Callas Forever (2002)

Director:

Franco Zeffirelli

Writers:

Franco Zeffirelli (original idea)
Martin Sherman (scenario) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 September 2002 (Belgium)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Plot:

A fictionalized account of the last days of opera singer Maria Callas (Ardant).

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Concert | Opera Singer | Diva | Opera

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Fanny Ardant	...	Maria Callas
Jeremy Irons	...	Larry Kelly
Joan Plowright	...	Sarah Keller
Jay Rodan	...	Michael
Gabriel Garko	...	Marco / Don Jose
Manuel de Blas	...	Esteban Gomez
Justino Díaz	...	Scarpia
Jean Dalric	...	Gerard
Stephen Billington	...	Brendan
Anna Lelio	...	Bruna
Alessandro Bertolucci	...	Marcello
Olivier Galfione	...	Thierry
Roberto Sanchez	...	Escamillo
Achille Brugnini	...	Ferruccio
Eugene Kohn	...	Eugene
Maria del Mar Rivas	...	Frasquita in "Carmen"
Concha Lopez	...	Mercedes in "Carmen"
Bryan Jardine	...	Businessman in 'Carmen' (as Bryan W. Jardine)
Bill Avery	...	Businessman in 'Carmen'
Sorin Popa	...	Businessman in 'Carmen'
Onochi Seietsu	...	Businessman in 'Carmen' (as Seietsu Onochi)
Ann McElhinney	...	Journalist
Tara Marie Anderson	...	Journalist
Tomi Cristin	...	Journalist
Razvan Popa	...	Journalist
Barry Mulligan	...	Journalist
Florin Piersic Jr.	...	Journalist
The Ballets Espagnols	...	La Corrala de la Danza (as Ballet Expañol)
Lucía Real	...	Featured 'Carmen' Dancer
Angel Muñoz	...	Featured 'Carmen' Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria Andrei	...	Stewardess (uncredited)
Ignacio Paurici	...	Ignacio (uncredited)
Gabriela Romanov	...	Bella (uncredited)
Gabriel Spahiu	...	Reporter (uncredited)

Directed by
Franco Zeffirelli

Writing credits
Franco Zeffirelli		(original idea)
Martin Sherman		(scenario) and
Franco Zeffirelli		(scenario)

Produced by
Andrei Boncea	....	co-producer
Pino Butti	....	line producer
Farid Chaouche	....	line producer: France
Marco Chimenz	....	executive producer
Fabio Conversi	....	co-producer
Ricardo García Arrojo	....	line producer: Spain
Olivier Granier	....	co-producer
Clive Parsons	....	co-producer
Pippo Pisciotto	....	associate producer
Francisco Ramos	....	co-producer
Giovanni Stabilini	....	executive producer
Riccardo Tozzi	....	producer
Giovannella Zannoni	....	producer

Original Music by
Alessio Vlad

Cinematography by
Ennio Guarnieri		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sean Barton

Casting by
Ilene Starger
Emma Style

Art Direction by
Luigi Quintili

Costume Design by
Anna Anni
Alessandro Lai
Alberto Spiazzi

Makeup Department
Stefano Ceccarelli	....	hair stylist
Lidia Constantin	....	hair stylist
Andreea Dardea	....	makeup artist
Clarisse Domine	....	key makeup artist: France
Massimiliano Duranti	....	hair stylist (as Massimiliano Durante)
Giorgio Gregorini	....	key hair department
Giovanna Iacaponi	....	makeup artist
Lidia Ivanov	....	hair stylist
Nilo Jacoponi	....	supervising makeup artist (as Nilo Iacoponi)
Markos Keyto	....	makeup artist
Alfredo Marazzi	....	chief makeup artist
Maurizio Nardi	....	chief makeup artist
José Quetglás	....	makeup artist: Spain
Domnica Sava	....	assistant hair stylist
Aldo Signoretti	....	supervising hair stylist

Production Management
Simona Batistelli	....	unit manager
Pino Butti	....	production manager
Maxime Couteret	....	assistant unit manager
Matteo De Laurentiis	....	post-production supervisor
Simona De Laurentiis	....	post-production supervisor
Marco Greco	....	production manager
Christophe Guillerault	....	assistant unit manager: french unit
Roberto Leone	....	unit manager
Gianluca Leurini	....	production manager
Valeria Licurgo	....	production manager
Jérôme Servant	....	unit manager: France
Ada Solomon	....	production manager: Romania

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eric Bartonio	....	first assistant director: France
Serena Canevari	....	first assistant director
Gilles Cannatella	....	second assistant director
Inti Carboni	....	assistant director: Spain
Manuel L. Cañizares	....	first assistant director: Spain (as Manuel Cañizares)
Cristian Ciurea	....	assistant director: Romania
Marco Gandini	....	second assistant director
Pedro Pablo Glez-Madiedo	....	second assistant director: Spain
Mario Grasso	....	second second assistant director
Nicolas Duchemin Harvard	....	trainee assistant director
Óscar Manero	....	second assistant director: Spain
Carlo Paramidani	....	second assistant director
Alexandre Schmitt	....	second assistant director: France

Art Department
Daniel Alexandru	....	sculptor
Gianni Angler	....	construction manager (as Giovanni Angler)
Diana Apostol	....	art department coordinator
Fabrizio Blanchi	....	prop man
Carlos Bodelón	....	art director: Spain
Yves Bonhomme	....	construction grip: France
Luigi Calvitti	....	carpenter
Carlo Centolavigna	....	set designer (segment "Carmen")
Bruno Cesari	....	artistic director
Roberto Cingolani	....	upholsterer
Claudia Cosenza	....	assistant art director
Vraciu Eduard Daniel	....	draftsman
Silvia Daunis	....	assistant art director: Spain
Sebastiano De Caro	....	stand-by props
Tommaso Dubla	....	scenic painter
Florin Gavrila	....	scenic painter
Liviu Marcu	....	sculptor
Tamara Marini	....	assistant production designer
Maria Miu	....	art director: Romania
Ion Molete	....	painter
Dan Munteanu	....	sculptor
Maurizio Narducci	....	set dresser (as Maurizia Narducci)
Vlad Panaitescu	....	construction manager: Romania
Adrian Popa	....	property master
Francesco Postiglione	....	stand-by props
Luigi Sergianni	....	construction supervisor
Ivano Todeschi	....	scenic painter
Claudio Villa	....	prop man

Sound Department
Nick Alexander	....	adr editor
Philip Barnes	....	adr editor (as Phil Barnes)
Giorgio Conti	....	sound editor
Francesco Cucinelli	....	sound re-recording mixer
Simon Gibson	....	original sound recordist
Peter Lindsay	....	sound mixer
Gilberto Martinelli	....	sound
Malcolm Rose	....	boom operator
Fabio Venturi	....	sound engineer
Luca Anzellotti	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Massimo Anzellotti	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Gelu Costache	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Tony Dawe	....	production sound mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Adrian Popescu	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Claudio Napoli	....	visual effects supervisor
Fabrizio Pistone	....	digital artist
Gianluca Risita	....	visual effects coordinator
Corrado Rizzo	....	visual effects
Gian Luca Rizzo	....	visual effects producer
Sandra Roach	....	digital artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Doru Dumitrescu	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Alessandro Anselmi	....	grip
Giancarlo Bachetti	....	electrician
Roberto Bianchi	....	electrician
Vincenzo Carpineta	....	camera operator
Fabian Cevallos	....	still photographer
Marco De Leonibus	....	electrician
Luca De Santis	....	electrician
Silvano Di Cicco	....	electrician (as Silvano De Cicco)
Dalila Dulgheriu	....	epk camera operator
Viorel Ionita	....	electrician: Romania (as Ion Viorel)
Marios Ivascu	....	clapper loader
Maurizio Lorenzetti	....	focus puller
Marcello Negretti	....	key grip
Benoît Pain	....	video assistant: Paris
Stefano Paradiso	....	Steadicam operator
Valter Pavia	....	grip
Roberto Pecci	....	grip
Francesco Quattrone	....	electrician
Ludovic Simeon	....	second assistant camera: France
Massimiliano Zenga	....	focus puller
Peter Zuffa	....	clapper loader
Gheorghe Zvunca	....	grip: Romania

Casting Department
Carol Dermengiu	....	casting coordinator: Romania
Catherine Deserbais	....	extras casting
Gabriela Petre	....	extras casting
Andreea Tanasescu	....	special extras casting
Janice Wilde	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Antonella Bachini	....	wardrobe assistant
Chloe Bartonio	....	wardrobe mistress: France (as Chloé Bartonio)
Giorgio Cardosi	....	assistant costume designer
Karl Lagerfeld	....	costume designer: Fanny Ardant (as Chanel)
Monica Lampazzi	....	assistant costume designer
Elsa Masseroni	....	wardrobe assistant (as Elisa Masseroni)
Piero Risani	....	assistant costume designer
Marzia Sordoni	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Alessandra Eberspacher	....	post-production assistant
Massimo Gubinelli	....	color grader
Carlo La Bella	....	color grader
Dan Mitre	....	colorist
Neri Nazzareno	....	final colorist
Tiberiu Teodorescu	....	assistant editor: Romania
Liberata Zocchi	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Piergiorgio Ambrosi	....	music consultant
Giorgio Conti	....	music editor
Angelo Giovagnoli	....	music supervisor
Accademia Musicale Italiana	....	score performed by
Eugene Kohn	....	music consultant
Claudio Messina	....	music producer: RTI Music
Lula Sarchioni	....	music producer: EMI Music
Antonio Sechi	....	conductor
Antonio Sechi	....	music arranger
Paola Vanoni	....	music production assistant
Fabio Venturi	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Charles Heidet	....	action vehicle coordinator
Vincent Servant	....	driver: cast

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	script supervisor
Luciano Bacchielli	....	assistant: Mr. Zeffirelli
Pascal Benbrik	....	location staff
Marie-Odile Bertot	....	production accountant: France
Miguel Bustamante	....	location manager: Spain
Cosmina Busuioc	....	accountant: Romania
El Camborio	....	choreographer
Geoffrey Carey	....	dialogue coach: Fanny Ardant, France
Christophe Chauveau	....	location scout
Carmela Compagnone	....	payroll accountant
La Corrala de la Danza	....	dancer: Ballet espagnol
Raul Cosma	....	production assistant
Maxine De Vere	....	accountant: Spain (as Maxine Parker)
Danielle Dumanoir	....	production coordinator: France
Mathias Farrugia	....	subtitler: French
Mariangela Ferrario-Hall	....	publicist: International (as Mariaangela Ferrario Hall)
Stéphane Floc'h	....	location manager: France
Mabel García	....	accountant: Spain
Passarelli Giorgia	....	production coordinator
Kate Godfrey	....	dialogue coach: Fanny Ardant
Niculae Izabela	....	translator
Marco Mattei	....	post production accountant
Marco Mattei	....	post-production accountant
Sarah Millar	....	location accountant
Jean-Marie Modet	....	location assistant
Julian Murray	....	assistant accountant
Rizia Ortolani	....	production coordinator
Jackie Page	....	unit publicist
Iulian Pana	....	location manager: Romania
Firminio Pasquali	....	supervising accountant
Giorgia Passarelli	....	production coordinator
Gianluca Pignatelli	....	publicist: Italy
Rita Pontone	....	secretary: Mr. Zeffirelli
Alberto Poveda	....	assistant to location manager
Stefano Priori	....	financial controller
Della Ragione-Garofalo	....	legal services: Studio Degli Avvocati
Vincent Riotta	....	dialogue coach
Eugene Rizzo	....	unit publicist
Alexandra Schamis	....	publicist: France
Patrizia Serantoni	....	assistant: Mr.Zannoni
Val Sunderland	....	location accountant
Erzsébet Tamás	....	production assistant
Iuliana Tarnovetchi	....	production coordinator: Romania (as Iuliana Stefan)
Ana Maria Telega	....	assistant production coordinator: Romania
Iulian Timofte	....	runner
Giorgio Tregnaghi	....	production accountant

Thanks
Karl Lagerfeld	....	very special thanks

Production Companies

• Cattleya
• Medusa Film
• Alquimia Cinema
• Film and General Productions (in association with)
• Galfin (in association with)
• Media Pro Pictures (in association with)
• Babe Film (co-production) (as Babe)
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (MiBAC) (support)
• Eurimages (support)

Distributors

• Bac Films (2002) (France) (theatrical)
• Medusa Distribuzione (2002) (Italy) (theatrical)
• StudioCanal (2003) (France) (DVD)
• Alberto Bitelli Intl. Films (2003) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Manga Films (2002) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Regent Releasing (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• here! Films (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Aquarius TV (2010) (Greece) (TV)
• Finnkino (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Hollydan Works (2006) (Yugoslavia) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment
• Pancinema (2007) (South Korea) (all media)
• Paradise Group (2002) (Russia) (all media)
• Pony Canyon (2004) (Japan) (DVD) (special edition)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2006) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Proxima

Other Companies

• Chanel  costumes: for Fanny Ardant
• Chanel  special thanks (as CHANEL Joaillerie)
• Chanel  special thanks (as maquillage CHANEL)
• Etro  special thanks
• Goyard  special thanks
• DDA Public Relations (DDA)  international publicity
• Dubbing Brothers  dubbing
• Dubbing Brothers  titles: French version
• Air France  thanks
• All Deco International  sculptures
• Auto-Tele-Cinema  costumes
• Aéroports de Paris  support
• Aéroports de Paris  thanks
• Battistoni  costumes
• Bureau Parisien du Film  support
• Car & Crane  cranes
• Casa di Nepi  set dressing
• Cinema & Television Company (CTC)  costumes (as CTC)
• Cinesicurtà  insurance
• Corbis Sigma  stills (as Corbis Sygma)
• Cornejo  costumes (as Sastrería Cornejo)
• Costumi GP 11  costumes (as GP 11)
• EMI Classics  soundtrack published by
• EMI Music  music producer
• F.IIi Cartocci  camera: lenses and lighting equipment
• Forum Music Village  music recorded at
• Grevi Mode  costumes
• International Recording  sound post-production
• Justo Algaba  costumes
• Kodak Italia  film (as Kodak)
• L.A.B.A. Serrao Eva  costumes
• Leur Transporti  transportation: Israel
• Mairie de Paris  support
• Maratier  costumes
• Metropolitan Opera, New York, The  costumes
• Orchestra di Roma  score performed by
• Penta Studio  titles and opticals
• Préfecture de Police de Paris  thanks
• R.E.C.  lamps and gel (as REC)
• RTI Music / Image Music  music producer (as RTI Music)
• RTI Music / Image Music  original music publisher (as RTI Music)
• Rafael Hosteleria Internacional S.A.  catering
• Reeltime Creative  creative advertising materials (USA)
• Rocchetti e Rocchetti  wigs (as Rocchetti & Rocchetti)
• Romana Antichita  set dressing
• Sasteria Cornejo  costumes
• Shoes Pompei 2000  costumes (as Pompei 2000)
• Sound Track di Anzellotti  foley (as Anzellotti Sound)
• Studio Degli Avvocati  legal services
• Théâtre des Champs-Elysées  location
• Tirelli Costumi  costumes
• Ulisse Sartini  set dressing
• Ángel Megino  transportation (as Megino)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and strong language

Runtime:

France:108 min | Israel:111 min | Spain:112 min | USA:111 min

Country:

Italy | France | Spain | UK | Romania

Language:

English | French | Italian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U | Spain:T | UK:15 | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-3

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Cattleya

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A poster of AC/DC's "If You want Blood, You've got It" is seen hanging on a wall of the production company. The record was released in 1978 (one year after Maria Callas' death).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le code a changé (2009)

Soundtrack:

Donna non vidi mai

Wonderful

This is a masterful film; I caught it at a gay film festival, but I don't understand why it hasn't been released. From the opening scenes with Jeremy Irons as an agent and a punk rock song playing in the background, you know you'in in the hands of a masterful storyteller. Zeffirelli structures the plot as the creation of a masterpiece that got away; a fictional film version of "Carmen." The conceit of the film is that Callas (late in her life) has been persuaded to make a film of Carmen (a role she had only recored but never sung). Since her voice is past its primew, she lip-syncs herself. This brilliant premise allows Fanny Ardant (who is simply brilliant as Callas) to lipsync to old Callas recordings. It also enables Zeffirelli to include several spectacular scenes from "Carmen" as part of the plot. I would rank this among the very best films about opera ever made.