Excerpt from: 'Moulin Rouge': An Eyeful, an Earful, Anachronism NY Times review <snip> In telling the story, Mr. Luhrmann pilfers music and movies like a fearless home invader; he kicks the door down and takes what he wants right off the table. The movie vaults from "La Bohème" to "La Traviata" to "Camille" to "Cabaret." It's not a novel idea to use anachronism as an anchor for musical numbers; "A Knight's Tale," which opened last week, employs the same tactic. But it has never been done as unremittingly as it is here. In one number, Patti LaBelle's sweaty "Lady Marmalade" morphs into the snarling grunge melancholy of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," a combination that would be lost on even D.J. Qbert and the Columbia Record Club. When the number works, as when Mr. Broadbent gives a new snap of the suspenders to Madonna's "Like a Virgin," it can be invigorating. But these songs became part of the cultural canvas because they distilled a single gesture, which is undeniably the true essence of pop. The lines "Oh, well, whatever, never mind" (from "Smells Like Teen Spirit") or "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" (from "Lady Marmalade") are given air in those original songs. Hijacked from their moorings, they float aimlessly. etc. Gene Walz Film Studies U of MB ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]