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Aria

(various, UK, 1987)


 


Don Boyd, the producer-entrepreneur of this operatic anthology, was guilty of a terrible overkill when he invited so many directors to work in so many different styles on so many diverse pieces of music.

Taken in small doses, however, almost all the segments are interesting experiments in finding a hybrid cinema/opera/MTV form, and some (especially those by Jean-Luc Godard, Julien Temple, Ken Russell and Robert Altman) are quite invigorating in their outrageousness.

Be warned, however, that the framing device between segments, featuring John Hurt, is truly awful.

MORE anthologies: The Blues, Fallen Angels, Inside Out, Lumiere and Company, Strangers, Tales from the Darkside Vol.1, Wild Palms, Four Rooms, Dark Whispers: Volume 1

MORE Godard: À bout de souffle, Contempt, Hélas pour moi, Histoire(s) du cinéma 1A & 1B, For Ever Mozart, Masculin Féminin, Soigne ta droite, Éloge de l’amour, Vivre sa vie, Sauve qui peut (la vie), La Chinoise, Made in USA, Film Socialism, Tout va bien, Alphaville, Ici et ailleurs

MORE Russell: Lady Chatterley, The Music Lovers

MORE Altman: The Company, Cookie's Fortune, Gosford Park, Kansas City, Nashville, The Player, Prêt-à-Porter, Short Cuts, That Cold Day in the Park

© Adrian Martin December 1992


Film Critic: Adrian Martin
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