Callas Forever - Drama Classic Movies on DVD (2004) Starring Fanny Ardant & Jeremy Irons; Directed by Franco Zeffirelli; Image Entertainment : OLDIES.com

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Genre: Drama

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Item Number:
IMG 0349D

DVD Features:

Encoding: Region 1; USA & Canada
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.78

Audio:

Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

Original Theatrical Trailer
Behind the Scenes
Production Interviews - 1. Franco Zeffirelli - Director
2. Giovannella Zannoni - Producer
3. Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons, Joan Plowright - Actors

Entertainment Reviews:

New York Times - 11/05/2004

"Ms. Ardant displays an eerie command of the diva's body language....For instant emotional button-pushing, you can't beat the music of Puccini, which saturates the film."

Los Angeles Times - 11/05/2004

"The result is not only one of Zeffirelli's sumptuous productions but also a film that celebrates the sacredness of artistic integrity that to Zeffirelli Callas embodied fully."

Sight and Sound - 01/01/2005

"Fanny Ardant's performance as Callas is not only the central achievement of the film, but a remarkable creation in itself."

Product Description:

This fictionalized biopic chronicles the final years of opera meta-diva Maria Callas (Fanny Ardant), filling in the blank spots with a "what if" scenario. It's the late 1970s and Callas, once the greatest singer in opera, has lost her voice, been thrown over by Aristotle Onassis in favor of Jackie Kennedy, and now stomps around her apartment in a haze of pills and regret. But just when it seems all hope is lost, her former manager Larry (Jeremy Irons) hits on the plan to do an opera film of CARMEN, with Callas lip-synching her younger voice in the lead, thus preserving her stage presence for future generations. The trouble is that once Callas gets back in the limelight, her over-the-top artistic temperament threatens to destroy the entire project. What's more, Larry's gay lover (Jay Rodan) is throwing tantrums of his own.
Fanny Ardant is incredible as the tortured, egotistical diva and Joan Plowright lends some welcome warmth and wit as the British reporter who sets the plot in motion. As with many a Zeffirelli film, the cast is packed with beautiful people and the photography is elegant. The passages from CARMEN are a real highlight, with Callas's actual recordings used on the soundtrack. An opera director as well as a film director, Zeffirelli was friends with Callas for over 20 years and once tried to talk her into just such a project, so this is obviously a true labor of love.

Plot Keywords:

Production Notes:

THEATRICAL RELEASE: NOVEMBER 5, 2004

Cast and Crew:

Starring		Fanny Ardant & Jeremy Irons
Directed by		Franco Zeffirelli
Produced by		Riccardo Tozzi
Screenwriting by		Franco Zeffirelli
Story by		Martin Sherman
Performer		Joan Plowright, Jay Rodan, Justino Diaz & Stephen Billington
Executive Production by		Marco Chimenz & Giovanni Stabilini
Additional Music / Songs by		Georges Bizet