Diva

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Diva

R

1982

2h 5m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

59 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Jules (Frédéric Andréi) goes on the run from every conceivable pursuer -- from drug dealers and music pirates to the cops -- after obtaining a recording of the woman of his dreams, the never-recorded opera star Cynthia Hawkins (Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez).

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Critics Consensus

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

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/19/2023

[Director Jean-Jacques] Beineix may not be interested in what’s underneath, but he has a great feeling for surfaces. A chase through the Métro and an escape to a pinball-machine and video-game arcade are so ravishing that they’re funny, intentionally.

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Dwight Brown

Sepia

08/10/2022

Yes, this film is a little contrived at times, but it’s still one of the best pictures I've seen all year. Hats off to the French!

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Melissa Anderson

4Columns

04/29/2022

Beineixs film delights, if not overwhelms, the eye. (And in its obsession with the beauty and power of the human voice, Diva might also be thought of as an illustration of the cinéma du listen). Its bewitchery hasnt dimmed more than forty years later.

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Jan 26

3/5

The tension here is less between criminals and heroes than between the tactility of media and the transmutability of memory and perception. An always stylish and occasionally crackling thriller, it's also occasionally slow and disengaging.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Oct 9

5/5

…the elegant, super-fashionable approach of Diva seems to predict MTV and the slick visuals of the 80’s, but also showcases multiple musical styles, not least the deep appreciation of opera which demonstrates the sweet nature of the streetwise Jules…

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Neely Swanson

Easy Reader (California)

Sep 3

This movie is the very embodiment of style over substance and succeeds wildly. It is advised that you let “Diva” sweep over you, like the tsunami of action that it is. Don’t try to keep up, you’ll drown.

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Bosch H

@RT50544900 Nov 28

Ok. VHS - this is my Favorite FILM. I 😍 loved this FILM... so MUCH, that i had (3) COPIES.. in the TRUNK of my car !!! In order to... !!! Give them AWAY...!!!! ITS that GOOD!!! Then - I bought the DVD, from CRITERION Collection. Plus Plus...RENTED IT on FanDANGO for a Colleague to watch on my Apple 🍎 MAC AIR. --> HDMI connected. French-speaking I cooked in FRANCE. And am INTERPRETER for WDW - Walt Djsney FLORIDA. IMPORTANT: 3 Directors $ FINANCED this Film - because- for ONCE they were COMMITTED to Carry Out - their Artistic VISION. Watch it. Or .....

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SYLVANA O

@RT32282355 Aug 30

I saw the original in theater back in the 80's and own the DVD. I watch from time to time and it's always a treat. J'aime pas ca! lol!!

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Ed .

@RT01276001 Aug 29

Attitude, Operatude and Dark Style over Substance 4 star tude, 1 star plot, 4 star influencer I'll weigh the plot doubly, so that's an average of 2.5 stars overall. The Asian girl is utterly ridiculous. I and my friends watching this film with me did not especially care much about the characters. With a reasonably plausible story, this would have been a fine film.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Aug 23

Success in 2 hours and 5 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $16,700.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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S R

@ScottR 02/29/2024

1001 movies to see before you die (added later). A well made and entertaining dramatic thriller with a soft French feel to its thrills. The villains were threatening, yet simple to me. I enjoyed the diva who was an opera singer who refused to be recorded, but ironically her best fan is the only one who does. I don't plan to see it again, but the streets of Paris and the chase scenes were fun. RUS.

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Paul G

@RT88047249 06/17/2023

In a film filled with symbolism and circular resonance, a young bike messenger (Frederic Andrei) worships an opera diva's music with near-sexual passion, even as he illegally records her concert. Director Jean-Jacques Beineix's consummately French use of symbols will delight any literature student: for example, the bundle of dirty money tossed disdainfully out the window lands next to a blind accordion player, whose music turns out to be what has been playing all along in the earphone of Priest, the punk assassin (Dominique Pinon). C'est bon! (This film is one of my Paris favorites.)

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Jean-Jacques Beineix

Director

Frederic Andrei

Jules

Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez

Cynthia Hawkins

Richard Bohringer

Gorodish

Thuy An Luu

Alba

Jacques Fabbri

Commissaire Jean Saporta

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Synopsis

Jules (Frédéric Andréi) goes on the run from every conceivable pursuer -- from drug dealers and music pirates to the cops -- after obtaining a recording of the woman of his dreams, the never-recorded opera star Cynthia Hawkins (Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez).

Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Production Co: Greenwich Film Productions, Les Films Galaxie, France 2
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 16, 1982, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Aug 22, 2025
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 14, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.3K
Runtime: 2h 5m