Diva

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

15K

YOUR RATING

Frédéric Andréi, Richard Bohringer, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, and An Luu in Diva (1981)

Play trailer1:20

2 Videos

99+ Photos

Crime Drama Music Thriller

Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French... Read allTwo tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

15K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 8 wins & 9 nominations total

Videos2

Trailer 1:20

Diva: Re-Release

Trailer 1:28

Diva - Rialto Pictures Trailer

Trailer 1:28

Diva - Rialto Pictures Trailer

Photos118

+ 112

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The producers were looking for an actress who fit the description of Cynthia Hawkins (the Diva) in the original novel - a beautiful black American woman who sings a flawless operatic soprano, and speaks both English and French fluently. They attended a performance of Carmen to familiarize themselves with opera performers. Wilhelmenia Fernandez was playing the title role the night they attended the opera.

Goofs
During the metro chase, close-ups of Jules shows the collar of a white tee-shirt underneath his buttoned-up shirt. However, in both previous and following scenes, he is without the tee-shirt.

Quotes
Gorodish: Abyssus abyssum invocat
Alba: What is Abyssus abyssum?
Gorodish: It means the abyss calls the abyss

Crazy credits
The music continues for a minute and five seconds after the credits end.

Alternate versions
Lion's Gate released a DVD (under the "Meridien Collection" banner) with 6' of deleted shots (all extensions of existing scenes) that were intentionally cut in the original by the director before the initial release, with those deleted shots not as bonus material on the DVD but actually edited back into the film, and advertised on the DVD as a "restored version". The resultant timing was 123'. This is not an official version, but an unauthorized re-editing by a DVD company. The correct timing of the film is 117'25".

Connections
Edited into Searching for Diva (2008)

Soundtracks
La Wally
Music by Alfredo Catalani
Performed by Wilhelmenia Fernandez

User reviews106

Featured review

Best movie ever about bootlegging concerts

Diva is a movie that seems just as stunning and unique to me today as it did when I first saw it 20 years ago. One of those movies that you will remember forever.

On the surface, it's an exercise in pure style, combining exciting, "hip" visuals with great music (opera as well as some great atmospheric incidental music). But there are hundreds of movies like that. What makes Diva so memorable to me is the way it combines this stylish cinematic eye candy with a suspenseful plot, good acting, a touch of romance and sex, and even a smattering of philosophy (as the title character explains her reasons for not allowing her voice to be recorded, not to mention the immortal bread-buttering scene).

It sounds like a recipe for a boring, highly stylized "European" movie, but this is a film where the excitement never flags for a minute. One of the true gems of 80s cinema. As a friend said "If you wanted to be hip in the 80s, you had to have seen 'Liquid Sky', 'Repo Man' and 'Diva'". But even today, you should see it just because it's a great movie.