Romance is in the air at five Alamo Drafthouse locations in North Texas Feb. 8-14. Alamo Encore offers the perfect Valentine’s Day screening with an interactive “Moulin Rouge! Movie Party.”
Press materials invite “true romantics” to join 200 other “heart-swept people” to watch Director Baz Luhrmann’s award-winning “Moulin Rouge.” Luhrmann (with Craig Pearce) also wrote the script for the 2001 musical. It focuses on a tragic love affair between a beautiful courtesan and an artist, set in 1899’s Paris.
Starring Nicole Kidman as the courtesan Satine (“the most beautiful girl in the Moulin Rouge”) and Ewan McGregor as Christian, “Moulin Rouge” has become a cult favorite for everyone who loves romance—even without a happy ending.
“Moulin Rouge” also features John Leguizamo as the absinthe and alcohol addicted artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. My favorite quote from the film was Toulouse-Lautrec’s, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
The real-life artist’s paintings captured the Bohemian world of “sex, drugs, music, theater, and the scandalous dance known as the cancan.” All were available at the Moulin Rouge, a dance hall, brothel and theater in the Montmartre district of Paris, run by Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent). Luhrman mixed the period romance with anachronistic dialogue and songs. When Christian writes his play starring Satine (and closely paralleling their romance), he uses rock music from a century later. The soundtrack includes songs made famous by Nirvana, Madonna, the Beatles, and Queen.
Party Props & Can-Can Dance Contest
Props will be provided for some special interaction, including blinking rings for “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,” and green glow sticks for the Green Fairy. The party kicks off with a Can-Can dance contest.
This is a Valentine’s party for grownups. 20th Century Fox’s “Moulin Rouge” is rated PG-13 for sexual content, but Alamo Drafthouse recommends the interactive party for those 18 or over. Children 6 and up will be allowed only with an adult; no children under the age of 6 allowed.
Wherever you live in North Texas, there’s an Alamo Drafthouse location hosting the interactive Moulin Rouge parties nearby. Parties will be held at Cedars, Denton, Lake Highlands, Las Colinas, and Richardson locations. For information about show times, visit drafthouse.com/series/alamo-encore.