moulin rouge vs. singin' in the rain

Musicals, because of the lack of sound until the late 20’s, were the last major movie genre to appear (www.filmsite.org). Their roots are quite evident in broadways and operettas and they are defined as narrative movies with musical and dance numbers which carry along the story line. Two great musicals from two different film eras will be studied throughout this paper. Their similarities, but also differences shall be pointed out and argued by their use of film form.
The more recent musical to breakthrough is Moulin Rouge (2001) directed by Baz Luhrmann. Although it got many mixed reviews, I find it quite rich in film form. The movie unrolls in one long flashback of the protagonist, Christian. He goes on a quest to the famous Moulin rouge to search for acceptance of his bohemian values that have been oppressed by his father. He then meets a group of actors who are trying to perform a play at the Moulin Rouge night club and joins them. Christian goes one night to the Moulin Rouge to...