20 Reasons Why Moulin Rouge is the Best Movie Musical

Image courtesy of Fox Studios

The Red Dress

As a kid, I distinctly remember wanting to have red hair and that red dress. So my mom went out of her way to buy me a dress similar to Satine’s red gown and my friends and I would scream sing the “Elephant Love Medley” together while I wore it.

Honestly, the dress is just beautiful. She puts it on to try and seduce the Duke and she only wears it for about three scenes but it is an iconic look from the film. It is on every poster and when people talk about Moulin Rouge, they usually bring up a scene where she is wearing it.

It is just a really amazing costume for a spectacular kind of movie. Not in the way that the movie itself is perfect and spectacular but rather the way Baz Luhrmann filmed it. Everything is theatrical and you want to just be immersed in the world like you would if it was an actual theatre production and the red dress fits it so well.

It’s strange because the dress is pretty simple. But it just works in favor of the movie and makes it one of the most iconic costume pieces of all time.