Robert Altman, Nicolas Roeg, John-Luc Goddard--you were expecting a fun film the entire family could enjoy? These and other directors were obviously chosen because they have not followed the mainstream, but created it. For those that complain that they did not adhere to the original story of the opera--How often does the music in a film directly relate to what is going on in the film? It is the mood that counts. This is what I believe the directors of these movies were doing: creating a contemporary mood for old operas. For the most part they succeed wonderfully. With all these operas, who is going to like them all. We could have used more Beverly Sills.

Finally, what is art (even opera) without a few naked women?

I have long wanted to comment on this film but have found doing so extremely difficult. When released it was promoted as a major work of art, whereas in practice it is a hodge podge of short sequences, unrelated in either style or content, so why bother with it? By its nature it could never have been a great film. Think of any film that you personally regard as a great work of art and imagine what it would have been like if it had been divided into ten segments, each created by a different Director commissioned to portray a different but fundamental aspect of human existence................

Aria "bombed" badly when it was first released - I left the cinema feeling that, despite many interesting sequences, I would not want to see it again. But some sequences proved very seductive, and I rented a tape to re-watch them a few months later. After this happened a second time I knew I must have my own copy; this has since become one of the most frequently viewed tapes in my private collection. The film comprises a collection of short segments, each presented against the background of a well known operatic aria, but illustrating or featuring some vital aspect of life as we live it. We can quickly decide which of the various segments mean most to us, but we need much longer to decide why and in what ways the others are less satisfactory. Such thoughts keep returning even when we believe we have basically forgotten the film, and ultimately make it virtually unforgettable. Clearly, even though we are not dealing with a great film, it is a very important one.

The only link between the ten segments of this film is the fact that each is presented against the background of a well known operatic aria. I would have expected opera buffs, who are totally familiar with each of the arias (and their context in the opera concerned), to have been much less enthusiastic about the very different and individualistic interpretations created by the selected directors than other viewers who are not really familiar with opera as an art form, and who accepted the aria concerned simply as background music. But from comments already recorded in the IMDb database this does not seem to be the case. Opera buffs as described above mostly seem to be significantly more appreciative of the various segments of this film than other viewers. This suggests both that the main appeal of opera lies in the music rather than the libretto; and that opera lovers are more ready to associate the arias with the emotions which the individual film directors are attempting to arouse, even when these are not those of the original opera.

Ultimately we are left with ten short films by leading directors, each visually creating an emotional experience associated with ordinary life. Inevitably each viewer will find that some segments will appeal whilst others do not. For each viewer the segments which appeal most will depend upon their individual character and life experiences. There are no rights and wrongs in this respect; and reviews of this film which suggest that segments A, B and C are excellent, whilst X, Y and Z are failures, are of very little value. A more helpful approach seems to be listing those aspects of life that the ten directors felt were brought to the forefront of their attention when they first studied their aria, and subsequently attempted to interpret visually in their segments. Not surprisingly love seems to be the most important of these, it is featured in half of the ten segments. One shows the love between a newly married couple; a second shows a not much older couple who have retained their love but have become disillusioned by the life they have lived, have few expectations for the future, and are prepared to end their lives together; a third shows the pain of unrequited love; a fourth the faded love between a married couple who are cheating; and a fifth the obverse side of love, obsessive hatred that has festered to the point where one human being is driven to plan the final destruction of another. These segments (as well as some of the others) feature extensive nudity and have led to comments that the film is little more than soft porn. This seems unfair - nudity still has a strong emotional impact and is therefore a useful tool for a director faced with creating imagery that effectively conveys the message he intends within a very brief ten minute film sequence.

Another universal aspect of human life is death, not surprisingly this is also recognised in several of the segments, Other emotions featured in these ten segments include humour and pathos, the subconscious urge felt even by the most beautiful women to adorn themselves, and the tranquility that old age can bring to those who feel they have done the best they can with their lives. An interesting challenge for those who do not know this film but are familiar with other works by the directors involved would be to watch these various segments and then try to identify the director responsible. Overall, it would be hard for anyone to watch this film without experiencing a strong emotional reaction to one of more of these segments; and it would be almost impossible for any individual review to do this film justice even if IMDb relaxed their length restriction on comments. This above all is a film where I would have expected that the opportunity to exchange comments about the various segments on the IMDb message board would have appealed to all those who have viewed it. For some reason this does not seem to have been the case.

Omnibus/compilations films are rarely, if ever, consistent and Aria is not an exception. It is a fun and interesting film to watch though, and while there are a few misfires it is to me better than the IMDb rating and some reviews suggest. It is understandable why there'll be people who won't like it, especially for those looking for faithful plots to the operas featured or those who don't like classical music but those who love great music, great visuals, great singing and some interesting ideas will find a lot to enjoy.

As expected, Aria is very uneven but actually of the ten segments only three didn't work at all from personal opinion. Those three were Roeg's Un Ballo in Maschera, Godard's Armide and (surprisingly) Altman's Lea Boreades. Un Ballo in Maschera has Verdi's wonderful music and the singing of Robert Merrill, Carlo Bergonzi, Leontyne Price, Reri Grist and Shirley Verrett going for it. Otherwise, it had ideas that weren't nowhere near explored enough; it was convoluted(Verdi's opera may have an implausible story but it was much easier to follow); it is one of the least accomplished looking segments in the film; Theresa Russell with a moustache and as a male fascist ruler was something that was quite distasteful and weird and it was directed in a way that I had no idea what Roeg was trying to do and because of the chaotic feel of the whole segment Roeg probably had no clear idea what he was doing either. Les Boreades is an example of something with an okay if strange idea that has nothing interesting done with it. Altman is a great director but he directs with little imagination or interest here(it feels very music video-like), not much happens and when something does you don't have much of a clue. And it's pretty much the same with Armide, the second-silliest of the segments after Rigoletto(though that was actually funny) but also manages to be duller and more incoherent than Les Boreades and it's very repetitive. Plus it's at odds at with the music and the story of the opera, the opera I consider a tragedie en musique but here Godard does it the opposite, except apart from the odd funny moment it's like a comedy with nowhere near enough laughs.

However, there are some very strong high-points. Personal favourites are Roddam's Liebestod and Russell's Nessun Dorma sequences. Liebestod is an absolute wonder visually and matches Wagner's magnificent music brilliantly, of all the segments it's the segment that matches the music the most effectively. The tragic love story is beautiful and moving and Bridget Fonda makes for a highly credible debut. Leontyne Price's rich, powerful voice gives a very haunting quality as well. Nessun Dorma is wonderfully surreal and of the segments is the most imaginative visually. It is a wonderful-looking segment that while having Russell's very marmite style all over it it doesn't feel too over-excessive like some of Russell's films have been prone to. The aria is the most well-known of the ones featured and Jussi Bjorling's rendition with that thrilling top B is one of the best along with Corelli's and Pavarotti's. Sturridge's La Virgine Degli Angeli also looks stunning with a hypnotic dream-like quality, it's not as imaginative as Nessun Dorma but is a very, very close second to Liebestod as the most striking segment. It's also very touchingly done and Price also sings the aria and it's heavenly, one of the best of the aria there is. Wonderful also is Jarman's Depuis Le Jour, the most emotional and reflective of the bunch story-wise. Like Les Boreades there is a music-video feel in places but it's actually in an interesting way.

Regarding the other three segments they are neither masterpieces or disasters and on the whole work well. Temple's Rigoletto is highly entertaining, wonderfully filmed and cleverly shot. But it is a very acquired taste, if you dislike vulgar you will dislike this. The farcial comedy shows actor with good comic timing, and the segment is worth it for Beverly D'Angelo who is hot with a capital H. As well as Verdi's music and the singing of Robert Merrill, Anna Moffo and Alfredo Kraus. Bryden's Pagliacci is not convincing lip-synching-wise but has a very moving performance from John Hurt and the segment is both intimate and subtly dramatic. There couldn't have been a more perfect choice of aria, and who better to sing it than one of the most beautiful tenor voices ever Enrico Caruso? Beresford's Die Tote Stadt is beautifully shot, especially the shots of the flying doves, the scenery is magical, Korngold's music is predictably fabulous as is the singing and Elizabeth Hurley is entrancing. It's also charming and touching. It is very slight though and Carol Neblett's voice does not fit Hurley at all, angelic it is but it's too mature.

To conclude, very interesting and fun, it mostly looks great and is faultless musically, but is very much variable. It was difficult as to rate it either a 6 or 7 but because although the three misfires really bring Aria down to a considerable degree the music, singing, most of the visuals and four high-points segments were so good that I'll award Aria a 7/10. Bethany Cox