gold Rush that I could find on Youtube was the reissue where this end scene was cut out. Since you can't watch it I will try to describe it for you. Charlie Chaplin's character has just become a multi-millionaire and this group of journalists are writing a story on him. While on the ship, he sees his love Georgia and they decide to put her in a picture they take of him. So they stand them next to eachother with their faces really close together, but before they take the photo, he leans in and kisses her.

Gone With the Wind (1939)

It is the kiss that convinces Scarlett to marry Rhett. I just love it because she is spending the whole scene laughing at his marriage proposal, but as soon as he kisses her shes like, "okay..." You'll find better videos of this one Youtube, but this is the only one that I could find that I could embed.




Notorious (1946)

I love this one because it's sneaky...The Production Code at the time said that kisses could be no longer than three seconds, so instead of having a really long kiss, they had a bunch of little ones.



From Here to Eternity (1953)

I'm not going to lie...I have never actually seen this entire movie. I have seen this kiss several times on other movies and always thought that it was a really nice kiss...




On the Waterfront (1954)

This is probably the sexiest kiss on my list and not just because it has the beautiful Marlon Brando. I love it because the music swells up in the scene, but as soon as he kisses her it just stops and all you hear is their breathing....



Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

This is such a good movie! I love Audrey Hepburn, and this is probably my favorite romance film. I love this kissing scene because its when she realizes that she loves him, it is in the rain, and they have her pet cat between them. It is just a really good scene.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Even though she said that she'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee as kiss Han Solo, this is the moment when Leia finally gives in to his charms.




Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Not the most romantic kiss in the world, but it is still quite memorable...



Moulin Rouge (2001)

I love this movie so much!!! It came out when I was 11 and I was in love with Ewan McGregor and thought that this was the greatest movie of all time. My favorite part was always when they sang the Elephant Love Medley and then kissed after it was over...



Spiderman (2002)

This is definitely one of the most creative kisses I've seen on film, and I just love it!



Wall-E (2008)

CUTE!!!!!!!!

Favorite Songs From Movie Musicals

Here is my list of my top ten songs from movie musicals. I limited it to one song per movie or else this list would be filled with songs from Grease and Rocky Horror Picture Show. I haven't seen too many older musicals, so this list is mostly contemporary musicals.

10. A Little Help From My Friends (Across the Universe)
Even though I can't stand Evan Rachel Wood's speaking voice, I really liked Across the Universe, and this is my favorite song from that movie. Not because its my favorite Beatles song (which its not), but because it is the most fun song in the movie and is one that I love singing along to.



9. Be Italian (Nine)
Overall, I didn't think that this movie was too great. A bunch of the songs were pretty boring in my opinion, and there were only two songs in the movie that I really liked. I really liked Kate Hudson's song Cinema Italiano, but I LOVED the song Be Italian sung by Fergie. It shows that Fergie really does have a great voice, and without a doubt the best song in the whole movie even though Fergie's role is pretty small. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that she doesn't have any lines in this whole movie except for this song.



8. Seasons of Love (Rent)
I'm pretty sure I've seen this movie only once, but I've watched this video on Youtube over a dozen times. I love singing along with this song and makes me wish I had a larger vocal range (of which mine is pretty miniscule).



7. Hard Knock Life (Annie)
I've probably seen this movie over a hundred times. I watched this movie all the time when I was a kid and this was always my favorite song.



6. Come What May (Moulin Rouge)
Choosing one song from this movie turned out to be really hard. I really love Elephant Love Medley and Roxanne, but I had to go with Come What May, because it is such a beautiful song. This movie is really sad, but this song alone is enough to make me cry. Ewan McGregor has such a great voice...



5. Little Priest (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)
I was originally going to go with Worst Pies in London, but I actually like this one a little bit better because I'm kind of a sucker for duets. Plus, its a song about putting people into meat pies and eating them, what could be better than that?



4. Phantom of the Opera (Phantom of the Opera)
I honestly wan't a big fan of this movie, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song! While Gerard Butler's voice is okay, Emmy Rossum's voice is amazing, and she made a wonderful Christine. Also, this part of the movie just looked really gorgeous, and was beautifully shot.



3. Cell Block Tango (Chicago)
Hands down the best song from the movie Chicago. This movie came out when I was in junior high, and I completely adored this movie and this song. I don't think that its possible for someone to hear this song and not want to sing it, which is interesting because a majority of this song isn't singing at all, but monologuing by each of the "six merry murderesses."



2. Time Warp (Rocky Horror Picture Show)
This was also a movie where it was hard to choose one song. I mean this movie is filled with great songs like Science Fiction Double Feature, Sweet Transvestite, and Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me, but I ended up choosing the fantastic Time Warp. The dance for this song is very simple, but thats probably what makes it so great. I guess on Halloween the world record for most people doing the Time Warp was broken, which is really cool. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a good video for this song on Youtube anymore, but here's the song...



1. You're the One That I Want (Grease)
Then, of course, there is Grease. A movie that I have watched since, like, birth and still love to this day. It is no longer possible for me to hear the words "tell me about it" without immediately saying "stud" and then breaking out into song. "I've got chiiiiiiills, they're multiplying, and I'm loooooosing contro-ol...All the power you're supplying, its ELECTRIFYING!!!" A few months ago when I was driving home from somewhere with my mom this song came on the radio, and we both got so excited and just started belting it out. There was not a doubt in my mind that I would put this song as number one on my list.