Baz Luhrmann: From Strictly Ballroom to Elvis!

Acclaimed filmmaker Baz Luhrmann takes Radio 2's resident movie critic James King through the music of his films, originally broadcast in 2022 to celebrate the release of the Elvis biopic, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. Starting with his very first introductions to music and playing in a punk band with his brothers, Baz discusses the importance of music in his life, how Elton John helped him make Moulin Rouge, how he was told the soundtrack to Romeo + Juliet would flop (it was a global hit) and why he describes Elvis’ story as a “tragic American opera”.

The Oscar-nominated Australian director and writer made a huge impact with his first feature film in 1992, Strictly Ballroom. He followed that up with an effortlessly stylish adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. He then pioneered the jukebox musical with the lavish Moulin Rouge! - the final part of his red curtain trilogy. Baz then made an epic tribute to his home country with Australia in 2008, followed by adapting F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby in another wildly lavish picture which juxtaposed modern hip hop and R'n'B with the music of the roaring 20s. We then had to wait nine years for his next movie on the big screen - the highly anticipated biopic of Elvis Presley's life, showing the highs and lows of the life of The King Of Rock And Roll. Using his huge back catalogue combined with brand new covers recorded by a-list modern artists, the film stars Austin Butler in the title role alongside Tom Hanks as manager Colonel Tom Parker.