Aria 1987

This film follows a similar structure of a live action style of Disney's fantasia 1940 ,   In that it is a live action pastiche  motive of various different pieces of classical music arias from opera giving  their own artistic interpretation by some of the best directors at the light at the time , A few of them funny a lot of them tragic and all of the visually beautiful in every which way .Aria is a  mixed bag with some sequences  not quite as good as others particularly the first segment by  Nicholas Roeg ,but I'm whole most enjoyable ,
 All of the sequences Are linked together by the last segment Il Pagliacci  starring John Hurt  directed by Bill Bryden  each sequence is intercut between  them to give the premise some sort of overall blending , if any .

Directors responsible for the segments such as Robert Altman ,Bruce Beresford ,Jean-Luc Goddard, Derek Jarman ,Ken Russell and music video Star director of the 1980s Julian Temple , this film could've had so much potential particularly if the two segments that was supposed to be directed by Fellini and Woody Allen were included I think we would've been looking at an absolute masterpiece of cinema and art ,  however apart from my own personal bias  it seems to fall a little bit short but you have to watch some of the bad to enjoy the most of the good .
The first segment which I think does the most damage to the piece is Un ballo in  maschera  a fictionalised account of the 1931 assassination attempt at King Zog the 1st of Albania notable for his shooting back at the assassins whist leaving a performance of word of trivia he was actually leaving a performance of Pagliacci  interesting enough ,the director Nicolas Roeg ( The man who fell to earth with David Bowie ) puts his wife at the time to Theresa Russell in a Male drag performance as The aforementioned King Zog  which may have seemed  like a good idea  at the time  that brings absolutly little  else interesting to this historical pantomime ,

Roeg  was primarily a cinematographer for David Lean before venturing into the directors chair, particularly for Dr Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia you can tell his touches on the film especially with the lighting of the Theresa Russells face in the theater box scenes  in much the same way as was beautifully done for Julie Christies in  Zhivago and of Peter O'Tooles in Lawrence of Arabia  The other point of interest is the beautiful inter cutting editing between the assassination attempt scene and the swirling around of the characters dancing  on the stage in the performance which is  expertly done  but aside from these minor points the first segment drags the rest of the film down really and  if it was included shouldn't have   been the shown as the first  offering  in the first place.

 The second segment La Vergine Degli Angeli from The Force of Destiny music by Giuseppe Verdi  features two teenage girls and a small boy who out of boredom and from what I can see parental neglect ,steal a car with dire consequences ,this one is very shortest segments  and certainly one of the most emotionally devastating , directed by Charles Sturridge  as far as I can see it was mostly a theater director ,this is one of the best pieces in the film collective shot in black and white   It is placed well in the film despite the first sequence before it  and serve me as a contrast to what follows .The film has garnered some criticism as I can understand it because of some of the blatant  female  sexualisation , somewhere in the trailer for this film I Believe either Playboy magazine or  hustler Magazine gave it four stars or something to that effect ,so I can quite understand its reputation as a film collective thats Nude for Arts Sake and only fit for SBS television after 11 at night..
This is most particularly the thirs segment Armide music by John Baptiste Lully,
This is directed by Jean-Luc Goddard and is a in a vague retelling of the Operas plot  regarding Christian Knights in a foreign land with  local witches trying to seduce them with magic to pacify and  then destroy them But one witch  feels remorse for them for  not being able to love for themselves and so on....

In This version of events the Knights are Bodybuilders in a Gym with young Nubile girls wearing only a flimsy robe and nothing else! PS the robes stays on for about 5 minutes  or possibly less .
In between the clunking of the Gym equipment you can hear  Lullys music  while naked girls rub the body builders in a almost naive but but curiously perverse fashion,,the girls touch themselves within their robes and strike poses completely nude with physical gestures only to be  found in antiquity and renaissance works of art. The Bodybuilders however seem  to take absolutely  no notice of them or whats going on around them while they are pumping iron,,this almost reminiscent of Jane Russell in Gentleman Prefer Blondes With the Entire Olympic team ignoring her as she struts her stuff by the pool except a little bit more weirdly symbolic  and ridiculously decedent in gratuitous female nudity,
its probably not the best in this collection of the best of Goddards Either but certainly a curiosity
Comes the Forth in the segments that of  Rigoletto, Music by Giuseppe Verdi once again
Unlike the Dramas that have been framed in the previous two Verdi Segments  this one is more along the lines of a traditional farce ,Directed by Julian Temple  (who directed most of the quintessential Music Videos of the 1980s) and Starring National Lampoons Vacation Beverly DeAngelo this follows the amorous paths of a married couple , One a Producer,the other is ex Actress Wife who  go  sneaking out behind each overs backs to have extramarital affairs , little do thy know  unfortunately that both couples will be staying at the same location for their dirty weekend , the Famous Madonna Inn in California , what follows is a series of misadventures, head trauma, drug taking,dancing and getting their freak on, but not necessarily with the person they think they will be ,

I love the  the fact the Producer is 'working on the film' which he is unknowing starring in (ARIA) ,making reference to Fellini and Woody Allen's involvement ,this could be perhaps made with the belief they were committed to  do a film each for Aria and made before the knowledge they had pulled out, but could have been a little jab at them in the film for not being able to contribute.
Its the most Humorous of the segments but the punchline of this could have been a lot better than it was ,just saying.

The Fifth Segment comes from Australian Director Bruce Beresford and features Music from one of  cinemas most beloved Composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold  who along with Max Steiner dominated  Hollywood  in the 30's with sumptuous  scores for films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood,The Sea Hawk,Captain Blood,Kings Row just to name a few...Korngold a contemporary in style at least to Richard Strauss used some of earlier records and inserted them into his latter film compositions such as Robin Hoods famous main title, and the aria featured here is from his venture into opera , The Dead City.

 This segment has a quality of a place literally frozen in time, like say Brigadoon, coming to life every 100 years here two lovers undress and profess their love before lovemaking (yes more nudity) and believe it or not thats  a teenage Elizabeth Hurley underneath tat gold weave and bushy eyebrows .
The combination of the serine  images and music reminiscent of the golden years of Hollywood merged with a Strauss tone poem,  leave u feeling almost guilt for interrupting this beautiful secret world and its inhabitants .
Next on the list of offerings is a more creative interpretation of an aria , at the helm is Robert Altman in recreation of opening night at Paris's Théâtre Le Ranelagh  in 1734. According to the brief blurb at the beginning of the segment  The French aristocracy had bizarre tastes in  forms of entertainment, if your still unsure please check up on The Dangerous Liaisons or the Marques DeSade , The audience of this opening night  is not filled with aristocracy but rather  various  assortment of inmates from an insane asylum. The reaction from these demented souls to the highest form of performance art (at the Time) is priceless entertainment

value to the ruling class, and as a film rather turns voyeurism on its head , The camera follows the motley crew of different characters panning throughout the arches and architraves  of the theater and floats through the various inmates ,and their ghostly powder covered almost cartoon like facades leaving you amused and bemused by what their interpretation of the performance is  , a performance in fact that you never see though , as the camera focuses completely on the audience, their reaction and nothing else , an interesting offering at least with an experienced driver at the wheel

Following this comedy of sorts is one of the ultimate tragedies in Opera and indeed in this film collective , Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner,this film erroneously credits  this film as Brigid Fondas (Single White Female , and Henry Fondas Grand Daughter) Film debut , and even if this isn't true it certainly would be been a great start.  This is almost a music video is it artistic structure and the  picture perfect finale for a great love epic that ultimately meets its demise it the grand fashion of even Shakespeare himself

The basic plot follows two young lovers arrive in Las Vegas a portal through life to its ultimate extravagant death. A native american being arrested on the side of the road as they drive past look into their faces and somehow senses the fates of these two souls  After driving down Fremont Street, they check into a cheap hotel room where they  make a passionate ritualistic love that causes a glass to fall to the floor and shatter ultimately becoming  the next great tragic tool in this plot,
 The last shot of the woman walking out of the casino in the morning after a big night closes this segment and leaves you with a great sense of desertion and longing