Diva (1981)

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

Director:

Jean-Jacques Beineix

Writers:

Daniel Odier (novel) (as Delacorta), Jean-Jacques Beineix (adaptation)

Stars:

Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Frédéric Andréi, Richard Bohringer

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wilhelmenia Fernandez	...	Cynthia Hawkins (as Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez)
Frédéric Andréi	...	Jules
Richard Bohringer	...	Gorodish
Thuy An Luu	...	Alba
Jacques Fabbri	...	Commissaire Jean Saporta
Chantal Deruaz	...	Nadia
Anny Romand	...	Paula
Roland Bertin	...	Simon Weinstadt, l'imprésario
Gérard Darmon	...	L' Antillais
Dominique Pinon	...	Le curé
Jean-Jacques Moreau	...	Krantz
Patrick Floersheim	...	Zatopek
Raymond Aquilon	...	Abdullah, le rasta
Eugène Berthier
Gérard Chaillou	...	Mortier

Storyline

A young opera-loving mailman, Jules, becomes inadvertently entangled in murder, when a young woman fleeing two mob hit men drops an incriminating cassette into his mailbag. Jules has just recently recorded opera star Cynthia Hawkins' latest concert, something of a coup as Hawkins refuses to make recordings of any kind. Soon Jules finds himself the target of the hit men, who want the voice recording, and also of another couple of ominous and mysterious agents.

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Plot Keywords:

france | shot to death | concert | murder | moped | 

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Taglines:

Her voice was his calling.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Dominique Pinon.

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Goofs

During the metro chase, close-ups of Jules shows the collar of a white tee-shirt underneath his buttoned-up shirt. However, in both previous and following scenes, he is without the tee-shirt.

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Quotes

[At Jules' apartment]
Alba: Pretty gloomy setting!
Jules: Think so? A monument to disaster... deluxe style!

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Crazy Credits

The music continues for a minute and five seconds after the credits end.

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Alternate Versions

Lion's Gate released a DVD (under the "Meridien Collection" banner) with 6' of deleted shots (all extensions of existing scenes) that were intentionally cut in the original by the director before the initial release, with those deleted shots not as bonus material on the DVD but actually edited back into the film, and advertised on the DVD as a "restored version". The resultant timing was 123'. This is not an official version, but an unauthorized re-editing by a DVD company. The correct timing of the film is 117'25".

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Connections

Features Heli-Shooter (1978)

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Soundtracks

Ave Maria
Composed by Charles Gounod
Performed by Wilhelmenia Fernandez (as Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez)
© Copyright by Galaxie Musique 1981
Tous droits réservés

User Reviews

The rich colors and soundtrack make this movie great.

Diva was very influential on me as a young college student. Diva represented the archetype of a foreign art film. Sure it was new, strange, and unpredictable as Avante-Garde films tend to be. But it was more than that.

I've seen Diva three times -all in the 1980's. Twenty years later, what I remember most is not the plot and the message, but the rich texture of the film. As a viewer I was submersed in a new and different reality; one that was visually stunning, intriguing, and edgy. The submersion was achieved both visually and with the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.

The colors man, the colors... Diva included many beautiful shot scenes with intense colors and dramatic lighting. There are several shots the stills of which could be turned into farmable artwork. At the time I was thinking they would make great dorm-room posters.

I think Diva has had a lasting influence on cinematography. You may have noticed that movies, TV shows and especially advertisements have moved to be very color intense. Dramatic lighting showing sharp contrasting hues, are the norm. Diva was the first film I can remember with rich color saturation made intentionally to make this type of artistic impression.

Another movie whose cinematography was likely influenced by Diva is Betty Blue (1986).

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English Italian

Release Date:

23 April 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diva

Filming Locations:

Opéra, Paris Métro, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,672, 4 November 2007

Gross USA:

$110,014

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$110,014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Galaxie, Greenwich Film Productions, France 2 (FR2)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1