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'Moulin Rouge!': Fact -v- Fiction Quiz

One of the things I really love about 'Moulin Rouge!' is the period it's set in - Paris at the turn of the century. This quiz should test if you've taken the time to check up on the real background to the movie!

A multiple-choice quiz by belleepoque. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
belleepoque

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
122,264

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
4 / 10

Plays
3084

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. When did the real Moulin Rouge open its doors? Hint

1889

1890

1879

1899

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Question 2 of 10

2. In the movie, the owner/manager of the Moulin Rouge is called Harold Zidler. What was M. Zidler (the actual owner of the Moulin) really called? Hint

Claude

Jacques

Charles

Pierre

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Question 3 of 10

3. The key feature of the Moulin Rouge is the famous red windmill. Why was this chosen as the symbol of the dancehall? Hint

The windmill was already there when the club moved in.

Flourmilling had been the local trade for generations in Montmartre.

The owners just liked the look of it.

Moulin Rouge is situated on Place du Moulin or Windmill Place in Montmartre.

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Question 4 of 10

4. The elephant in the movie is set as Satine's den of seduction, and yes, there was a fake elephant in the garden of the actual Moulin Rouge. But where was it from? Hint

The World's Fair of 1889 in Paris.

India.

The workshop of a local artist.

It had been part of an earlier dancehall complex on the site.

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Question 5 of 10

5. Where is the Moulin Rouge situated in Montmartre? Hint

Place du Moulin

Place Rouge

Place du Tertre

Place Blanche

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which one of these main movie characters was NOT based on a real dancer or performer at the original Moulin Rouge? Hint

Satine

Mome Fromage

Nini Legs in the Air

Chocolat

7. In the can can sequence, it becomes instantly apparent that each 'diamond dog' has a unique costume. What historical fact do their distinctly themed costumes reflect, as noted by Catherine Martin when she explained their designs in the "Moulin Rouge!" book published to accompany the film? Hint

Original can can dancers had unique gimmicks or tricks which they were famous for.

The costumes reflected the different backgrounds of the original Moulin Rouge dancers.

Each girl used to follow a distinct costume theme in the original Moulin Rouge.

The costumes don't reflect anything historically - she just designed them differently for the sake of it.

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Question 8 of 10

8. Absinthe is featured heavily in 'Moulin Rouge!'. What was an optional accompaniment to the highly intoxicating beverage in 19th century Paris? Hint

Sugar

Ice

Salt

A straw

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Question 9 of 10

9. Where did the can can dance originate from? Hint

It developed from raucous Parisian street dances.

It was developed exclusively at and for the Moulin Rouge.

It was an adaptation of an old Breton dance.

It came from an old eastern European form of folk dance.

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Question 10 of 10

10. Besides the exotic decoration and equally exotic dancers contained inside, the Elephant of the Moulin Rouge also featured an opium den?

True

False

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. When did the real Moulin Rouge open its doors?

Answer: 1889

The Moulin Rouge was only one of a series of Parisian dancehalls opened in this period, known as La Belle Epoque (literally 'The Beautiful Time') but it soon became the most popular: and most infamous!

2. In the movie, the owner/manager of the Moulin Rouge is called Harold Zidler. What was M. Zidler (the actual owner of the Moulin) really called?

Answer: Charles

Just as Harold Zidler (played by Jim Broadbdent) was a wily businessman, the real Charles Zidler drew in the crowds to his Moulin Rouge with extravagant and exotic decor, themed areas and famous dancers.

3. The key feature of the Moulin Rouge is the famous red windmill. Why was this chosen as the symbol of the dancehall?

Answer: Flourmilling had been the local trade for generations in Montmartre.

Montmartre (literally 'Mount of the Martyrs'- and there is quite a hill there alright, even today!) was famous as the main area around Paris for flourmilling for years before it became famous as the home of the Bohemians and the dancehalls and caf�s they frequented.

The choice of the red windmill as the key decorative feature for what was to become Montmartre's and Paris's most famous dancehall was a nod to this heritage.

4. The elephant in the movie is set as Satine's den of seduction, and yes, there was a fake elephant in the garden of the actual Moulin Rouge. But where was it from?

Answer: The World's Fair of 1889 in Paris.

The whopping great elephant in the garden of the Moulin Rouge came from the same exhibition which gave the world the Eiffel Tower - which was hated by many Parisians at the time it went up. The elephant was discarded after the Fair until the entrepreneurs behind the Moulin Rouge salvaged it for use as an attraction. If you're really interested, the 1889 World's Fair was held in Paris to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution.

5. Where is the Moulin Rouge situated in Montmartre?

Answer: Place Blanche

Place Blanche ... White Place or Square!

6. Which one of these main movie characters was NOT based on a real dancer or performer at the original Moulin Rouge?

Answer: Satine

All three other characters were based on real life performers, photos and drawings of whom still exist, and who would have earned a living at the Moulin Rouge. Chocolat, the North African clown, features in some of the paintings made by Toulouse-Lautrec based on the characters and dancers he encountered in the Moulin Rouge and the streets surrounding it.

Answer: Original can can dancers had unique gimmicks or tricks which they were famous for.

Every original can can dancer (or at least those who became famous) had her own distinct gimmick, even if her costume was not as exuberant, decorative and perfectly themed as those on display in the movie. For example, one of the most famous, La Goulue, got her nickname (lit.

The Glutton) because she used to down unattended glasses of wine or other drinks left on the bar of the Moulin. Nini-Pattes-en-L'Air (Nini Legs in the Air, as seen in the movie) got her nickname for her infamous high kicking. Thus, costumes rather than gimmicks become the distinguishing marks of the Moulin Rouge dancers in the movie.

8. Absinthe is featured heavily in 'Moulin Rouge!'. What was an optional accompaniment to the highly intoxicating beverage in 19th century Paris?

Answer: Sugar

Understandably, some would add sugar to their glass of Absinthe in order to take off the bitter edge of the drink. Its massive popularity ensured that cocktail hour in Paris of the day became known as L'Heure Verte or "the Green Hour", and anyone who's seen the movie should easily understand why!

9. Where did the can can dance originate from?

Answer: It developed from raucous Parisian street dances.

The can can was derived from the wildly exuberant dances practiced in somewhat lower class areas of Paris. Originally danced by men, its infamy developed when women took it up. That women should have the freedom to kick their legs, lift their skirts and do the splits, was seen as shocking, revolutionary, and daring at the time. Apparently, the dance was so violent that some people died while doing it!

10. Besides the exotic decoration and equally exotic dancers contained inside, the Elephant of the Moulin Rouge also featured an opium den?

Answer: True

While Baz Luhrmann sought to go to the limits with 'Moulin Rouge!', I think to portray some characters in the opium den might have pushed it too far! Anyway, drugs in a nightclub ... plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose (the more things change, the more things stay the same)! Hope you enjoyed the quiz as much as you enjoyed the movie and I hope you've maybe learned a little more about the real story of the Moulin Rouge - 'the nightclub of your dreams'.

Source: Author belleepoque

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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