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Movies / On DVD / Diva
Diva

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Diva (1981)

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Reviews Counted:40

Fresh:38

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8/10

Consensus: Beineix combines unique cinematography, an intelligent script, and a brilliant soundtrack to make Diva a stylishly memorable film.

Rated: R

Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Nov 2, 2007 Limited

Synopsis: DIVA is a charming French original that combines intrigue, romance and a delirious soundtrack in a visually stunning and stylish debut from Jean-Jacques Beineix. Frederic Andrei stars as Jules, a... DIVA is a charming French original that combines intrigue, romance and a delirious soundtrack in a visually stunning and stylish debut from Jean-Jacques Beineix. Frederic Andrei stars as Jules, a postal courier obsessed with Cynthia Hawkins (Wilhelmenia Wiggins) an international opera star who refuses to be recorded, much to the dismay of her adoring public. Jules' passion for the opera diva's angelic soprano leads him to smuggle a recorder into a sold-out Parisian performance to commit her voice to tape. He privately enjoys his recording until he shares his secret with a new friend (Thuy An Luu) and simultaneously finds himself at the center of an international drug and sex scandal and a pirating operation that will do anything to get hold of his precious tape. Suddenly Jules becomes engulfed in scandal and must fight to stay one step ahead of the policemen and high-tech hitmen who are chasing him. Dizzying chase scenes are masterfully shot, culminating in a heart-pounding motorcycle chase through the underground Paris Metro. Jean-Jacques Beineix composes each shot like a still photograph, exploring the visual dichotomy between the high-tech disco aesthetic of 1980s Paris and the classic beauty of Cynthia's opera and the ancient city. The brilliant best-selling soundtrack highlights each stylish frame. DIVA is based on the novel by Delacorta. [More]

Starring: Fredric Andrei, Wilhelmenia Wiggins, Richard Bohringer, Thuy An Luu

Starring: Fredric Andrei, Wilhelmenia Wiggins, Richard Bohringer, Thuy An Luu, Jacques Fabbri, Dominique Pinon, Roland Bertin

Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix

Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Screenwriter: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Composer: Charles Gounod
Studio: Rialto Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Oct 28, 1997

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Reviews for Diva

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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No review available.

comment Comment
10/18/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

The movie’s a maelstrom of possibilities touching ethnic relations, high art, fashion and modern morality, not to mention cinema.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
10/18/08
Sid Smith
Sid Smith
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Jean Jacques-Beineix's pop art pastiche is a glittering mix of artifice and genuine cool with its intricate yet effortless thriller plot enacted by some of the screen's most individual and eccentric characters; its combination of playful sexiness

Full Review Source: Windy City Times | comment Comment
05/22/08
Richard Knight
Richard Knight
Windy City Times

Jean-Jacques Beniex's bold experiment is worth a place of importance in cinematic history.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
03/22/08
Beverly Berning
Beverly Berning
culturevulture.net

...back upon its original 1981 release, it was a true 'wow,' a filmic equivalent of the post-punk new wave music scene that was current.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
02/23/08
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

As with so many pop moments a quarter-century on, what once looked sexy now smells a little sexist.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
02/22/08
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Diva, as a lifestyle, a fantasy, a model for alienation and solipsism and eccentricity, has gone deep into all of us.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/24/08
Philip Kennicott
Philip Kennicott
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An elaborate, subtitled exercise in blowing hot air.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
01/18/08
David Fear
David Fear
Time Out New York

--- a drama/thriller that is also quite funny ---this is the first film in which I truly realized the importance of cinematography.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
01/14/08
Jeanne Kaplan
Jeanne Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

The chase through the Paris Metro tunnels is as fascinating as anything put on celluloid.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
01/14/08
David Kaplan
David Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

Had Wile E. Coyote chased Jean-Luc Godard, the result might have been Diva.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
01/11/08
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

A light-headed, fleet-footed French caper, Jean-Jacques Beineix's ultra-stylish Diva stormed the art houses when it was released in 1982, and it's still a lot of fun now -- though its hip patina feels more quaint these days than cool.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
01/10/08
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Beineix choreographs the actors and the camera into a stunning and stylish cinematic dance... This is not a musical in the strict sense of the word but it certainly feels like one in the way it moves.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
01/10/08
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

... Beineix directs with a visual cleverness and a witty playfulness that tells the audience to hang back and have fun.

Full Review Source: Turner Classic Movies Online | comment Comment
12/29/07
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Turner Classic Movies Online

One of the most exciting feature debuts, Beineix's film is a rare work, generic yet personal, arty and commercial, an exquisitely shot and edited picture that reminds us why we fell in love with movies in the first place.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/25/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Diva remains terrific after all this time. The visuals are beautifully composed; the action scenes ... still work; and the performances are all spot-on... .

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
12/21/07
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

I still loved every minute of it.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
12/07/07
Leba Hertz
Leba Hertz
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Made with wit and humor, this French stunner abounds in the go-for-broke spirit of a first film made by a talented, nervy director.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/30/07
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is style as a force of nature.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
11/03/07
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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