Product Description

Ten great directors, one unforgettable film. Imagine that ten of the world's most well-known, highly regarded filmmakers were given a free hand to make real any vision. "Aria" is that history-making film. Sexy, violent, thought-provoking and funny, here is the movie critics raved about, audiences flocked to see, and no one could stop talking about. Includes Bridget Fonda's electrifyingly erotic film debut and a revealing, breathtaking performance by supermodel Elizabeth Hurley. Segments directed by Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, Bill Bryden, Jean-Luc Godard, Derek Jarman, Franc Roddam, Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Charles Sturridge, Julien Temple.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110965 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-07-06
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Italian, French, German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.com
This omnibus directors fest brings together 10 different filmmakers making 10 different films based on operatic arias. Jean-Luc Godard is stylistically the boldest, Robert Altman possibly the most imaginative, Franc Roddam celebrates American glitz, and Bruce Beresford is the most sentimental. Nearly all the other filmmakers involved--including Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Julien Temple, Charles Sturridge, Derek Jarman, and Bill Bryden--are (or were, in the case of the late Jarman) world-class talents, but you wouldn't know that from their murky participation here. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

ARIA - Classic Lost....
ARIA is a wonderful film. Each director chose an Operatic Aria to work with for interpretation to the screen.
The new DVD release is to be avoided. I pre-ordered this a couple of months ago and upon arrival, was totally dissapointed by the quality. It's not 16x9 as advertised. It's not even full frame as it was filmed. Very poor transfer from an old answer or release print. Poor sound, doesn't even look good with a 1080 upconvert DVD player.
I have this film on VHS tape. Three years ago I transfered it to DVD. My VHS tape copy is far superior to this release.
In short, it sucks.......

Liz Hurley's first important role in a movie
This movie provided Liz Hurley with her big break. Soon after this, Dennis Potter snapped her up for the lead role in the BBC adaptation of Christabel Bielenberg's 'The Past is Myself'. She became Hugh Grant's girlfriend and the rest is history. She transformed herself physically during her twenties, which is why some viewers have had problems identifying the occasionally nude actress that appears here as the very slim Liz Hurley they now know.

For me, 'Aria' was the classical music community's response to the rise of MTV and the pop video. Directors like Ken Russell and Nick Roeg wanted to show us that opera could be equally colourful and sexy, even if you couldn't dance to it. And they proved their case, to my mind.

But like a pop video, you wouldn't want to watch this too often. There's no substantive connection between each of the videos, so you end up feeling much the same as you would after a 90-minute immersion in MTV.

A Visual and audial smorgasbord
I have loved this movie for years. Granted, it may be for deep film buffs, but it is powerful.

Each vignette offers a top director's interpretation of a provocative aria. Opera lovers know how emotionally provocative the music can be; and that raw emotion is shown by each director.

The love story is one of the most romantic and tragic stories I have ever seen--the images are still in my mind 10 years after first seeing it. I had enjoyed a light introduction to opera before this movie, but after feeling the raw emotions this film created in me, I bought a few opera CDs based simply on first hearing the arias in this movie. There is even some VERY funny stuff is one scene.

So, in summary, the music, images, and emotions from this movies were all so intense, they've stayed with me for years. If you can take the intensity, do not miss out on this powerful movie that can be both sublime and intense at the same time.