Rating: 
Summary: Beware of cheap imitations
Review: "Diva" is one of my very favorite movies -- I distinguish that term from "film." It has a wonderful combination of a suspenseful plot (based on a detective novel by Delacorta,( who, I believe, has a Lolita complex illustrated by the young Vietnames girl), pop-art imagery, and a thoughtful theme (the increasing mechanization/depersonalization ) of modern classical music. A beautiful mixture of film noir, nouveau vague, and Hollywood thriller, with a self-deprecating sense of humor.BEWARE OF THE OTHER DVD VERSION (with the gangster portrait on the box). IT HAS HORRIBLE SOUND WHICH IS FATAL FOR A MOVIE CONTAINING OPERATIC AND CLASSICAL MUSIC.
Rating:
Summary: Beware of cheap imitations
Review: "Diva" is one of my very favorite movies -- I distinguish that term from "film." It has a wonderful combination of a suspenseful plot (based on a detective novel by Delacorta,( who, I believe, has a Lolita complex illustrated by the young Vietnames girl), pop-art imagery, and a thoughtful theme (the increasing mechanization/depersonalization ) of modern classical music. A beautiful mixture of film noir, nouveau vague, and Hollywood thriller, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. BEWARE OF THE OTHER DVD VERSION (with the gangster portrait on the box). IT HAS HORRIBLE SOUND WHICH IS FATAL FOR A MOVIE CONTAINING OPERATIC AND CLASSICAL MUSIC.
Rating: 
Summary: Long on style
Review: A moped-riding postman gets caught between a crime boss, his thugs, record pirates and an opera diva. This stylish thriller became one of my favorites when I first saw it in 1981. It lost a little of its appeal with successive viewings as I realized how many opportunities for suspense seem missed. Even the noted subway chase seemed a little leaden. Oh well, my talents aren't in filmmaking. My interest was renewed with the release of the DVD. Though I've read criticism of it here, the clarity of sight and sound made the movie seem refreshing and new. I've rarely seen such a difference in a movie only 20 years old.
Rating:
Summary: A Tangled Web
Review: A truly fascinating film, with a fascinating premise, really stylish production values, an intricate and exciting plot, and fine performances---and it all starts so simply, before quickly becoming thrillingly-complex. Jules, a young mail carrier, is fascinated by a temperamental American opera singer who has never permitted her voice to be recorded. One evening, he sneaks a high-quality recording device into one of her concerts---which catches the attention of a consortium of shady record producers. Unbeknownst to poor Jules, a desperate whistleblower, with important imformation about a web of governmental corruption, has slipped a vital piece of evidence into his carrier bag, so that a second batch of crooks is also after him. He gets the chance to meet his idol in person, and also gets involved with a young shoplifter with the strangest, almost-inert philosopher of a boyfriend...But can his friends rescue him from the nasty folks who are after him? Can he rescue himself? DIVA is really a marvelously-tangled web: friendship and deceit, obsession and honesty, complexity and comedy, violence and artistry, with one of the most best chase scenes in all of cinematic history. This is one of those movies that I love to recommend to people...So much so that I'm now on my third copy, as people don't seem to want to return it...
Rating:
Summary: super great!
Review: awesome! so many twists and turns and SURPRISES. do not hesitate to watch this. it really is as good as it gets.
Rating:
Summary: super great!
Review: awesome! so many twists and turns and SURPRISES. do not hesitate to watch this. it really is as good as it gets.
Rating: 
Summary: Conditional Raves
Review: Beware! There is an existing DVD copy of "Diva" out there which was released in the late 1990s. Although the film is great fun, the DVD fails at the most critical part: the sound quality is miserable. If this DVD is a newly-minted release of "Diva", then never mind my complaints, enjoy this excellent film. If it is just a re-release of the original DVD, then save your time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Anchor Bay
Review: Bravo. Anchor Bay understands why many of us are buying DVDs of films we never would have considered purchasing on video: not merely because they are available, but because of the QUALITY. Their "Diva" release is a prime example of this, and I won't bother extolling the virtues of the movie *as* a movie since the Amazon.com review and the other reviewers have done that so well. I haven't seen the earlier Fox Lorber issue of "Diva", but from the reviews I read here, and from the Fox Lorber titles I unfortunately own, I can only imagine that they (Fox Lorber) did their usual criminally indifferent - or is it agressively incompetent? - job, making no attempt to clean up the image and sound on a poor-quality master, but rather doing a quick-and-dirty transfer in order to be first to market, before the public wises up. With that as the background, then, the new Anchor Bay release of "Diva" was well worth waiting for. The image quality is simply beautiful - clean, clear and crisp, with no discernable noise, dirt, or other undesireable visual artifacts. It's comparable in quality to Paramount's superb work on the "Chinatown" DVD, or most anything in The Criterion Collection's excellent series. Another very pleasant surprise is the restored and updated sound which, on the Fox Lorber release, was rated even below the poor quality of the image. Fans of "Diva" know that it has one of the most unique and memorable soundtracks of the many memorable 1980s movie soundtracks, and I cannot remember it ever sounding better than it does on the new Anchor Bay release. So again, thank you, Anchor Bay, for doing justice to one of my favorite films on DVD. And as for you, Fox Lorber, isn't there a better business model out there than doing violence to art for money?
Rating:
Summary: A Thrilling Visual Poem
Review: Diva is poetically visual as it displays a cinematically stunning experience, which renders one speechless with its sublime cinematography. The story begins with a postman, Jules, who is absorbed by opera as he tapes an opera singers performance. Unknowingly Jules has been observed by two peculiar men followings him in order to try retrieve the recording. In addition, a woman who is murdered has placed a tape recording in Jules's postman bag, which will add more problems for him. Diva is a superb cinematic experience that will visually intrigue as much French New Wave did during the 60s and 70s as it often produces new and interesting ways of displaying cinema.
Rating:
Summary: A Thrilling Visual Poem
Review: Diva is poetically visual as it displays a cinematically stunning experience, which renders one speechless with its sublime cinematography. The story begins with a postman, Jules, who is absorbed by opera as he tapes an opera singers performance. Unknowingly Jules has been observed by two peculiar men followings him in order to try retrieve the recording. In addition, a woman who is murdered has placed a tape recording in Jules's postman bag, which will add more problems for him. Diva is a superb cinematic experience that will visually intrigue as much French New Wave did during the 60s and 70s as it often produces new and interesting ways of displaying cinema.
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