About this product

Product Information

This fictionalised biopic chronicles the final years of opera meta-diva Maria Callas (Fanny Ardant), filling in the blank spots with a what if scenario. It's the late 1970s and Callas, once the greatest singer in opera, has lost her voice, been thrown over by Aristotle Onassis in favour of Jackie Kennedy, and now stomps around her apartment in a haze of pills and regret. But just when it seems all hope is lost, her former manager Larry (Jeremy Irons) hits on the plan to do an opera film of CARMEN, with Callas lip-synching her younger voice in the lead, thus preserving her stage presence for future generations. The trouble is that once Callas gets back in the limelight, her over-the-top artistic temperament threatens to destroy the entire project. What's more, Larry's gay lover (Jay Rodan) is throwing tantrums of his own. Fanny Ardant is incredible as the tortured, egotistical diva and Joan Plowright lends some welcome warmth and wit as the British reporter who sets the plot in motion. As with many a Zeffirelli film, the cast is packed with beautiful people and the photography is elegant. The passages from CARMEN are a real highlight, with actual recordings from Callas on the soundtrack. An opera director as well as a film director, Zeffirelli was friends with Callas for over 20 years and once tried to talk her into just such a project, so this is obviously a true labour of love.

Product Identifiers

ProducerRiccardo Tozzi, Giovannella Zannoni

EAN5055031399024

eBay Product ID (ePID)50532384

Product Key Features

ActorFanny Ardant, Gabriel Garko, Justino Diaz, Joan Plowright, Jay Rodan, Manuel De Blas, Jeremy Irons

Film/TV TitleCallas Forever

DirectorFranco Zeffirelli

LanguageEnglish

Run Time104 Mins

Aspect Ratio1.85 Wide Screen

Release Year2005

FormatDVD

FeaturesFeaturette\Sound Bites from the Cast\Broll Footage, Widescreen, Closed Caption, With Subtitles

GenreDrama, General

Additional Product Features

Number of Discs1

Certificate15

ReviewsLos Angeles Times - The result is not only one of Zeffirelli's sumptuous productions but also a film that celebrates the sacredness of artistic integrity that to Zeffirelli Callas embodied fully, Le Figaro - Fanny Ardant is elegant and amazingly real, La Provincia - Fanny Ardeant is splendid and Jeremy Irons is in superb form

ScreenwriterFranco Zeffirelli, Martin Sherman

Format DescriptionDVD 9

Sound sourceDolby Digital Stereo

Movie/TV TitleCallas Forever