Aria (1987)

6/9/18. OK, so I watched this collection of 10 shorts with arias as background soundtracks. Didn't care for most of them, but I did like Jean-Luc Godard's "Armide" and Roddam's "Liebestod". Definitely consider this an experimental film.

Opera and the emotions its kindles in the human soul, as seen through an artistic kaleidoscope. The various segments are different in style, range and scope ; sadly, they're also uneven in quality. Some of the segments charm, move, shock or mesmerize ; others do not. As a result the movie, considered as a whole, does not fully live up to its promising premise.However, there are images and ideas to savour, especially for people who like opera. I leave it to you, dear reader, to pick your own favorite. Me, I'm fond of the treatment given to Verdi's "Masked Ball", which is funny, witty and lushly romantic. It also teaches an important life lesson : if you're going to shoot at a monarch, pick on someone who didn't fight his way to the top.

Definitely worth watching.Ten different directors each present a segment based on their favorite opera aria. You don't need to be an opera lover to watch this film. (Although, of course, if you hate opera, you're really going to have a bad time with this!)Not surprisingly the segments range from brilliant to only fair. Most of the fuss seems to be over Godard's contribution -- whether you think he's brilliant or pretentious, his segment won't change your mind.Some of the pieces have a clear narrative; others are more a montage of connected images.None of the pieces is more than 10 minutes or so; if you're not happy with what's on the screen, wait for the next segment, and think about how much culture you're soaking up.Keep your eyes open for performances by Buck Henry, Beverly D'Angelo, Elizabeth Hurley, Briget Fonda, Tilda Swinton, and John Hurt. (The Buck Henry segment alone is worth the price of admission).

10 respected directors each shot a short film with operatic arias as the inspiration (and music). I'll do each one separately:Nicolas Roeg (dir)--Giuseppe Verdi (music). A story about an assassination attempt in 1931 Vienna. Theresa Russell (Roegs wife) plays a man! Not bad--very beautiful and exotic. Russell is great.Charles Sturridge--Verdi. No story but there is some haunting black and white imagery that fits perfectly with the music.Jean-Luc Godard--Jean Baptiste Lully. Horrendous. Pointless, boring, no plot, no nothing. Filled with gratuitous female nudity. The worst!Julien Temple--Verdi. Buck Henry, Beverly D'Angelo and Anita Morris star in this funny, if obvious, story about a cheating couple. Pretty good.Bruce Beresford--Erich Korngold. Short, lush and romantic. Very good.Robert Altman--Jean-Philippe Rameau. Dull. A yawner.Fran Roddam--Richard Wagner. This has Bridget Fonda in her film debut. Beautifully done love story with a fairly explicit sex scene. Ken Russell--Giacomo Puccini. Really strange but OK.Derek Jarman--Gustave Chapentier. Lyrical look at youth and old age. Very sweet. The last is by Bill Bryden doing "I Pagliacci". He has John Hurt (!) dressed as a clown lip-syncing to Caruso (!!!).When this came out it almost got an X rating (for the abundant nudity and the sex scene). It was given an R with a strict warning attached saying the R rating would be heavily enforced. After the film bombed that warning disappeared.The idea isn't bad and 6 out of the 10 segments were worthwhile. Worth seeing even if you don't like opera. Just avoid the Godard segment. I'm giving it an 8.