Diva (1981)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jean-Jacques Beineix

Writers:

Daniel Odier (novel)
Jean-Jacques Beineix (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

23 April 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller | Music

Tagline:

A Comedy. A Thriller. A Romance.

Plot:

Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed. All these characters twist their way through an intricate and stylish French language thriller.

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Chase | Police | Motorcycle | Diva

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Wilhelmenia Fernandez	...	Cynthia Hawkins (as Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez)
Frédéric Andréi	...	Jules
Richard Bohringer	...	Gorodish
Thuy An Luu	...	Alba
Jacques Fabbri	...	Jean Saporta
Chantal Deruaz	...	Nadia
Anny Romand	...	Paula
Roland Bertin	...	Weinstadt
Gérard Darmon	...	L' Antillais
Dominique Pinon	...	Le curé
Jean-Jacques Moreau	...	Krantz
Patrick Floersheim	...	Zatopek
Raymond Aquilon
Eugène Berthier
Gérard Chaillou

Runtime:

France:117 min | USA:123 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 (1995) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bassin de la Villette, Paris 19, Paris, France

Company:

Les Films Galaxie

Trivia:

The producers were looking for an actress who fit the description of Cynthia Hawkins (the Diva) in the original novel -- a beautiful black American woman who sings a flawless operatic soprano, and speaks both English and French fluently. They attended a performance of Carmen to familiarize themselves with opera performers. Wilhelmenia Fernandez was playing the title role the night they attended the opera.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nadia is just exiting the metro station and runs into Jules, he is wearing his postman's cap. Later, in the police station when Paula is recounting Nadia's death, the same scene is replayed, except this time Jules is not wearing his cap.

Quotes:

Jules: Where are we?
Alba: In a castle.
Jules: What castle?
Alba: Where the witch makes poisoned red apples to advertise the toothpaste movie stars use.

Movie Connections:

References Les enfants du paradis (1945)

Soundtrack:

L'air de la 'La Wally'

Best movie ever about bootlegging concerts

Diva is a movie that seems just as stunning and unique to me today as it did when I first saw it 20 years ago. One of those movies that you will remember forever.

On the surface, it's an exercise in pure style, combining exciting, "hip" visuals with great music (opera as well as some great atmospheric incidental music). But there are hundreds of movies like that. What makes Diva so memorable to me is the way it combines this stylish cinematic eye candy with a suspenseful plot, good acting, a touch of romance and sex, and even a smattering of philosophy (as the title character explains her reasons for not allowing her voice to be recorded, not to mention the immortal bread-buttering scene).

It sounds like a recipe for a boring, highly stylized "European" movie, but this is a film where the excitement never flags for a minute. One of the true gems of 80s cinema. As a friend said "If you wanted to be hip in the 80s, you had to have seen 'Liquid Sky', 'Repo Man' and 'Diva'". But even today, you should see it just because it's a great movie.