Carmen (1984)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Francesco Rosi

Writers:

Henri Meilhac (libretto) &
Ludovic Halévy (libretto) ...

Release Date:

14 March 1984 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Plot:

A film version of the famous Bizet opera, where a soldier (Don Jose) falls in love with a beautiful factory worker (Carmen)...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Opera | Soldier | Magic | Sexuality

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Julia Migenes	...	Carmen (as Julia Migenes-Johnson)
Plácido Domingo	...	Don José
Ruggero Raimondi	...	Escamillo
Faith Esham	...	Micaëla
François Le Roux	...	Moralès
John-Paul Bogart	...	Zuñiga
Susan Daniel	...	Mercédès
Lillian Watson	...	Frasquita
Jean-Philippe Lafont	...	Dancaïre
Gérard Garino	...	Remendado
Julien Guiomar	...	Lillas Pastia
Accursio Di Leo	...	Guide
Maria Campano	...	Manuelita
Cristina Hoyos	...	Dancer
Juan Antonio Jiménez	...	Dancer

Also Known As:

Bizet's Carmen

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:6 (f) | Norway:12 | Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Company:

Gaumont International

Trivia:

The first film version of the opera to use spoken dialogue between all the musical numbers rather than being sung all the way through. This is the way Bizet intended the opera to be performed; the dialogue was set to music by composer Ernest Guiraud after Bizet's death, in order to make the realism of the opera less shocking to a nineteenth century audience (based on the assumption that music made the realism less "painful".)

Movie Connections:

Featured in Il cineasta e il labirinto (2004)

Soundtrack:

Deja de llorar

One of the best opera films ever made.

This is one of the best opera films ever made. The singing and orchestral playing are superb. The acting, directing, and scene setting made the story credible and even moving. Domingo is rather old for the role of the soldier so besotted by the sexy Carmen that he defies military orders. No matter, it works - Julia Migenes is so alluring, sings and moves so seductively, that it's not hard to imagine a man old enough to know better ruining his life for an hour with her. A must for opera lovers, and an excellent introduction to opera for those who think it's just about fat ladies playing teenage geishas and consumptive seamstresses.