AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Myriam Nys Opera and the emotions its kindles in the human soul, as seen through an artistic kaleidoscope. The various segments are different in style, range and scope ; sadly, they're also uneven in quality. Some of the segments charm, move, shock or mesmerize ; others do not. As a result the movie, considered as a whole, does not fully live up to its promising premise.However, there are images and ideas to savour, especially for people who like opera. I leave it to you, dear reader, to pick your own favorite. Me, I'm fond of the treatment given to Verdi's "Masked Ball", which is funny, witty and lushly romantic. It also teaches an important life lesson : if you're going to shoot at a monarch, pick on someone who didn't fight his way to the top.

jferraira-1 I saw this film when it first came out in the theaters and a recent viewing on DVD only confirms my initial opinion that it's a masterpiece, though a flawed one. So I've been baffled by the abuse heaped upon it over the years by critics and viewers and decided to finally air my own thoughts and what I feel may be the reasons for said abuselMy take on this film differs from others. First, I'm convinced that in order to fully appreciate it you have not only to love opera but see it as something essential to your life. Furthermore, you must also be willing to agree and identify with the viewpoint of the films' creators: that this all-consuming passion with opera places one's estate in today's world in a cultural time warp.Though there aren't many out there who fit this description, I feel it accurately defines the demographic of Aria's audience. I also believe that producer Don Boyd and any others who conceived of the daring idea for this film, and whose job it was to make ten scenes written and directed independently by different people somehow "coalesce," knew exactly what they were doing, even though the project seems occasionally to have gone awry. (The episodes using recordings of Baroque opera, directed by Jean luc Goddard and Robert Atman, though interesting in themselves, are bafflingly out of place)Most of the episodes were cleverly organized to achieve both a cumulative musical effect and further the film's dramatic theme, which is gradually unveiled by the entre'acte activities of the seemingly enigmatic character portrayed by John Hurt who keeps appearing between episodes. A kernel of that theme arrives in the very first episode, a 20th Century reenactment of the assassination of a Swedish king as portrayed in Verdi's "In Ballo Maschera" (playing on the soundtrack). But contrary to Verdi, where a diffident king dies without resistance in the arms of his beloved, and in glorious song, Nicholas Roeg has his protagonist unexpectedly defend himself, shooting all of the would-be assassins dead, and thus confounding his significant other.With the exception of Bruce Beresford's take of "Die Tote Stadt," none of the other episodes are dramatically faithful to their operas. Instead most seem designed to reflect an absurd disparity between the remantic sentiments of dead composers from past centuries playing on the soundtrack and the glaring realities of an every- day world gone mad: homeless children roving the streets; a couple's disastrous attempt to cheat on their spouses at a sex-themed resort; teens slashing their wrists under the neon glitz of Las Vegas, etc.As the episodes progress, the film's concern with death --- grand opera's favorite obsession --- becomes overriding. Also, recorded excerpts of busy operatic ensembles give way in the later episodes to arias sung by a single voice.The penultimate episode, directed by Derek Jarmon, forms arguably the film's dramatic climax. A single, radiant old woman, dressed in a frayed, gossamer stage costume and lit from above, is seen bowing over and over as accolades of flower pedals rain on her from on high. The beatific vision is accompanied by the aria "Depuis le jour" from "Luise," sung by a mellifluous Leontyne Price. The woman personifies opera itself, old and tattered but reveling in her memories, taking one last bow as she bids a splended farewell to her loving and appreciative audience, unseen but undoubtedly as wrinkled and antediluvian as she.And then the final episode, in which John Hurt mimes Leoncavallo's Canio singing "Vesti la giubba." As was the old woman, he too represents opera --- or perhaps the opera-loving audience itself --- over-the-top, pouring his heart out to a single, female audience member in an otherwise empty opera house. Close-ups of the woman reveal her barely concealed scorn for the singer. And when she too leaves, the abandoned man falls dead, the victim of, yes, a "broken heart!" Only a true opera lover could identify with such histrionics.Up to now the music used by each director had been made by recent opera stars in contemporary-sounding recordings: Price, Bergonzi, etc. But perhaps to highlight the theme of opera's passed parade, this final episode is accompanied using Pagliacci's aria sung by Enrico Caruso in a recording made nearly a century ago. Perhaps it is being suggested that the social revelance of opera has in fact died longer ago than even the films creators had imagined!

edew-564-801383 The MTV era needed some grounding with an MTV version for opera arias, and Aria here was the answer. Whether these ten chosen arias are the best of the best is arguable, I can personally attest that after hearing these, I went out of my way to seek the operas where several came from (those that I wasn't familiar with, at least) and bought those operas to enjoy in their entirety.The "Die Tote Stadt" duet was the most compelling and mystical for me. That aria (and not the nudity involved) compelled me to seek out the opera and it is now one of my favorites.The "La Vergine degli angeli" by Verdi is also a most mesmerizing aria, although the opera itself, "La Forza del Destino" is rather boring. This aria did compelled me to seek out the opera to experience it in full.The best segment, for me, was the Ken Russell interpretation of "Nessun Dorma" (Let no one sleep). Using the imagery of a near-fatal car accident and the need to not let the victim die was both poignant and novel. I had heard Nessun Dorma before seeing the movie, but did not know of its context. This aria interpretation was very novel and was deeply moving.Equally deeply moving was the Liebestod from Tristan and Isolda. Lastly, how can one dismiss Julien Temple's "La Donna e Mobile" with Buck Henry and Beverly D'Angelo. It was quite comical.

zetes Sure, it has its pretentious moments, it plays like art-house, live-action Fantasia, but it also has moments of deep beauty and humor. Omnibus films are always a problem, but I have always had a keen interest in them. I will now rate the segments individually.Nicolas Roeg - "Un ballo in maschera" - This segment may very well spoil the film for some people, because it is absolutely the worst of the whole bunch. It is difficult to follow, mostly because it tries to adhere to a clear plot (a hackneyed one, at that). The photography is unaccomplished. The best thing about it is the bit of Lesbian homoerotica that it never does enough with. This segment made me VERY nervous about continuing. 2/10.Charles Sturridge - "La virgine degli angeli" - an unclear segment, but it hardly matters. The film has the best cinematography of the bunch, mainly because it is in a stunning black and white. The segment is dreamlike and beautiful. 7/10.Jean-Luc Godard - "Armide" - I chose to brave this much-maligned film for the Godard and Altman segments. With Godard, I was much more impressed than I thought I would be. I can't claim to have seen all that many of his films since he made so many that almost no one has seen, but, judging from what I have seen, this may be his best work since the 60s. It is the funniest segment in this film, and the most artistically accomplished. Bravo, Jean-Luc! 9/10.Julien Temple - "Rigoletto" - a very funny segment, it is also quite predictable. Still, this story about a husband and wife who are cheating on each other at the same resort is wonderfully filmed with long, complex tracking shots that depend on precisely timed choreography from the actors. It also has a great self-referencing joke about omnibus films themselves. The final scene is very weak. 7/10.Bruce Beresford - "Die tote Stadt" - this short segment involves too lovers in (I think) Venice. It is pretty, with some nice shots of doves flying about the city. It is slight, but nice. 7/10.Robert Altman - "Les Boréades" - not one of the better segments, unfortunately, this is more of a music video than a concept short film. It involves the occupants of an insane asylum attending a theatrical performance. The music and images work well together, so at least I can give it credit for being a good music video. 7/10Franc Roddam - "Liebestod" - somewhat unfortunate for Beresford's segment, this segment is very similar to it. As you might assume from my phrasing, this one struck me much more. It is about a young man and his girl going to Las Vegas on a fatalistic voyage. 8/10.Ken Russell - "Nessun dorma" - maybe the most visually striking segment, it plays in a fantasy world more than in reality. It is a beautiful tale of a fallen angel. 8/10.Derek Jarman - "Depuis le jour" - I have heard a lot about Jarman, and this is the first piece of filmmaking I have seen from him. Hopefully, I'll see more in the future. This one is also music-videoish, but it is better than Altman's segement. It mainly concerns an old woman remembering her younger days. The editing and the use of different film stocks to represent both time and emotion are very beautiful. 8/10.Bill Bryden - "I pagliacci" - the sad clown, possibly one of the most famous arias (particularly memorable from an episode of Seinfeld), this serves as the material separating each segement and the finale. It is simple and effective. 7/10.Overall, I give it a solid 7/10. It isn't anywhere near as bad as you've heard.