Carmen (1984)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Francesco Rosi

Writers:

Henri Meilhac (libretto) &
Ludovic Halévy (libretto) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 March 1984 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Plot:

A film version of the famous Bizet opera, where a soldier (Don Jose) falls in love with a beautiful factory worker (Carmen)...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Opera | Soldier | Magic | Sexuality

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Julia Migenes	...	Carmen (as Julia Migenes-Johnson)
Plácido Domingo	...	Don José
Ruggero Raimondi	...	Escamillo
Faith Esham	...	Micaëla
François Le Roux	...	Moralès
John-Paul Bogart	...	Zuñiga
Susan Daniel	...	Mercédès
Lillian Watson	...	Frasquita
Jean-Philippe Lafont	...	Dancaïre
Gérard Garino	...	Remendado
Julien Guiomar	...	Lillas Pastia
Accursio Di Leo	...	Guide
Maria Campano	...	Manuelita
Cristina Hoyos	...	Dancer
Juan Antonio Jiménez	...	Dancer
Aurora Vargas	...	Carmen's Friend
Carmen Vargas	...	Carmen's Friend
Concha Vargas	...	Carmen's Friend
Esperanza Fernández	...	Carmen's Friend
Lourdes García	...	Carmen's Friend
María Gómez	...	Carmen's Friend
Pilar Becerra	...	Carmen's Friend

Directed by
Francesco Rosi

Writing credits
Henri Meilhac		(libretto) &
Ludovic Halévy		(libretto)
Prosper Mérimée		(novella)
Francesco Rosi		(adaptation) &
Tonino Guerra		(adaptation)

Produced by
Patrice Ledoux	....	producer
Renzo Rossellini	....	co-producer
Daniel Toscan du Plantier	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Pasqualino De Santis

Film Editing by
Ruggero Mastroianni
Colette Semprún

Production Design by
Enrico Job

Art Direction by
Gianni Giovagnoni
Pierre-Louis Thévenet		(as Pierre Thévenet)

Costume Design by
Enrico Job

Makeup Department
Marie-Hélène Duguet	....	hair stylist
Marie-Hélène Duguet	....	makeup artist
Adalgisa Favella	....	hair stylist
Adalgisa Favella	....	makeup artist
Franco Freda	....	hair stylist (as Francesco Freda)
Franco Freda	....	makeup artist (as Francesco Freda)

Production Management
Franco Ballati	....	production manager
Xavier Basté	....	assistant production manager
Guy Blanc	....	production manager
Josep Guerrero	....	unit manager
Modesto Pérez Redondo	....	production manager
Alessandro von Norman	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gianni Arduini	....	first assistant director (as Giovanni Arduini)

Sound Department
Hugues Darmois	....	sound editor: location
Yvon Gérault	....	sound supervisor
Michel Glotz	....	sound recordist: opera
Dominique Hennequin	....	sound mixer
Harold Laury	....	sound recordist: location
Jean-Marc Lentretien	....	sound mix technician
Guy Level	....	sound editor: opera
Jonathan Liebling	....	foley artist
Harald Maury	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Franco Bruni	....	camera operator
Georges Pierre	....	still photographer
Pietro Tiberti	....	grip
Noël Véry	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gino Persico	....	wardrober

Music Department
Rolf Feichtinger	....	musical advisor
Lorin Maazel	....	musical director
Janine Reiss	....	musical research

Other crew
Ariane Adriani	....	script girl
Pedro Beltrán	....	bullfighting advisor
Pedro Beltrán	....	historical advisor
Antonio Gades	....	choreographer
Santiago López	....	double: bullfighting

Production Companies

• Gaumont International
• Opera Film Produzione
• Production Marcel Dassault

Distributors

• Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• Jugendfilm-Verleih (1984) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Triumph Films (1984) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Columbia TriStar (USA) (DVD)
• Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Home Video (GCTHV) (France) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Erato Records  soundtrack album
• Orchestre National de France  orchestra

Also Known As:

Bizet's Carmen

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:6 (f) | Norway:12 | Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Company:

Gaumont International

Trivia:

The first film version of the opera to use spoken dialogue between all the musical numbers rather than being sung all the way through. This is the way Bizet intended the opera to be performed; the dialogue was set to music by composer Ernest Guiraud after Bizet's death, in order to make the realism of the opera less shocking to a nineteenth century audience (based on the assumption that music made the realism less "painful".)

Movie Connections:

Featured in Il cineasta e il labirinto (2004)

Soundtrack:

El Gato Montes

A first-rate movie of a first-rate opera

I really liked this production of Carmen. Unlike many I have seen, Carmen and Don Jose had a real chemistry -- I could see why Don Jose would throw off his military career for her.

The singing is great, as is the acting and the photography. When friends of mine have asked me about opera, I have played this tape for them.