Passes the Bechdel test
Moulin Rouge!
2001. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
17 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 66. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
The year is 1899, and Christian, a young English writer, has come to Paris to follow the Bohemian revolution taking hold of the city's drug and prostitute infested underworld. And nowhere is the thrill of the underworld more alive than at the Moulin Rouge, a night club where the rich and poor men alike come to be entertained by the dancers, but things take a wicked turn for Christian as he starts a deadly love affair with the star courtesan of the club, Satine. But her affections are also coveted by the club's patron: the Duke. A dangerous love triangle ensues as Satine and Christian attempt to fight all odds to stay together but a force that not even love can conquer is taking its toll on Satine...
- Released
- 01 Jun 2001
- Genres
- Drama, Musical, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 66 / 100
- Awards
- Won 2 Oscars. 89 wins & 133 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Satin 159 lines, woman
- Christian 119 lines, man
- Zidler 103 lines, man
- Toulouse 54 lines, man
- Duke 50 lines, man
- All 26 lines
- Argentinian 26 lines, man
- Suddenly 17 lines
- Satie 16 lines, man
- The Doctor 11 lines, man
Full cast, 127 people
- Ewan McGregor as Christian
- Nicole Kidman as Satine
- John Leguizamo as Toulouse-Lautrec
- Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler
- Richard Roxburgh as The Duke
- Garry McDonald as The Doctor
- Jacek Koman as The Unconscious Argentinean
- Matthew Whittet as Satie
- Kerry Walker as Marie
- Caroline O'Connor as Nini Legs in the Air
- Christine Anu as Arabia
- Natalie Mendoza as China Doll
- Lara Mulcahy as Môme Fromage
- David Wenham as Audrey
- Kylie Minogue as The Green Fairy
- Ozzy Osbourne as Voice of the Green Fairy
- Deobia Oparei as Le Chocolat
- Linal Haft as Warner
- Keith Robinson as Le Petomane
- Peter Whitford as Stage Manager
- Norman Kaye as Satine's Doctor
- Arthur Dignam as Christian's Father
- Carole Skinner as Landlady
- Jonathan Hardy as Man in the Moon
- Plácido Domingo as Voice of Man in the Moon
- Kiruna Stamell as La Petite Princesse
- Anthony Young as Orchestra Member
- Johnny Lockwood as Character Rake
- Dee Donavan as Character Rake
- Don Reid as Character Rake
- Tara Morice as Prostitute
- Daniel Scott as Absinthe Drinker / Guitarist
- Veronica Beattie as Montmartre Dance Team
- Lisa Callingham as Montmartre Dance Team
- Rosetta Cook as Montmartre Dance Team
- Fleur Denny as Montmartre Dance Team
- Kelly Grauer as Montmartre Dance Team
- Jaclyn Hanson as Montmartre Dance Team
- Michelle Hopper as Montmartre Dance Team
- Fallon King as Montmartre Dance Team
- Wendy McMahon as Montmartre Dance Team
- Tracie Morley as Montmartre Dance Team
- Sue-Ellen Shook as Montmartre Dance Team
- Jenny Wilson as Montmartre Dance Team
- Luke Alleva as Montmartre Dance Team
- Andrew Aroustian as Montmartre Dance Team
- Stephen Colyer as Montmartre Dance Team
- Steve Grace as Montmartre Dance Team
- Mark Hodge as Montmartre Dance Team
- Cameron Mitchell as Montmartre Dance Team
- Deon Nuku as Montmartre Dance Team
- Shaun Parker as Montmartre Dance Team
- Troy Phillips as Montmartre Dance Team
- Rodney Syaranamual as Montmartre Dance Team
- Ashley Wallen as Montmartre Dance Team
- Nathan M. Wright as Montmartre Dance Team
- Susan Black as Paris Dance Team
- Nicole Brooks as Paris Dance Team
- Danielle Brown as Paris Dance Team
- Anastacia Flewin as Paris Dance Team
- Fiona Gage as Paris Dance Team
- Alex Harrington as Paris Dance Team
- Camilla Jakimowicz as Paris Dance Team
- Rochelle Jones as Paris Dance Team
- Caroline Kaspar as Paris Dance Team
- Mandy Liddell as Paris Dance Team
- Melanie Mackay as Paris Dance Team
- Elise Mann as Paris Dance Team
- Charmaine Martin as Paris Dance Team
- Michelle Wriggles as Paris Dance Team
- Michael Boyd as Paris Dance Team
- Lorry D'Ercole as Paris Dance Team
- Michael Edge as Paris Dance Team
- Glyn Gray as Paris Dance Team
- Craig Haines as Paris Dance Team
- Stephen Holford as Paris Dance Team
- Jamie Jewell as Paris Dance Team
- Jason King as Paris Dance Team
- Ryan Males as Paris Dance Team
- Harlin Martin as Paris Dance Team
- Andrew Micallef as Paris Dance Team
- Jonathan Schmölzer as Paris Dance Team
- Bradley Spargo as Paris Dance Team
- Joseph 'Pepe' Ashton as Tabasco Brother
- Jordan Ashton as Tabasco Brother
- Marcos Falagan as Tabasco Brother
- Mitchel Falagan as Tabasco Brother
- Chris Mayhew as Tabasco Brother
- Hamish McCann as Tabasco Brother
- Adrien Janssen as Tabasco Brother
- Shaun Holloway as Tabasco Brother
- Darren Dowlut as Cocoliscious Brother
- Dennis Dowlut as Cocoliscious Brother
- Pina Conti as La Ko Ka Chau
- Nandy McClean as Twin
- Maya McClean as Twin
- Patrick Harding-Irmer as Waiter
- Albin Pahernik as Waiter
- Aurel Verne as Waiter
- Kip Gamblin as Latin Dancer
- Wilson Alcorn as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Kerry Casey as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Peter Collingwood as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Cass Cumerford as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Matthew Dale as The Hand (uncredited)
- Brenda De Lacy as Courtesan / Seamstress (uncredited)
- Nash Edgerton as Stagehand (uncredited)
- Tim Elliott as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Nicole Fantl as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Sandi Finlay as Eccentric Wealthy Lesbian Club Attendee (uncredited)
- Scotty Gregory as Stagehand (uncredited)
- Kahlia Greksa as Street Urchin (uncredited)
- Karinna Greksa as Street Urchin (uncredited)
- Troy Harrison as Dancer (uncredited)
- Harold Kissin as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Ian Lind as Stagehand (uncredited)
- Tony Lynch as Stagehand (uncredited)
- Liliya May as Mermaid (uncredited)
- Chris Pickard as Dancer (uncredited)
- Greg Poppleton as Nervous Nellie (uncredited)
- Brett Praed as Stagehand (uncredited)
- Greg Robinson as Stagehand (uncredited)
- David Scotchford as Dancer (uncredited)
- Neeraj Singh as Oscar Wilde boy (uncredited)
- Sotiri Sotiropoulos as Stagehand (uncredited)
- David Whitford as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Matt Wilson as Slave Trader (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 25% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 66
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 to 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 to 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 7 to 8 | 1 | 13 |
| 9 to 10 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 to 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 to 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 to 16 | 0 | 37 |
| 17 to 18 | 7 | 26 |
| 19 to 20 | 25 | 32 |
| 21 to 22 | 3 | 1 |
| 23 to 24 | 5 | 5 |
| 25 to 26 | 9 | 7 |
| 27 to 28 | 10 | 10 |
| 29 to 30 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 to 32 | 42 | 78 |
| 33 to 34 | 21 | 31 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 6 |
| 37 to 38 | 3 | 8 |
| 39 to 40 | 1 | 6 |
| 41 to 42 | 4 | 16 |
| 43 to 44 | 5 | 31 |
| 45 to 46 | 2 | 6 |
| 47 to 48 | 6 | 16 |
| 49 to 50 | 2 | 4 |
| 51 to 52 | 8 | 10 |
| 53 to 54 | 7 | 10 |
| 55 to 56 | 2 | 4 |
| 57 to 58 | 2 | 7 |
| 59 to 60 | 1 | 12 |
| 61 to 62 | 4 | 20 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 3 |
| 65 to 66 | 5 | 6 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
CHINA DOLL: Don’t say.. ARABIA: You can’t...
NINI: Bo you iike like like... CHINA DOLL: -..Wnat you see see see? ARABIA: What vou need need neew... MOME FROMAGE: is me me me. °
MARIE: Let me through girls. CLOSE ON: Satin. Her eyes open gently as Marie holds smelling salts under her nose. . Satin coughs, then smiles as she… SATIN: Oh these silly costumes.
MARIE: We couldn’t tell you; we though:. . . SATIN: Zt was @ fool tro believe, A fool cto believe, Zt all ends coday Yes it all ends today.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 30 are women's.
182 lines from women, 434 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
17 women and 37 men in the cast. 6 women and 27 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 24 of 826.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 129 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 26% of the words (1,684), men 74% (4,812). Women have 30% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
5
Two men
49
Exhibit F: behind the camera
5 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 30% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Baz Luhrmann (man)
- Written by
- Baz Luhrmann (man), Craig Pearce (man)
- Produced by
- Fred Baron (man), Martin Brown (man), Baz Luhrmann (man)
- Shot by
- Donald McAlpine (man)
- Edited by
- Jill Bilcock (woman)
- Music by
- Craig Armstrong (man)
- Production design by
- Catherine Martin (woman)
- Costumes by
- Catherine Martin (woman), Angus Strathie (man)
- Cast by
- Ronna Kress (woman), Christine King (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
2 women, 10 men, 6 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 7 men, 8 not listed
-
Production
6 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 8 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 41 on average. Men: 40 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Nicole Kidman 33, Caroline O'Connor 38, Kerry Walker 53
Men
Matthew Whittet 25, Ewan McGregor 30, Richard Roxburgh 39, John Leguizamo 40, Jacek Koman 44, Jim Broadbent 51, Garry McDonald 52
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $52.5 million
- Box office
- $179 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 66 scenes and 826 lines of dialogue. How the test works
