Reviews (7)

Bought it, hated it
I bought this one thinking it would be great. It is not. Callas is no my type. I don't like her voice or her appearance.

La divina assoluta
As a devout Callasite, I found it my duty to express my true amazement towards this historical treasure. To see Callas perform on this casette is an insight into what Callas the actress must have been on stage. Her voice is in good form, and she looks like an angel. The "Il Trovatore" excerpts are formidable, and "Una voce" is delightful. This tape is a must-have for all opera lovers!

Grand Night at the Opera
I bought this video without seeing any reviews. I knew that I wanted to see an actual performance after hearing so many of Maria Callas' wonderful recordings. I choose this video because it was during the period when everyone agrees her voice was at it's best. Although the picture quality varies, it was broadcast on French T.V. in 1958, the audio quality is much better than I expected, with the overall effect of feeling that you are at the Paris Opera House! The selection of arias are some of the best Callas ever performed, and her performance is perfection itself. One can see how she became the character for each aria. Finally, the performance of all of Act II of Tosca is absolutely essential for all opera fans because this is Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi at their absolute best!

SHEER MAGNIFICENCE
"Una Voce Poco Fa" clearly exhibits Maria's amazing flowing techniques. Her brilliance wraps around the audience and reaches into their souls. While interpreting "Tosca", there is such a change in the atmosphere that it is quite impossible to describe with words. This video is a must see!

MAGIC.
I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer from Hawaii. He captured the genius of Callas in one word:"MAGIC". This video presents La Divina in selections from some of her greatest performances. I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

An Ancient Woman
Just as Pasolini said,"I draw on the mysterious sensibilities in Maria Callas". He finds Callas to be "an ancient woman" in the sense that she is directly linked to myth and legend. With very little spoken word Callas manages to convey all the pride, rage, and black art that comprises the legend of Medea. Set against an incredibly dramatic backdrop the viewer is nearly hypnotized by this savage story of lust and power.
To the reviewer who thought that the repeated scene of the death of the king and his daughter was a technical error, watch it carefully again. Medea dreams the act of revenge first, then sets it into motion and the dream becomes reality. This is in all the films of this I have seen. It is not a mistake.

Another footnote . . .
A lot has been written about the scene that is shown twice. While it is definitely deliberate, I wouldn't say that its NOT a mistake.

Pasolini can be frustrating. Half the time you think you are watching a genius re-invent cinema - the other half you are wondering if he even knows which end of the camera to point. After a brilliant opening half I thought I was watching what was surely to become one of my favorite films. Pasolini's interpretation seemed just right - it seemed he had something legitimate to contribute this time. And Callas is perfectly cast. Then we settle into the part that, dramatically speaking, can't go wrong - Medea's betrayal and revenge.

It is here, of all places, that Pasolini begins to stumble. The narrative becomes unfocused, passion is dumped in favor of vagueness, the director half-heartedly tries out a number of ideas that don't really work, and we feel robbed of the impact that a straightforward approach would have given us. Feeling all of the tension drain out of this film after such a strong start is a major letdown.

By the climax the only grounding force is Callas - and it seems as if Pasolini is working against her, against the story, and against his own film. The real shame here is that Callas ultimately isn't allowed to give us the Medea that she could have.

Still, the magic of the first half cannot be completely destroyed - and at no time does this fillm even come close to being as tedious and pretentious as Pasolini's Oedipus.

A footnote to the other reviews
Am I the only one to notice that the killing of the Princess and her father is shown twice in the DVD version? (Is it in the tape edition also?) We see them burst into flame, then we go back to Medea planning the murder, and then we see it again! I wrote to the distributor and he said he forwarded my comments to the producers. I never heard a word from the latter. So I am posting this to ask if any one else has noticed this strange duplication. I would very much appreciate hearing from any body whose copy has the same flaw or does not.

Well, it could have been worse
Pasolini fans have been struggling with low-quality DVD's since the advent of the format, and Medea is no exception. This disc, put out by Vanguard, is certainly a step above the Wellspring and Image Pasolini DVD's, but that really isn't saying much. The transfer is fairly dirty and washed-out, and the sound is very hissy. The punctuation in the subtitles is abominable. That being said, they are actually quite easy to read.

The film itself is good, although it doesn't reach the heights of Pasolini's earlier Oedipus Rex. The film is very slow, lacking a great deal of dialogue, until it explodes at the very end. It's a little convaluted, and I highly advise reading a summary of the story before delving into the film.

While Medea isn't Pasolini's best film, it's certainly not his worst DVD. Worth a rental, at least.

MEDEA, one of Pasolini's greatest films, finally on DVD
Pasolini has the dubious distinction of being the only great filmmaker who was murdered, possibly at the behest of a right-wing faction which loathed the openly gay, Marxist, atheist - and popular - artist. Whatever the facts of his death, his reputation as one of Italy's greatest talents is based securely on his poetry, novels, works of critical theory and, in particular, the 25 films he directed. They include such stylistically diverse works as Accatone (1961; adapted from his own novel about life in the slums of modern Rome), The Gospel According to Matthew (1964; a beautiful, moving film about Christ), a stunning version of the Arabian Nights (1974), and his last film, the most nauseating masterpiece I have ever seen, Salò (1975; the Marquis de Sade's 1780s novel updated to Mussolini's Fascist Italy). But Pasolini's most underrated film is his startling version of Medea (1969). Its recent release on DVD (from Vanguard-Cinema) makes this is an opportune time to revisit the ultimate incarnation of the adage, Hell has no fury like a woman scorned.

Pasolini takes a unique approach to Medea. He jettisons all but a few lines of Euripides, and begins the narrative many years before the action of the play. Most strikingly, he shoots almost the entire film in a documentary-like style. And, with a couple of notable exceptions, he creates a picture with almost no dialogue, although the soundtrack features an astonishing musical score (put together by Pasolini) of native North African wind and percussion music (20 years before Peter Gabriel's score for Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, which was clearly inspired by Pasolini). If that was not enough to offend purists, in the title role he cast perhaps the most famous opera diva of the century, Maria Callas, in her only film appearance, and then gave her almost no lines (and the few she had were dubbed). Perhaps if audiences had known a bit more about what to expect from the film, they would have seen what was on the screen, instead of what Pasolini consciously - and often brilliantly - stripped away from his sources.

He opens with a witty prologue in which an unforgettable Centaur lectures baby Jason about his mythical lineage. So many gods and goddesses are mentioned in this breathless monologue, that the overwhelmed kid falls over backwards, sound asleep. (There is perhaps as much dialogue in these first three minutes as in the rest of the film.) Then Pasolini plunges us into Medea's world. In one of the film's most astonishing sequences, we witness, and feel, every moment of the ritual sacrifice of a young man, whose blood the people of Colchis smear over the plants and trees, to ensure the continued fertility of their land. Pasolini's artistry makes this event as poetic and authentic (indigenous North Africans, not extras from Central Casting, enact the Colchians) as it is gruesome. You may have read about such ancient rites in anthropology, but Pasolini depicts it unflinchingly. And he shows us, in visceral terms, exactly what kind of world produced Medea, whose revenge will be enacted years later on her faithless husband.

Throughout, Pasolini invests every shot with a haunting, ripely sensuous look, almost always grounded in a cinéma vérité style. The film literally glows like burnished bronze, with many shots done at the "magic hour," just before sunset, which naturally provides an orange/gold sheen. The major stylistic exception is the scenes in the court of King Creon (played by Massimo Girotti, star of Visconti's 1941 film Ossessione), where Pasolini drolly mimics Eisenstein's expressionistic designs from that masterpiece of political intrigue, Ivan the Terrible (1943-1946).

Much of Medea's enormous power comes from the naturalistic performances, ranging from the leads to the many minor characters. This is what the Argonauts might really have been like, a group of mostly quiet young men, doing their jobs, enjoying the thrill of battle when the opportunity arises, and gawking at the strange sights of Colchis's radically foreign culture. Giuseppe Gentile creates a complex Jason whom we believe a powerful woman like Medea could fall passionately in love with, who is devoted to his children, yet who is so fickle, not to mention hungry for power, that he would throw over his wife of 10 years to marry the daughter of his enemy, King Creon, as a backhanded way of regaining his throne.

Pasolini draws a monumental performance from Maria Callas, who uses her few lines of dialogue to great effect. Simply by using her face and body, Callas suggests - with a subtlety unexpected from an opera diva - Medea's immense range of emotions, from heartbreaking tenderness to volcanic rage.

Perhaps the best way to enjoy Pasolini's Medea is to put aside thoughts of Euripides, and later versions by such dramatists as Seneca, Pierre Corneille, and Jean Anouilh, not to mention Hollywood extravaganzas like Jason and the Argonauts (whether the fun 1963 version, with Ray Harryhausen's special effects wizardry, or the bland TV mini-series from 2000). Experience Pasolini's mesmerizing film on its own starkly beautiful terms, and you will find a unique vision not only of the ancient Mediterranean, recreated with what feels like astonishing fidelity, but of the tortured interplay of love, desire, and unspeakable revenge, which can be as current as the latest crime of passion. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Good Primer for Anyone Interested in Female Comics
I have seen this video several times and each time I like it even more. As a young female comic just starting out in the business, this tape has been an invaluable resource for me, not to mention highly entertaining. If you're looking for just another tape of stand-up then this isn't it. However, if you're interested in learning about female comics and looking at this male-dominated field from a female perspective, then I highly recommend Wise Cracks. It's several years old, but still very relevant. Some of the comics are professionals, many of whom have gained even more fame since the release of this film. Other comics are amateur, but all of them represent the very real world of women in comedy, from all levels of talent. Watch for the thinly veiled reference made by a pre-out Ellen regarding her sexual orientation. All this and more! Wise Cracks is a dumb title, but it's worth watching.

This isnt just stand-up
I didnt like this tape at all.Most of these comedians i really like & i thought i would enjoy this tape.It shows a couple minutes at most of each ones stand up routine.Its more of a back stage interview with each comic.

Impressive
This is a comical, laugh-out-loud, kind of stand up comedy that makes you want to watch it again and again. ... Read more

Description

Many of the great names in the history of opera have appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" performing the arias that made them famous. Now available is the complete collection of these historic performances by opera legends including Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, BEverly Sills, Robert Merrill, Franco Corelli, Renata Tebaldi, Birgit Nilsson, Leontyne Price, Richard Tucker, Anna Moffo, Roberta Peters, Lily Pons, Jan Peerce, Marilyn Horne, Dorothy Kirsten and Eileen Farrell. 120 Mins. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Opera singers from Ed Sullivan's "really big shoe"
For those who remember "The Ed Sullivan Show" for The Beatles, Senor Wences, and Topo Gigio, this collection of operatic highlights serves as a reminder that high culture was also a part of the mix each week on Sunday night's broadcast. Sullivan presented not only rock stars and grand opera but classical ballet, dramatic recitations, and dancing bears between 1948 and 1971 on CBS.

On this videotape you will find 26 performances featuring a dozen notable operatic voices and some names that should be instantly recognizable.The focus is indeed on the voices. When Richard Tucker appears in full costume to do "Vesti la giubba" from "I Pagliaacci," that is the exception and not the rule. Yes, it would have been great if there could be more segments like "Un bel di" from "Madame Butterfly," which Dorothy Kirsten and company perform with not only costumes but sets, but that worked against the format of a live variety television program like Sullivan's show. For the most part things are kept simple, although sitting Lily Pons next to a lily pond to sing "Gavotte" from "Mignon" shows there were sometimes attempts at creativity. Unfortunately, Sullivan's introductions have been omitted, which means the original mini-lessons in opera that he provided with these performances are lost, which is both ironic and a shame.

The featured artist is clearly soprano Joan Sutherland, the "Voice of the Century," who does "Sempre libera" from "La Traviata," "Quando rapita" from "Lucia di Lammermoor,""Saluta la France" from "La Fille du Regiment," and a duet of "Mira, O Norma" from "Norma." Robert Peters and Robert Merrill also show up repeatedly, the latter having the most fun in a performance where he does three duets with three different sopranos. If you have even a causal acquaintance with opera you should recognize the names of Birgit Nilsson, Anna Moffo, Robert Merrill, and Beverly Sills as well as arias such as "Largo al factotum" from "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and "Suave fanciulla" from "La Boheme." For those who like to compare and contrast performances, Maria Callas, Leontyne Price and Birgit Nilsson all since "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's "Tosca." If you have never seem the dramatic performance of Callas, then this alone would justify your checking out this video, especially if your only exposure to her singing has been the aria Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington listen to in "Philadelphia."

In the final analysis it seems clear that those who will be interested in this collection of video highlights will be those who are already well familiar with the artists and works. Eventually some of these artists, such as Sutherland and Sills, would have complete performances of operas preserved on film, but such works are from later in their career and for those who would like to see Sutherland doing "Lucia" from a time closer in time to her famous debut at the Metropolitan Opera, this is obviously going to be their best bet. Thus, we arrive at the final irony, that while Sullivan put these artists on his show to present opera to the masses, it is the hard core opera fan who will be the person interested in picking up this video. ... Read more

Description

Many of the great names in the history of opera have appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" performing the arias that made them famous. Now available is the complete collection of these historic performances sung by the greatest opera legends of all-time, including Leontyne Price, Roberta Peters, Robert Merrill, Beverly Sills, Anna Moffo, Richard Tucker, Birgit Nilsson, Jan Peerce, Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland & Marilyn Horne, Lily Pons, and Dorothy Kirsten. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Opera singers from Ed Sullivan's "really big shoe"
For those who remember "The Ed Sullivan Show" for The Beatles, Senor Wences, and Topo Gigio, this collection of operatic highlights serves as a reminder that high culture was also a part of the mix each week on Sunday night's broadcast. Sullivan presented not only rock stars and grand opera but classical ballet, dramatic recitations, and dancing bears between 1948 and 1971 on CBS.

On this videotape you will find 26 performances featuring a dozen notable operatic voices and some names that should be instantly recognizable.The focus is indeed on the voices. When Richard Tucker appears in full costume to do "Vesti la giubba" from "I Pagliaacci," that is the exception and not the rule. Yes, it would have been great if there could be more segments like "Un bel di" from "Madame Butterfly," which Dorothy Kirsten and company perform with not only costumes but sets, but that worked against the format of a live variety television program like Sullivan's show. For the most part things are kept simple, although sitting Lily Pons next to a lily pond to sing "Gavotte" from "Mignon" shows there were sometimes attempts at creativity. Unfortunately, Sullivan's introductions have been omitted, which means the original mini-lessons in opera that he provided with these performances are lost, which is both ironic and a shame.

The featured artist is clearly soprano Joan Sutherland, the "Voice of the Century," who does "Sempre libera" from "La Traviata," "Quando rapita" from "Lucia di Lammermoor,""Saluta la France" from "La Fille du Regiment," and a duet of "Mira, O Norma" from "Norma." Robert Peters and Robert Merrill also show up repeatedly, the latter having the most fun in a performance where he does three duets with three different sopranos. If you have even a causal acquaintance with opera you should recognize the names of Birgit Nilsson, Anna Moffo, Robert Merrill, and Beverly Sills as well as arias such as "Largo al factotum" from "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and "Suave fanciulla" from "La Boheme." For those who like to compare and contrast performances, Maria Callas, Leontyne Price and Birgit Nilsson all since "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's "Tosca." If you have never seem the dramatic performance of Callas, then this alone would justify your checking out this video, especially if your only exposure to her singing has been the aria Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington listen to in "Philadelphia."

In the final analysis it seems clear that those who will be interested in this collection of video highlights will be those who are already well familiar with the artists and works. Eventually some of these artists, such as Sutherland and Sills, would have complete performances of operas preserved on film, but such works are from later in their career and for those who would like to see Sutherland doing "Lucia" from a time closer in time to her famous debut at the Metropolitan Opera, this is obviously going to be their best bet. Thus, we arrive at the final irony, that while Sullivan put these artists on his show to present opera to the masses, it is the hard core opera fan who will be the person interested in picking up this video. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Opera singers from Ed Sullivan's "really big shoe"
For those who remember "The Ed Sullivan Show" for The Beatles, Senor Wences, and Topo Gigio, this collection of operatic highlights serves as a reminder that high culture was also a part of the mix each week on Sunday night's broadcast. Sullivan presented not only rock stars and grand opera but classical ballet, dramatic recitations, and dancing bears between 1948 and 1971 on CBS.

On this videotape you will find 26 performances featuring a dozen notable operatic voices and some names that should be instantly recognizable.The focus is indeed on the voices. When Richard Tucker appears in full costume to do "Vesti la giubba" from "I Pagliaacci," that is the exception and not the rule. Yes, it would have been great if there could be more segments like "Un bel di" from "Madame Butterfly," which Dorothy Kirsten and company perform with not only costumes but sets, but that worked against the format of a live variety television program like Sullivan's show. For the most part things are kept simple, although sitting Lily Pons next to a lily pond to sing "Gavotte" from "Mignon" shows there were sometimes attempts at creativity. Unfortunately, Sullivan's introductions have been omitted, which means the original mini-lessons in opera that he provided with these performances are lost, which is both ironic and a shame.

The featured artist is clearly soprano Joan Sutherland, the "Voice of the Century," who does "Sempre libera" from "La Traviata," "Quando rapita" from "Lucia di Lammermoor,""Saluta la France" from "La Fille du Regiment," and a duet of "Mira, O Norma" from "Norma." Robert Peters and Robert Merrill also show up repeatedly, the latter having the most fun in a performance where he does three duets with three different sopranos. If you have even a causal acquaintance with opera you should recognize the names of Birgit Nilsson, Anna Moffo, Robert Merrill, and Beverly Sills as well as arias such as "Largo al factotum" from "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and "Suave fanciulla" from "La Boheme." For those who like to compare and contrast performances, Maria Callas, Leontyne Price and Birgit Nilsson all since "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's "Tosca." If you have never seem the dramatic performance of Callas, then this alone would justify your checking out this video, especially if your only exposure to her singing has been the aria Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington listen to in "Philadelphia."

In the final analysis it seems clear that those who will be interested in this collection of video highlights will be those who are already well familiar with the artists and works. Eventually some of these artists, such as Sutherland and Sills, would have complete performances of operas preserved on film, but such works are from later in their career and for those who would like to see Sutherland doing "Lucia" from a time closer in time to her famous debut at the Metropolitan Opera, this is obviously going to be their best bet. Thus, we arrive at the final irony, that while Sullivan put these artists on his show to present opera to the masses, it is the hard core opera fan who will be the person interested in picking up this video. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Songs of Her Own Fate
If you are mad about Callas, this is something you don't want to miss. Like Busoni or else Heifetz, Callas is too much a legend to compare with: even someone with the stature of Schwarzkopf was obliged to give way.

For those who are not so mad about opera, they may also find this DVD interesting. As suggested by it's title, it's more concerned with her life than her art: things like where she came from, where she was brought up, who her parents were, what sort of musical education she had, and lastly but not the least, her love with the shipping millionaire...

Her life was told by those who had first hand knowledge of her, like her long time partner Stefeno (Italian tenor), her piano accompanist, conductor (Giulini), her director, an EMI producer, a critic plus, 2 or 3 clips of herself, one in an interview and the others when she talked to the press. We also have a lot of her photos too when we hear her sing.

Not much was offered in terms of her art by these contributors. Perhaps for a legend like Callas, it's not really necessary especially when there are clips (not in full, of course) of her acting/singing. Tosca came up twice, they are just marvelous, so did Norma, something that we can't afford to miss. The voice with it's force and drama are just amazing. All the more so for Rossini's "Una voce poco fa" which is virtually unsurpassable. The duets with Stefeno are perhaps filmed when she had past her very prime, which are nonetheless very appealing.

Callas once said she was sick of New York since her parts in the great operas are all so sad, either dying of consumption or else with a broken heart, something she sang so beautifully and acted so well as though she was really one of those characters herself: this ironically turned out exactly to be her own portrait. Such being her fate of, the fate of a great artist who probably is the greatest opera singer of all times. So, this is life...

4 stars mainly because of the short running time: only 76 minutes. Recommended.

1 hour 16 minutes
The programme includes interviews with famous people who knew Maria Callas - such as Franco Zeffirelli and Carlo Maria Giulini - and is interspersed with extracts from famous concerts and recordings, including two duets with Giuseppe di Stefano.

Featuring extracts from the following performances:
"Vissi d'arte" - from Tosca by Puccini
"Casta Diva" - from Norma by Bellini
"Una voce poco fa" - from Il barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini
"Habanera" - from Carmen by Bizet: Concert at Covent Garden
Cavalleria Rusticana - by Mascagni: Duet with Giuseppe di Stefano
L'elisir d'amore - by Donizetti: Duet with Giuseppe di Stefano

FEATURES OF THE DVD:
- easy access to selected parts of the programme by means of a navigational timeline
- optional on-screen subtitles in English, French or German (but not Italian)
- on-screen information about Callas's life and stage roles
- linear PCM (uncompressed) sound

Touching life - highly recommended!
Well-balanced presentation of Maria Callas' art and life with numerous first-rate interviews with her long-term stage partner Di Stefano, conductor Guilini, producer Franco Zeffereli, EMI recording executives, and trusted friends. Opera and recital extracts include her famous Tosca role with Tito Gobbi, and recordings of Bellini, Bizet, Donizetti, and others. I'm not a Callas fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this touching glimpse of her life, and I'll surely watch it again. Bravo to the producers of this touching DVD/video!

Callas fans: it's all here.
This is an excellent documentary. Some of the interviewees include Giulini, Zefferelli, di Stefano, Harewood, and Gorlinsky just to name a few; and the operatic footage and photos are a real treat if you want to see LaDivina at her absolute best--the legendary idol that we are all still (that I am still) obsessed with. My favorite segment is a clip from way back when, an interview Murrow's show in which he asks: "Madame Callas are you really temperamental?"...and Maria kind of gives a coy look, knowing good and well that she is a real fox and a shrewd businesswoman, and replies: "What do you mean by 'temperamental,' Mr. Murrow, I am afraid I have not understood..." and the conversation continues until Maria states sufficiently: "It is not true...some situations turn up...shall we say that we are victims of such situations?" And that is that--Callas the victim, Callas the woman, Callas the voice and the dreams that are everlasting. It's all here in THIS video, brilliantly executed with top-notch editing and just perfect honesty that brings to us, the applauding public she needed so much, the story. Plain and simple. Do it for yourself, whether you're a queen or a good-old-boy with a closet Callas adoration, just get it!

Highly recommend!
This is an outstanding documentary! You will learn all about Maria Callas' biography. It starts beautifully as the first scene shows Maria Callas singing "Visi d'arte, visi d'amore" (Tosca act II) - to show an analogy between Tosca and Callas: two divas who lived for art and love... This video is mostly a collection of interviews of colleagues and friends of Maria Callas. It also includes some interviews with Callas herself in which one may see her charming and magnetic personality. The timeline is explained very clearly and with good use of historical sources. There is also some footage of Maria Callas singing a few arias like Casta Diva (10+), Una Voce Poco Fa (Outstanding!) and others. Definitely one to buy! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

BRILLIANT!
It's the TOSCA segment that surpasses everything! Besides the superlative vocal aspect - it is her incredible acting that impresses ...... before the 'murder' - the partaking of a goblet of wine - just to 'calm' the nerves - then realizing that the alcohol is taking effect [stress?] she puts her hand over the glass - fingers twitch nervously ... etc. etc. GREAT subtext!

.... confused?

No, no - this rare example of Callas skills as a talented actress is not to be missed - often imitated - the original is the one to see.

Pity so little is left though.

"THIS is the kiss of Tosca!"
And she plunges the dagger into the breastbone of her tormenter, Scarpia, and then it gets really good. She rises
over him as he staggers back mortally wounded and roars, "Did you torture me enough?...And so I forgive you." Most everyone loves the firey brilliance and dramatic dash of a Callas performance, even if her voice isn't that pleasant sometimes. This is a pair of thirty-minute black & white BBC TV programs from 1962 and 1964, the first a concert consisting of three arias, and the second a staging of Act II of Tosca with Tito Gobbi (who was also the finest Baron Scarpia ever). Just a taste, then, of someone who needed to be filmed for her legend to be fully appreciated. If only they had captured her Norma and Lucia of the mid-fifties--JE REGRET!

horrible
I am stunned at the acting and even worst the singing. In the second act. Callas's gestures and body movements-awkward, and hutchback remind me of the wicked witch in snow white.
This is the biggest hype of all time.

O My Goodness!
I first heard about this performance (Tosca) nearly 30 years ago when I was a teenager and new to the world of opera. Since then it had stuck in the back of my mind, occasionally being brought intensely to the forefront whenever a snippet of it was shown during the occasional documentary.

Here it is, after three decades, it's going on 2 a.m., and I've had one of the most profound experiences in recorded opera.....whew!

First of all, this is a barebones dvd: Chapter list and some brief but interesting notes in the accompanying liner.

Then there are the performances...Callas in concert at Covent Garden in 1962. "Tu che la vanità" from Don Carlos, plus the Habanera and Seguedille from Act 1 of Carmen. Callas sings with the expected intensity in the Verdi, and with atypical jovolity and coyness in the Bizet, which are all ably conducted by the young Georges Prêtre. If this were the entire content of this dvd, it would be worth the cost.

But along comes Act 2 of Tosca, from two years later. Holy Toledo! Renato Cioni sings Cavaradossi just adaquetely, and not really serving a whole lot of dramatic purpose with a standard performance. Robert Bowman as Spoletta and Dennis Wicks as Sciaronne are better in their acting, but not very impressive vocally. The conductor, Cillario, leads without much insight...again, standard opera fare.

Obviously, the big bucks went to Callas, Gobbi, and Zeffirelli who all certainly earned their pay. Callas and Gobbi had seen better days vocally, especially Callas who, though in pretty good voice, sounds downright nasty here and there. But those very few exceptions are far and few in between.

Here are two masters, two artists at the very top of their craft, two legendary performers giving a definitive performance of sight and sound. From the beginning of the act, Gobbi dominates with a presence that few could ever hope to do. And when Callas finally enters, the sparks fly. Nearly every gesture, every vocal inflection, every subtle nuance carries weight that cannot be measured. There are very very few moments of stage mannerisms, so complete are their portrayals. While not always pretty vocally, they show off to the world why they dominated the opera stage during their prime. The intensity they create together is incredible, seldom letting up in the cat and mouse game they play.

Technically, the picture is good, but not great.Pretty good by early 60's television standards. The camera work for the most part is well done, save for a few instances of poor angles or exclusionary closeups that can be pretty frustrating.Overall, it is quite good.

Zeffirelli, the ultra conservative, directs a wonderful production,but when you go back in time, you see how little he really changes over the years.

For all it's relatively minor shortcomings, this is one of the greatest operatic moments on film. The earlier clips are priceless, but after a (literally) hair raising Tosca, you may barely remember them! 5 stars to the 10th power! Thank you EMI!

Tosca, finalmente mia! ...
Finally we have the 1962 Covent Garden concert on DVD (previously it was available only on VHS). Of course, for many Callas fans, the coulomb lapse at the end of "tu che vanita" is piece of cake, but this is not the only reason to have this sound document. Maria is relaxed and her voice is is good condition (you will not hear any problems in the upper register here). She is happy and that's all we need from and outstanding artist. One should physically see the young Georges Pretre (with whom Callas recorded in these years Carmen). He conducts in the very extraordinary way, especially the I and III Act preludes from Carmen. The (1964) II act of Tosca with Gobbi and Cioni is an valuable material where Callas shows that she is still THE Queen. Gobbi is a little in rush and one can see that he was getting old. You cannot compare this performance with the 1958 Paris Gala concert (also with Maria, available on DVD). There is not that charm anymore... But despite all the pros and cans, this DVD is an additional step in the journey of the Callas appreciation; and you know that video is always a big deal in opera. Buy it today and you will be fascinated with the presence of Callas! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Opera singers from Ed Sullivan's "really big shoe"
For those who remember "The Ed Sullivan Show" for The Beatles, Senor Wences, and Topo Gigio, this collection of operatic highlights serves as a reminder that high culture was also a part of the mix each week on Sunday night's broadcast. Sullivan presented not only rock stars and grand opera but classical ballet, dramatic recitations, and dancing bears between 1948 and 1971 on CBS.

On this videotape you will find 26 performances featuring a dozen notable operatic voices and some names that should be instantly recognizable.The focus is indeed on the voices. When Richard Tucker appears in full costume to do "Vesti la giubba" from "I Pagliaacci," that is the exception and not the rule. Yes, it would have been great if there could be more segments like "Un bel di" from "Madame Butterfly," which Dorothy Kirsten and company perform with not only costumes but sets, but that worked against the format of a live variety television program like Sullivan's show. For the most part things are kept simple, although sitting Lily Pons next to a lily pond to sing "Gavotte" from "Mignon" shows there were sometimes attempts at creativity. Unfortunately, Sullivan's introductions have been omitted, which means the original mini-lessons in opera that he provided with these performances are lost, which is both ironic and a shame.

The featured artist is clearly soprano Joan Sutherland, the "Voice of the Century," who does "Sempre libera" from "La Traviata," "Quando rapita" from "Lucia di Lammermoor,""Saluta la France" from "La Fille du Regiment," and a duet of "Mira, O Norma" from "Norma." Robert Peters and Robert Merrill also show up repeatedly, the latter having the most fun in a performance where he does three duets with three different sopranos. If you have even a causal acquaintance with opera you should recognize the names of Birgit Nilsson, Anna Moffo, Robert Merrill, and Beverly Sills as well as arias such as "Largo al factotum" from "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and "Suave fanciulla" from "La Boheme." For those who like to compare and contrast performances, Maria Callas, Leontyne Price and Birgit Nilsson all since "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's "Tosca." If you have never seem the dramatic performance of Callas, then this alone would justify your checking out this video, especially if your only exposure to her singing has been the aria Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington listen to in "Philadelphia."

In the final analysis it seems clear that those who will be interested in this collection of video highlights will be those who are already well familiar with the artists and works. Eventually some of these artists, such as Sutherland and Sills, would have complete performances of operas preserved on film, but such works are from later in their career and for those who would like to see Sutherland doing "Lucia" from a time closer in time to her famous debut at the Metropolitan Opera, this is obviously going to be their best bet. Thus, we arrive at the final irony, that while Sullivan put these artists on his show to present opera to the masses, it is the hard core opera fan who will be the person interested in picking up this video. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Songs of Her Own Fate
If you are mad about Callas, this is something you don't want to miss. Like Busoni or else Heifetz, Callas is too much a legend to compare with: even someone with the stature of Schwarzkopf was obliged to give way.

For those who are not so mad about opera, they may also find this DVD interesting. As suggested by it's title, it's more concerned with her life than her art: things like where she came from, where she was brought up, who her parents were, what sort of musical education she had, and lastly but not the least, her love with the shipping millionaire...

Her life was told by those who had first hand knowledge of her, like her long time partner Stefeno (Italian tenor), her piano accompanist, conductor (Giulini), her director, an EMI producer, a critic plus, 2 or 3 clips of herself, one in an interview and the others when she talked to the press. We also have a lot of her photos too when we hear her sing.

Not much was offered in terms of her art by these contributors. Perhaps for a legend like Callas, it's not really necessary especially when there are clips (not in full, of course) of her acting/singing. Tosca came up twice, they are just marvelous, so did Norma, something that we can't afford to miss. The voice with it's force and drama are just amazing. All the more so for Rossini's "Una voce poco fa" which is virtually unsurpassable. The duets with Stefeno are perhaps filmed when she had past her very prime, which are nonetheless very appealing.

Callas once said she was sick of New York since her parts in the great operas are all so sad, either dying of consumption or else with a broken heart, something she sang so beautifully and acted so well as though she was really one of those characters herself: this ironically turned out exactly to be her own portrait. Such being her fate of, the fate of a great artist who probably is the greatest opera singer of all times. So, this is life...

4 stars mainly because of the short running time: only 76 minutes. Recommended.

1 hour 16 minutes
The programme includes interviews with famous people who knew Maria Callas - such as Franco Zeffirelli and Carlo Maria Giulini - and is interspersed with extracts from famous concerts and recordings, including two duets with Giuseppe di Stefano.

Featuring extracts from the following performances:
"Vissi d'arte" - from Tosca by Puccini
"Casta Diva" - from Norma by Bellini
"Una voce poco fa" - from Il barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini
"Habanera" - from Carmen by Bizet: Concert at Covent Garden
Cavalleria Rusticana - by Mascagni: Duet with Giuseppe di Stefano
L'elisir d'amore - by Donizetti: Duet with Giuseppe di Stefano

FEATURES OF THE DVD:
- easy access to selected parts of the programme by means of a navigational timeline
- optional on-screen subtitles in English, French or German (but not Italian)
- on-screen information about Callas's life and stage roles
- linear PCM (uncompressed) sound

Touching life - highly recommended!
Well-balanced presentation of Maria Callas' art and life with numerous first-rate interviews with her long-term stage partner Di Stefano, conductor Guilini, producer Franco Zeffereli, EMI recording executives, and trusted friends. Opera and recital extracts include her famous Tosca role with Tito Gobbi, and recordings of Bellini, Bizet, Donizetti, and others. I'm not a Callas fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this touching glimpse of her life, and I'll surely watch it again. Bravo to the producers of this touching DVD/video!

Callas fans: it's all here.
This is an excellent documentary. Some of the interviewees include Giulini, Zefferelli, di Stefano, Harewood, and Gorlinsky just to name a few; and the operatic footage and photos are a real treat if you want to see LaDivina at her absolute best--the legendary idol that we are all still (that I am still) obsessed with. My favorite segment is a clip from way back when, an interview Murrow's show in which he asks: "Madame Callas are you really temperamental?"...and Maria kind of gives a coy look, knowing good and well that she is a real fox and a shrewd businesswoman, and replies: "What do you mean by 'temperamental,' Mr. Murrow, I am afraid I have not understood..." and the conversation continues until Maria states sufficiently: "It is not true...some situations turn up...shall we say that we are victims of such situations?" And that is that--Callas the victim, Callas the woman, Callas the voice and the dreams that are everlasting. It's all here in THIS video, brilliantly executed with top-notch editing and just perfect honesty that brings to us, the applauding public she needed so much, the story. Plain and simple. Do it for yourself, whether you're a queen or a good-old-boy with a closet Callas adoration, just get it!

Highly recommend!
This is an outstanding documentary! You will learn all about Maria Callas' biography. It starts beautifully as the first scene shows Maria Callas singing "Visi d'arte, visi d'amore" (Tosca act II) - to show an analogy between Tosca and Callas: two divas who lived for art and love... This video is mostly a collection of interviews of colleagues and friends of Maria Callas. It also includes some interviews with Callas herself in which one may see her charming and magnetic personality. The timeline is explained very clearly and with good use of historical sources. There is also some footage of Maria Callas singing a few arias like Casta Diva (10+), Una Voce Poco Fa (Outstanding!) and others. Definitely one to buy! ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Whar's all that screeching about?
This DVD of the Callas 1959 Hamburg concert must be bought if you know people -- specially your children -- who never saw Callas on stage, and all they know is that La Divina sang a touching aria featured in the sound track of the film Philadelphia. As is known, even the most adoring critics of Callas write that she was "divine", despite the terrible aspects of her singing, specially her disastrous high notes! The fact is that Callas was a rather good mezzo-soprano who insisted in offering her own version of coloratura operas, such as Lucia de Lammermoor, until Dame Joan Sutherland came along and set the record straight!
One of the most repeated fables is that the Callas live recordings are wonderful, because it was the adrenalin of facing a public that made her so dramatic and exciting to hear, whereas in studio recordings, with no public, the excitement was not present and only the defects in her voice were noticeable!
Well, watch and listen to this live concert. After her voice cracks in the top High C of the very second piece (recitative of Lady Machbeth's opening scene), you will discover that the adrenalin is there, alright! But not on her, on you! You become so nervous that she will not make the next notes, that when she does get to the end of the arias, after quite a few screeches, you jump up and applaud, just by being relieved of the tension! Something like seeing your team, after a poor day in the field, finally score the tying point at the very last second of the game.
By all means, buy this DVD to show to your juniors and then give them Renata Tebaldi CDs and Mirella Freni DVDs if they want an operatic education.

An invaluable document
As another reviewer has already mentioned, Callas was never filmed in a complete opera. (Ironically, no less than three films exist of the second act of Puccini's Tosca, a role that she did not regard with particular favor.) So, these filmed live concerts of varied operatic repertory are particularly valuable as a document of a spellbinding performer practicing her art. The concert from 1959 finds her in more secure voice, though she misses a top C in the Macbeth aria and omits some interpolated high notes elsewhere. However, the earlier concert as a whole is a vivid demonstration of her dramatic intensity and the variety of her vocal art, ranging from the steely intensity of Macbeth, to the ineffable grief of the Don Carlo aria, to the flirtatious charm of the Barber of Seville. By 1962, she was in noticeable vocal decline and there are frequent instances of what became an all-too-familiar unsteadiness on top notes in the later concert. She also has difficulty remembering words in the Carmen excerpts in 1962. On the other hand, O Don Fatale, a mezzo aria, is mesmerizing. Anyone who wants to learn why Callas continues to exert such a powerful force on the world of opera need only view these concerts to know the reason.

A Metamorphosis on DVD
Not being the consummate "opera queen," I'll spare you my thoughts on the technical aspects of Callas' voice. My primary exposure to opera is on record, and in that venue nobody in my opinion has come close to her. Listening to Callas is like being there, because she knew better than anyone how to "act" with her voice. In that sense, she's like a cheap date for the legions who can't afford real opera. To use a line from an old hippie song, a recording of Callas is like "a ticket to ride." What I find most remarkable about this double bill DVD is the striking metamorphosis in Callas when she shows up for the second concert in 1962. Bear in mind when you watch it that she had by now divorced her fatherly husband-mentor and become lovers with the Greek shipping tycoon, Aristotle Onassis. To say that she is a different woman would be an understatement. Suddenly the cold goddess of the woeful countenance has become a vivacious musical vixen. Sporting a stylish sixties haircut, and a sexy lowcut gown, she almost puts you in mind of Jacqueline Kennedy--but with more spirit. Woops! Did I inadvertantly mention her nemesis, who hijacked her boyfriend, thus ending one of the century's great romances, and sending La Callas' emotional life and career into a tailspin? Sorry. But for me, this may be the most compelling aspect of this remarkable video document. Watch it, and you will not only see a great artist in all her glory, you will witness history.

The legend Maria Callas in her 1962 Hamburg Concert
Hello again! This second review is about the second concert which it seems I have ignored in my first one. Maria in this tour in 1962 -which started in February in London and has been preserved in audio in a very bad sound- was in a good physical condition but her voice started to fail her in the high notes region. The wobble is obvious but she still gives more than any other opera singer could give in a live performance.

Her "Pleurez mes yeux" aria is heartbreaking. She does what she was doing especially in her Traviatas. She gives the impression that she will not be able to finish the aria because of the anguish and the torment of the character she is interpretting. She then sings two arias from Carmen and gives us a small idea of how Carmen would be if she would perform the whole role. She transforms Carmen in a very hard person in the whole, very secure and carefree. The ultimate perfection of interpretation of the character. The aria from Ernani is not one of my favorites but she sings it with perfection. It's Verdi after all and it is easy for her....Then comes La Cenerentola which she also sings in a joyful style. I always watch twice the "non piu mesta" part. She fascinates me when she sings those scales and with much easiness... The last aria "O don fatale" comes from Don Carlo. In this aria one can see her acting skills in small periods. In the first part she is powerful, strong and angry while she curses her beauty. In the second part she is sad, asks for forgiveness and the voice is more passionate. And at last from a point of dreadful thoughts, comes joy!! Watch as her face from sad becomes happy and gives the phrase in full happiness..."Un di mi resta...lo salvero..." that finishes with quite a fantastic way that makes people go mad. Callas la Divina in action!!!

About the first review of mine I would ask the previous, friend reviewer to read carefully the booklet of the DVD that he bought. I know that you my friend did not find her singing bad, so it came across that she had not caught a cold, but in the booklet also is said that Maria had a cold during that tour. I will tell you to focus on several parts ' She was suffering from a cold at the beginning of this tour and the effects of it were still evident', 'Callas several times sends worried glances in the direction of the conductor, presumably indicating that she is not happy with the way her voice is behaving. ', ' ...the effects of the cold become apparent when a top C fails to sound properly....' . I would also go a step ahead and recommend you to listen to the Stuttgart concert four days after her Hamburg performance to whiteness a really exhausted by the symptoms of a cold Callas... As a Callas collector I own it of course. Thank you for your time.
I hope everyone enjoyed watching this DVD. It's like a legend coming alive in front of our eyes in a well preserved picture, thanks to EMI classics...:)

A revelation
I didn't want to "review" this DVD, the 2nd concert of which I watched this morning, the 1st yesterday morning because I felt that much (too much) had been said already. But I feel a compulsion. To begin with, I only wanted to give it 4 stars (it definitely deserved that), but Callas was Callas, so 5. I discovered Callas in a 2 LP set (which I still own an unopened copy of) in 1967, and have loved her ever since. But I'd never until now seen her sing. I'm sorry I did, though yesterday I ordered her Paris recital with the 2nd act of Tosca on it. In the first concert (1959) I thought the woman was vain, pretentious, affected, conceited, and phony beyond belief from her introduction right up to the hand-kissing at the end. I was shattered. I hated everything I'd ever heard by her (and I've had a picture of her on my wall for years). Sigh. But in the 2nd concert (1962) she was (as god is my witness) just a very nice, humongously gifted woman doing her thing. She smiled, laughed, made comical self-deprecating facial expressions at the ovations. I loved her. I was enchanted. She sang, of course, like Callas. That was the same. No need to go into it. I did not notice the effect of a cold in the first concert, and I in no way felt her voice had deteriorated by the 2nd one. The video and audio were just fine. I found her renowned "acting" a little tiresome (that's another reason I want the Tosca), but that is easily explained by the melodramatic, grandiose lyrics she was forced to sing. (I watched the subtitles, and my esteem for these composers shot even higher than it had been before, to have actually composed such wonderful, beautiful music to such hyperbolic, repetitious tripe. The poetry of the original may be beautiful, but the content of these 19th Century lyrics was terrible. I've only seen 3 full operas, with subtitles, and on VHS and DVD, Boheme, Lucia and Hoffmann. I don't recall their librettos being so dismal. Incidentally, while I am passing familiar with a few popular plots (Butterfly, Rigoletto), I never read librettos or follow words to arias, I just listen to the music.) If you love Callas and want to know how she looked when she sang, what she did, I highly recommend this DVD. Only 2 major/minor quibbles. I could have done without the 2 overtures and the orchestral music from Carmen, though it was pleasant, I wanted to hear Callas. I would infinitely rather have heard the Gypsy Song (what ecstatic excitement from this singer) than either or both the prelude or entr-acte. And I frankly would have liked to have chosen her arias for her, there are several (many) I would have preferred to hear. Incidentally, unless these recitals had things left out of them, the audience didn't get much for its money, getting all dressed up, driving to the theater and all. Each one lasted about an hour. There was much hand kissing, flower throwing, walkings off and on stage, applause. Maybe (probably) these are traditional European or operatic conventions. Still, I found them a bit much. But I still love Callas. I'm eager to see the other DVD I ordered. But I think in the future I'll stick to my CDs. I really just like the voice and the music. ... Read more

Description

Many of the great names in the history of opera have appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" performing the arias that made them famous. Now available is the complete collection of these historic performances sung by the greatest opera legends of all-time, including Renata Tebaldi & Franco Corelli, Eileen Farrell, Dorothy Kirsten, Joan Sutherland, Roberta Peters, Anna Moffo, Birgit Nilsson, and Robert Merrill. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Opera singers from Ed Sullivan's "really big shoe"
For those who remember "The Ed Sullivan Show" for The Beatles, Senor Wences, and Topo Gigio, this collection of operatic highlights serves as a reminder that high culture was also a part of the mix each week on Sunday night's broadcast. Sullivan presented not only rock stars and grand opera but classical ballet, dramatic recitations, and dancing bears between 1948 and 1971 on CBS.

On this videotape you will find 26 performances featuring a dozen notable operatic voices and some names that should be instantly recognizable.The focus is indeed on the voices. When Richard Tucker appears in full costume to do "Vesti la giubba" from "I Pagliaacci," that is the exception and not the rule. Yes, it would have been great if there could be more segments like "Un bel di" from "Madame Butterfly," which Dorothy Kirsten and company perform with not only costumes but sets, but that worked against the format of a live variety television program like Sullivan's show. For the most part things are kept simple, although sitting Lily Pons next to a lily pond to sing "Gavotte" from "Mignon" shows there were sometimes attempts at creativity. Unfortunately, Sullivan's introductions have been omitted, which means the original mini-lessons in opera that he provided with these performances are lost, which is both ironic and a shame.

The featured artist is clearly soprano Joan Sutherland, the "Voice of the Century," who does "Sempre libera" from "La Traviata," "Quando rapita" from "Lucia di Lammermoor,""Saluta la France" from "La Fille du Regiment," and a duet of "Mira, O Norma" from "Norma." Robert Peters and Robert Merrill also show up repeatedly, the latter having the most fun in a performance where he does three duets with three different sopranos. If you have even a causal acquaintance with opera you should recognize the names of Birgit Nilsson, Anna Moffo, Robert Merrill, and Beverly Sills as well as arias such as "Largo al factotum" from "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and "Suave fanciulla" from "La Boheme." For those who like to compare and contrast performances, Maria Callas, Leontyne Price and Birgit Nilsson all since "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's "Tosca." If you have never seem the dramatic performance of Callas, then this alone would justify your checking out this video, especially if your only exposure to her singing has been the aria Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington listen to in "Philadelphia."

In the final analysis it seems clear that those who will be interested in this collection of video highlights will be those who are already well familiar with the artists and works. Eventually some of these artists, such as Sutherland and Sills, would have complete performances of operas preserved on film, but such works are from later in their career and for those who would like to see Sutherland doing "Lucia" from a time closer in time to her famous debut at the Metropolitan Opera, this is obviously going to be their best bet. Thus, we arrive at the final irony, that while Sullivan put these artists on his show to present opera to the masses, it is the hard core opera fan who will be the person interested in picking up this video. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

An Ancient Woman
Just as Pasolini said,"I draw on the mysterious sensibilities in Maria Callas". He finds Callas to be "an ancient woman" in the sense that she is directly linked to myth and legend. With very little spoken word Callas manages to convey all the pride, rage, and black art that comprises the legend of Medea. Set against an incredibly dramatic backdrop the viewer is nearly hypnotized by this savage story of lust and power.
To the reviewer who thought that the repeated scene of the death of the king and his daughter was a technical error, watch it carefully again. Medea dreams the act of revenge first, then sets it into motion and the dream becomes reality. This is in all the films of this I have seen. It is not a mistake.

Another footnote . . .
A lot has been written about the scene that is shown twice. While it is definitely deliberate, I wouldn't say that its NOT a mistake.

Pasolini can be frustrating. Half the time you think you are watching a genius re-invent cinema - the other half you are wondering if he even knows which end of the camera to point. After a brilliant opening half I thought I was watching what was surely to become one of my favorite films. Pasolini's interpretation seemed just right - it seemed he had something legitimate to contribute this time. And Callas is perfectly cast. Then we settle into the part that, dramatically speaking, can't go wrong - Medea's betrayal and revenge.

It is here, of all places, that Pasolini begins to stumble. The narrative becomes unfocused, passion is dumped in favor of vagueness, the director half-heartedly tries out a number of ideas that don't really work, and we feel robbed of the impact that a straightforward approach would have given us. Feeling all of the tension drain out of this film after such a strong start is a major letdown.

By the climax the only grounding force is Callas - and it seems as if Pasolini is working against her, against the story, and against his own film. The real shame here is that Callas ultimately isn't allowed to give us the Medea that she could have.

Still, the magic of the first half cannot be completely destroyed - and at no time does this fillm even come close to being as tedious and pretentious as Pasolini's Oedipus.

A footnote to the other reviews
Am I the only one to notice that the killing of the Princess and her father is shown twice in the DVD version? (Is it in the tape edition also?) We see them burst into flame, then we go back to Medea planning the murder, and then we see it again! I wrote to the distributor and he said he forwarded my comments to the producers. I never heard a word from the latter. So I am posting this to ask if any one else has noticed this strange duplication. I would very much appreciate hearing from any body whose copy has the same flaw or does not.

Well, it could have been worse
Pasolini fans have been struggling with low-quality DVD's since the advent of the format, and Medea is no exception. This disc, put out by Vanguard, is certainly a step above the Wellspring and Image Pasolini DVD's, but that really isn't saying much. The transfer is fairly dirty and washed-out, and the sound is very hissy. The punctuation in the subtitles is abominable. That being said, they are actually quite easy to read.

The film itself is good, although it doesn't reach the heights of Pasolini's earlier Oedipus Rex. The film is very slow, lacking a great deal of dialogue, until it explodes at the very end. It's a little convaluted, and I highly advise reading a summary of the story before delving into the film.

While Medea isn't Pasolini's best film, it's certainly not his worst DVD. Worth a rental, at least.

MEDEA, one of Pasolini's greatest films, finally on DVD
Pasolini has the dubious distinction of being the only great filmmaker who was murdered, possibly at the behest of a right-wing faction which loathed the openly gay, Marxist, atheist - and popular - artist. Whatever the facts of his death, his reputation as one of Italy's greatest talents is based securely on his poetry, novels, works of critical theory and, in particular, the 25 films he directed. They include such stylistically diverse works as Accatone (1961; adapted from his own novel about life in the slums of modern Rome), The Gospel According to Matthew (1964; a beautiful, moving film about Christ), a stunning version of the Arabian Nights (1974), and his last film, the most nauseating masterpiece I have ever seen, Salò (1975; the Marquis de Sade's 1780s novel updated to Mussolini's Fascist Italy). But Pasolini's most underrated film is his startling version of Medea (1969). Its recent release on DVD (from Vanguard-Cinema) makes this is an opportune time to revisit the ultimate incarnation of the adage, Hell has no fury like a woman scorned.

Pasolini takes a unique approach to Medea. He jettisons all but a few lines of Euripides, and begins the narrative many years before the action of the play. Most strikingly, he shoots almost the entire film in a documentary-like style. And, with a couple of notable exceptions, he creates a picture with almost no dialogue, although the soundtrack features an astonishing musical score (put together by Pasolini) of native North African wind and percussion music (20 years before Peter Gabriel's score for Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, which was clearly inspired by Pasolini). If that was not enough to offend purists, in the title role he cast perhaps the most famous opera diva of the century, Maria Callas, in her only film appearance, and then gave her almost no lines (and the few she had were dubbed). Perhaps if audiences had known a bit more about what to expect from the film, they would have seen what was on the screen, instead of what Pasolini consciously - and often brilliantly - stripped away from his sources.

He opens with a witty prologue in which an unforgettable Centaur lectures baby Jason about his mythical lineage. So many gods and goddesses are mentioned in this breathless monologue, that the overwhelmed kid falls over backwards, sound asleep. (There is perhaps as much dialogue in these first three minutes as in the rest of the film.) Then Pasolini plunges us into Medea's world. In one of the film's most astonishing sequences, we witness, and feel, every moment of the ritual sacrifice of a young man, whose blood the people of Colchis smear over the plants and trees, to ensure the continued fertility of their land. Pasolini's artistry makes this event as poetic and authentic (indigenous North Africans, not extras from Central Casting, enact the Colchians) as it is gruesome. You may have read about such ancient rites in anthropology, but Pasolini depicts it unflinchingly. And he shows us, in visceral terms, exactly what kind of world produced Medea, whose revenge will be enacted years later on her faithless husband.

Throughout, Pasolini invests every shot with a haunting, ripely sensuous look, almost always grounded in a cinéma vérité style. The film literally glows like burnished bronze, with many shots done at the "magic hour," just before sunset, which naturally provides an orange/gold sheen. The major stylistic exception is the scenes in the court of King Creon (played by Massimo Girotti, star of Visconti's 1941 film Ossessione), where Pasolini drolly mimics Eisenstein's expressionistic designs from that masterpiece of political intrigue, Ivan the Terrible (1943-1946).

Much of Medea's enormous power comes from the naturalistic performances, ranging from the leads to the many minor characters. This is what the Argonauts might really have been like, a group of mostly quiet young men, doing their jobs, enjoying the thrill of battle when the opportunity arises, and gawking at the strange sights of Colchis's radically foreign culture. Giuseppe Gentile creates a complex Jason whom we believe a powerful woman like Medea could fall passionately in love with, who is devoted to his children, yet who is so fickle, not to mention hungry for power, that he would throw over his wife of 10 years to marry the daughter of his enemy, King Creon, as a backhanded way of regaining his throne.

Pasolini draws a monumental performance from Maria Callas, who uses her few lines of dialogue to great effect. Simply by using her face and body, Callas suggests - with a subtlety unexpected from an opera diva - Medea's immense range of emotions, from heartbreaking tenderness to volcanic rage.

Perhaps the best way to enjoy Pasolini's Medea is to put aside thoughts of Euripides, and later versions by such dramatists as Seneca, Pierre Corneille, and Jean Anouilh, not to mention Hollywood extravaganzas like Jason and the Argonauts (whether the fun 1963 version, with Ray Harryhausen's special effects wizardry, or the bland TV mini-series from 2000). Experience Pasolini's mesmerizing film on its own starkly beautiful terms, and you will find a unique vision not only of the ancient Mediterranean, recreated with what feels like astonishing fidelity, but of the tortured interplay of love, desire, and unspeakable revenge, which can be as current as the latest crime of passion. ... Read more