Do you want to see ‘Aria’?

Add to Netflix

Aria (1987)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 12
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 6

No consensus yet.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 1

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 2,139

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

An international collection of well-known directors contributed to this compilation film, each fashioning a short film inspired by an aria from a famous opera. The approaches vary broadly, from the playful abstraction of Jean-Luc Godard's segment, which illustrates Armide with exercising body-builders, to the more literal approach of Franc Roddam, who transports Tristan und Isolde's story to modern-day Las Vegas. A particular stand-out is Julian Temple's take on Rigoletto, which recasts Verdi as

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Art House & International, Comedy, Special Interest

Directed By: Bill Bryden , Bruce Beresford

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1988 Wide

On DVD: Jul 6, 1999

Academy Entertainment

Aria Trailer & Photos

Cast

Critic Reviews for Aria

All Critics (15) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (6) | DVD (4)

The best of the 10 segments is, perhaps predictably, the rare one without lofty pretensions.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Top Critic

I am not sure that any indispensable statement about opera has been made here, and purists will no doubt recoil by the irreverence of some of the images. But the film is fun almost as a satire of itself.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Aria gives 10 filmmakers a chance to create vignettes set to well-known opera arias.

August 28, 2004 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice

| Comment

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

Uneven compendium film. Russell, Temple, and Roddam are the best things. Goddard is the worst.

February 2, 2003 Comment

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

pretentious piffle that's pretty much one sour note after another

July 29, 2002 Comment

James Sanford

Kalamazoo Gazette

Seriously, do vanity projects like this really need to be made? Don't we all have better things to do?

August 16, 2001 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

| Comment

Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Is it worth watching a film composed of ten segments in order to appreciate three or four? It might not be worthwhile, but it would be a shame to miss Godard, Sturridge and Roddam's work.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Brian Webster

Apollo Guide

So diverse in nature that it can only be evaluated piecemeal

January 1, 2000 Full Review | Comment

Shane Burridge

rec.arts.movies.reviews

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Aria

View All

Wow. What a bunch of weak sauce artistic crap. Not only did the whole thing completely suck, but it was super slow while it sucked. I read that like three of them were awful, and the rest were good. But I couldn't tell the difference, not a single story was worth a poop in an old tin can.

August 4, 2008

Curtis Lilly

Super Reviewer

Overall, I liked this "movie" but I wouldn't watch it again.

April 2, 2007

Michael S

Super Reviewer

Aria Quotes

View All

No quotes approved yet for Aria. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Submit a Quote from 'Aria'

A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.

Example:

Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try.
Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.