Aria
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Aria
Plot
An international collection of well-known directors contributed to this compilation film, each fashioning a short film inspired by an aria from a famous opera. The approaches vary broadly, from the playful abstraction of Jean-Luc Godard's segment, which illustrates Armide with exercising body-builders, to the more literal approach of Franc Roddam, who transports Tristan und Isolde's story to modern-day Las Vegas. A particular stand-out is Julian Temple's take on Rigoletto, which recasts Verdi as the accompaniment to a contemporary Southern California sex farce. ~ Judd Blaise, RoviCast
- Theresa Russell - King Zog
- Nicola Swain - Marie
- Jack Kyle - Travis
- Buck Henry - Preston
- Julie Hagerty
- Marianne McLoughlin - Kate
- Tilda Swinton - Young Girl
- Marion Peterson - Les Jeunes Filles
Credit
Stephen Altman - Art Director, Paul Dufficey - Art Director, Christopher Hobbs - Art Director, Andrew McAlpine - Art Director, Piers Plowden - Art Director, Matthew Jacobs - Art Director, Michael Hamlyn - Associate Producer, Grover Dale - Choreography, Terry Gilbert - Choreography, Al Clark - Co-producer, Alison Chitty - Costume Designer, Leslie Gilda - Costume Designer, Shuna Harwood - Costume Designer, John Hay - Costume Designer, Elisabetta Rogiani - Costume Designer, Sandy Powell - Costume Designer, Jane Hamilton - Costume Designer, Victoria Russell - Costume Designer, Robert Altman - Director, Bruce Beresford - Director, Bill Bryden - Director, Jean-Luc Godard - Director, Derek Jarman - Director, Franc Roddam - Director, Nicolas Roeg - Director, Ken Russell - Director, Charles Sturridge - Director, Julien Temple - Director, Neil Abrahamson - Editor, Robert Altman - Editor, Jennifer Auge - Editor, Marie-Therese Boiche - Editor, Michael Bradsell - Editor, Peter Cartwright - Editor, Angus Cook - Editor, Mike Cragg - Editor, Rick Elgood - Editor, Jean-Luc Godard - Editor, Tony Lawson - Editor, Matthew Longfellow - Editor, Charles Mitchell - Executive Producer, Tom Kuhn - Executive Producer, Arne Holland - Executive Producer, Jim Mervis - Executive Producer, Jean-Baptiste Lulli - Composer (Music Score), Ralph Mace - Musical Direction/Supervision, Angelo Di Biase - Makeup, Vilborg Aradottir - Makeup, Anni Buchanan - Makeup, Rick Casboro - Makeup, Dominique de Vorges - Makeup, Morag Ross - Makeup, Philomene Sammartino - Makeup, Penny Delamar Shawyer - Makeup, Jenny Shircore - Makeup, Stephen Altman - Production Designer, Scott Bushnell - Production Designer, Paul Dufficey - Production Designer, John Hay - Production Designer, Christopher Hobbs - Production Designer, Diana Johstone - Production Designer, Andrew McAlpine - Production Designer, Piers Plowden - Production Designer, Matthew Jacobs - Production Designer, Gabriel Beristain - Cinematographer, Caroline Champetier - Cinematographer, Frederick Elmes - Cinematographer, Harvey Harrison - Cinematographer, Christopher Hughes - Cinematographer, Pierre Mignot - Cinematographer, Mike Southon - Cinematographer, Dante Spinotti - Cinematographer, Oliver Stapleton - Cinematographer, Gale Tattersall - Cinematographer, Don Boyd - Producer, Charles Mitchell - Producer, Mike Watts - Producer, Tom Kuhn - Producer, Arnaud de Moleron - Set Designer, Deborah Evans - Set Designer, Rossella Scanagatta - Set Designer, Tom Harris - Special Effects, Robert Altman - Screenwriter, Bruce Beresford - Screenwriter, Don Boyd - Screenwriter, Bill Bryden - Screenwriter, Jean-Luc Godard - Screenwriter, Derek Jarman - Screenwriter, Franc Roddam - Screenwriter, Nicolas Roeg - Screenwriter, Ken Russell - Screenwriter, Charles Sturridge - Screenwriter, Julien Temple - Screenwriter, Gustave Charpentier - From Opera by, Erich Wolfgang Korngold - From Opera by, Ruggiero Leoncavallo - From Opera by, Giacomo Puccini - From Opera by, Jean-Philippe Rameau - From Opera by, Giuseppe Verdi - From Opera by, Richard Wagner - From Opera by| Ari No Machi No Maria (1959 Film), Ari Brown: Live at the Green Mill (Film) | |
| Aria (2006 Film), Aria Diva (2007 Film) |
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Aria (film)
| Aria | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Robert Altman Bruce Beresford Bill Bryden Jean-Luc Godard Derek Jarman Franc Roddam Nicolas Roeg Ken Russell Charles Sturridge Julien Temple |
| Produced by | Don Boyd |
| Written by | Robert Altman Bruce Beresford Don Boyd Bill Bryden Louis de Cahusac Derek Jarman Philippe Quinault Franc Roddam Nicolas Roeg Ken Russell Charles Sturridge Julien Temple |
| Starring | Theresa Russell Beverly D'Angelo Elizabeth Hurley Bridget Fonda Tilda Swinton |
| Music by | Giuseppe Verdi Gustave Charpentier Giacomo Puccini Erich Wolfgang Korngold |
| Cinematography | Christopher Hughes |
| Editing by | Neil Abrahamson |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films |
| Release date(s) | September 15, 1987 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | Italian French German |
Aria is a 1987 British film produced by Don Boyd from Virgin Group's visual section consisting of ten short films by a variety of directors. It was entered into the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
Each segment features its director's visual accompaniment to arias and scenes from operas. Each film has minimal dialogue (most have none at all), with most of the spoken content being the operas' lyrics (libretto) in Italian, French, or German.
The music archive source was RCA Records (which at the time included Erato Records, a label which later went to Warner Music; RCA is now a part of Sony BMG, further complicating the film's music rights).
Summary
Un ballo in maschera
A fictionalized account of a 1931 assassination attempt on King Zog of Albania, notable for his shooting back at his would-be assassins and surviving. (In the actual attempt, King Zog was leaving a performance of Pagliacci.)
- Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi
- Directed by Nicolas Roeg
- Running time: 14 minutes
"La Vergine Degli Angeli" from La Forza del Destino
Three London teenagers skip school and steal a car.
- Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi
- Directed by Charles Sturridge
- Starring Nicola Swain, Jackson Kyle, Marianne McLaughlin
- Running time: 5 minutes
Armide
Two nude women try to attract the attention of oblivious bodybuilders.
- Music composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully
- Libretto by Philippe Quinault
- Conducted by Philippe Herreweghe
- Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
- Starring Valérie Allain
- Running time: 11 minutes
Rigoletto
A bedroom farce set in San Luis Obispo's famous Madonna Inn in which a movie producer cheats on his wife unaware that she, too, is there with a clandestine lover of her own.
- Music by Giuseppe Verdi
- Directed by Julien Temple
- Written by Charlie Coffey
- Starring Buck Henry and Beverly D'Angelo
- Running time: 14 minutes
"Glück das mir verblieb" from Die Tote Stadt
A look at the seemingly-dead city of Bruges, Belgium. Scenic footage of the empty streets and cemeteries is intercut with a duet of two lovers, as a beautiful virgin is stripped naked by her lover and, after she expresses her affection for him, she loses her virginity to him.
- Music composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
- Sung by Carol Neblett and René Kollo
- Directed by Bruce Beresford
- Starring Elizabeth Hurley and Peter Birch
- Running time: 5 minutes
Selections from Abaris ou les Boréades
A re-creation of opening night at Paris's Ranelagh Theater in 1734. The audience is filled with raffish assortment of inmates from an asylum.
- Music composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
- Libretto by Louis de Cahusac
- Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner
- Directed by Robert Altman
- Starring Julie Hagerty, Geneviève Page, Sandrine Dumas, Chris Campion
- Running time: 7 minutes
"Liebestod" from Tristan und Isolde
Two young lovers arrive in Las Vegas. After driving down Glitter Gulch, they check into a cheap hotel room where they unsuccessfully try to commit suicide following the consummation of their relationship.
- Music composed by Richard Wagner
- Sung by Leontyne Price
- Directed by Franc Roddam
- Starring Bridget Fonda in her first credited film role.
- Running time: 7 minutes
"Nessun dorma" from Turandot
After a car crash, a lovely young girl imagines her body is being adorned by jewels mirroring her injuries, in a tribal ritual parallel to the procedures of the surgical team treating her, until she wakes up in the operating room after resuscitation.
- Music composed by Giacomo Puccini
- Sung by Jussi Björling
- Directed by Ken Russell
- Starring Linzi Drew
- Running time: 7 minutes
"Depuis le Jour" from Louise
A veteran opera singer gives her final performance, intercut by 8mm home movies of an early love affair.
- Music composed by Gustave Charpentier
- Sung by Leontyne Price
- Directed by Derek Jarman
- Starring Tilda Swinton
- Running time: 6 minutes
"Vesti la Giubba" from Pagliacci
A has-been virtuoso remembers his happier days while arriving at an opera house, visiting the dressing room to put on his clown makeup, and performing the aria for his audience of one. (This story provides a vague framing narrative to link together the other segments.)
- Music composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo
- Directed by Bill Bryden
- Written by Bill Bryden and Don Boyd
- Starring John Hurt and Sophie Ward
- Sung by Enrico Caruso
- Running time: 4 minutes
References
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Aria". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/410/year/1987.html. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
External links
- Aria at the Internet Movie Database
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