French Cancan (Only the French Can) (1955)

Critic Reviews

• Bosley Crowther, New York Times

  M. Renoir's affectionate picture hasn't quite the class of Huston's Moulin Rouge. But it makes for diverting entertainment as sheer sentimental spectacle.

• Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

  This 1955 Technicolor musical is the easiest to like of Jean Renoir's late films, full of color, movement, and romance.

• Allan Hunter, Daily Express

  A simple story told with abundant charm.

• Philip French, Observer [UK]

  Begins with an extended and breathtaking evocation of the Moulin Rouge at its most ravishing, one of the cinema's greatest sequences.

• Derek Malcolm, This is London

  It is unashamedly nostalgic and somewhat meandering but chock full of colour and affection for its characters.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  The glorious final sequence, in which the cancan is finally unveiled to the rowdy audience, is some kind of masterpiece, perhaps the equal of anything Renoir ever achieved: wild, free, turbulent, exhilarating.

• Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

  Nothing if not thoroughly enjoyable.

• John Ferguson, Radio Times

  [It] was not the cinema event it promised to be. Yet there is still much to treasure in this exuberant tribute to the Moulin Rouge.

• Philip Kemp, Total Film

  If the film lacks the social bite of Renoir's pre-war work, it's still a rich celebration of life and the director's own birthplace.

• Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

  A playful, colorful spectacle from the late era of Renoir.

• Kelly Vance, East Bay Express

  French Cancan is full of fire, and incredibly sexy for 1954.

• , TV Guide's Movie Guide

  French Cancan vibrantly brings to life the dawning days of the Moulin Rouge, complete with high-kicking choristers flaunting their frills.

• Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

  ...the fin de siecle Paris of our imagination, or of Auguste Renoir's paintings. Renoir's finale blends exhilarating showmanship and a carriageload of characters reconciled, their intrigues and follies stepping aside for 'the show must go on.'

• , Time Out

  The climactic cancan scene is one of the finest dance sequences ever filmed, and worth the price of a ticket on its own.

• Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

  In wonderful color

• Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

  This is lighter than usual fare for Renoir, but his usual gracefulness is ever-present and he adds a distinct human center to the color and dazzle.

• Jake Euker, Filmcritic.com

  It's a true spectacle; Renoir suggests that, potentially, for those involved in theater, all of life is.

• , Film4

  The birth of the Moulin Rouge lights up the screen in Jean Renoir's breathtaking, colourful vision of a bygone Paris.

Read all 18 critic reviews