Diva (Remastered Widescreen Edition) (Meridian Collection)

To be clear, this review is of the Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray Disc issued August 2020. There are no plot spoilers here. I fell in love with “Diva” upon first seeing it in a movie theater in 1981. I was shocked to learn via the Bonus Features (more on them to follow) that many French critics pilloried the movie when it debuted. As I see it, you either go with the flow of the story right off the bat and love the characters--and some you will “love to hate”--and are thus willing to forgive the implausibility of some events that occur, or you don’t. Some technical comments: I am grateful to Kino Lorber for finally making this film available on Blu-ray, and it has never looked this good for home video. Before you shout at me “Of course, dummy, it’s a BD!” you should be advised that some movies come out on Blu-ray looking essentially identical to their standard DVD versions when viewed via an “upconverting” DVD player and a 4K monitor. I can apply this verdict to some Olive Films BD releases, and the first BD incarnations of movies like “2001” and “A Clockwork Orange.” In these cases, in my opinion, the only rationale for buying Blu-ray is to obtain new Bonus Features. So let’s look at the new Bonus materials on the disc under review here. Frankly, I was shocked at how amateurish they are! [By the way, all these features bear a 2008 copyright by Lions Gate. I was not aware they ever had a connection with this product. My standard DVD of “Diva” was issued by Anchor Bay Home Video, via Studio Canal.] The interviews are shot clumsily and virtually all end abruptly, even in someone’s mid-sentence. Inexcusable. The most useful material is the comments of the director himself on specific scenes. But the full-length audio commentary by “film critic” Simon Abrams is only about 40% useful. He recorded it in his Brooklyn, NY apartment and we get to hear fire engines departing from their station next door! I have never encountered such a situation in a commentary before. Worse yet, Mr. Abrams makes factual errors: he misidentifies ‘Cynthia Hawkins,’ the diva of the title, as the young Vietnamese girl ‘Alba’ in one scene with protagonist Jules. In the famous sequence set in an underground game arcade, he suggests the setting may be a metaphor for Hades because one of the gamers is playing “Hell-Shooter.” Sorry, Mr. Commentator, but the name of the game happens to be “Heli-[as in helicopter] Shooter!” Armed with adequate background information and powered by my love for this film, I would have done much superior commentary! Kino Lorber, please take note! Bottom line: If you love “Diva,” you should own this Blu-ray. Just be aware of the serious deficiencies of the Bonus Features.

Have loved this film since the first time I saw it. Blu Ray is great. Not a lot of extra features but image clarity and sound are both excellent.

Nothing to dislike about this movie.

This is one of the very first movies I was ever motivated to buy. A stylish 1981 French art-house classic, "Diva" was considered a failure until it was "discovered" in Seattle, and after a notable run of almost a year, the distributor decided to re-release it. In 1982 it won four Césars (French Academy Awards). That time it made its mark: now it has been released again on Amazon.com so I upgraded my cherished VHS tape to a re-mastered DVD.The bone of contention in this thriller is an audio cassette. Problem is, there are TWO of them, each is being sought for its content:* A bootlegged recording of an American diva, made by an enamored mail courier during a concert which featured an aria from "La Wally" as its centerpiece.* An exposé of the police department from a murdered prostitute who had hidden her tape in the messenger's bag on our young hero's parked mobilette.We enjoy unforgettable characters:* A moped-mounted messenger boy, played by Frédéric Andréi, who lives alone above an abandoned automotive garage complete with winches, an elevator shaft, mechanic's tools and assorted paraphernalia. He has no idea who is chasing him or why. All he knows is he has a HUGE crush on that lovely opera star.* An eccentric Diva (she has never allowed her voice to be recorded), played by American Wilhelmina Wiggins, lives in a swanky hotel surrounded by attentive servants, luxurious clothes, delicious food and elegant furnishings.* An enigmatic character who lives in a huge semi-empty warehouse with a Vietnamese refugee girl who uses roller skates to get around their "house."* A pair of Taiwanese businessmen who want to duplicate the opera singer's tape and sell it worldwide (there are no copyright agreements between France and Taiwan).* Two hired thugs who must find and destroy the police department exposé before corruption is uncovered at the highest levels.During the course of this exciting film, we dash through the Parisian underground, race up narrow alleys, flee across parks, plunge into a pinball arcade (remember, this was made 30 years ago), and end up in a lighthouse.You will hear a gorgeous award-winning soundtrack (Promenade Sentimentale comes to mind), enjoy fleeting glimpses of well-known Parisian landmarks, admire an intricately clever script, and you will come to love both our darling messenger boy and the lovely opera singer.

da acquistare per il film in se, la qualità dell’audio e del video per gli standard attuali è da 5 e mezzo

Una idea bellissima, personaggi di grande bravura. musiche a dir poco eccezzionali: che altro volete?

An excellent 80s film that is still great yo this day & one of my all time filmed. Dive Je'taime!

We watched this film years ago on TV & thoroughly enjoyed it, kept a look-out for it being released & used some vouchers to treat myself to a copy. This was just as good as I remembered. Don't be put off by the title, this is a clever film that uses opera to hang a crime film on with a touch of black comedy added.

Wore my VHS version out many moos ago,watching it after many interim years, it may be a tad dated, but has lost none of its moodiness or edgy feeling, with loads of classic Parisian/French references throughout, uber-cool! Enjoy!