Baz’s Greatest Hits

ROMEO + JULIET

Released in 1996, Luhrmann swapped Verona, Italy, for Verona Beach, California, and gave us the sizzling onscreen chemistry between the then baby-faced Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. And for a generation, Shakespeare was suddenly fun and entertaining. Music played an important role in the film, with contemporary rock and alternative tracks featuring, as well as the revival of classics like Free’. ‘Young Hearts Run

AUSTRALIA

Kidman returned to Luhrmann’s fold in 2008 for what is arguably the director’s, how shall we put this, least-loved film. Also starring Hugh Jackman, the sweeping melodrama looked good on paper and, costing a record-breaking $186 million, there were high hopes for it. But it didn’t make the right impact at the box office and some critics savaged it. But proving you can’t keep a good man down, Luhrmann is re-editing the movie into a six-part TV series to hit screens next year.

ELVIS

Unsurprisingly, so far critics have been divided with their takes, but it remains to be seen what, perhaps more importantly, movie-goers will make of Luhrmann’s bold decision to tell the story of the much-loved and revered icon Elvis Presley. However, for Luhrmann, “the greatest review I’ve got in my life” came when Priscilla Presley and the daughter she shared with Elvis, Lisa-Marie, gave it their stamp of approval. “It’s a true story told brilliantly and creatively,” she said, adding it had moved her to tears.

STRICTLY BALLROOM

Co-written by Luhrmann, a ballroom dancer himself in his youth, he made his directorial debut in 1992 with Strictly Ballroom and it became the first instalment in his “red curtain trilogy”. Starring Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice, it is a much loved local classic and remains in the top 10 highest grossing Australian films of all time. It was nominated for a Golden Globe, picked up a BAFTA and gave singer John Paul Young another go in the charts with ‘Love Is In The Air’.

MOULIN ROUGE!

Luhrmann scored his first and so far only Academy Award nomination for Best Picture for his 2001 musical romantic drama, which starred another hot onscreen coupling of Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. While he may not have won, wife Catherine Martin did for her costumes and set design. And thanks to Kylie Minogue’s cameo as the Green Fairy, we all tried drinking absinthe for a while. The soundtrack to the movie went to Number 3 on the US Billboard charts.

THE GREAT GATSBY

In 2013, Luhrmann had a reunion with another of his stars, casting DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in the adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic. It also starred Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan. It received mixed reviews but that seems to come with Luhrmann’s territory. The film picked up a swag of AACTA awards, including best director for Luhrmann, and Martin earned two Oscars for Costume and Production Design (sharing the latter with Beverley Dunn).