The stylish French thriller Diva makes its way to 4K UHD thanks to Kino Lorber. They have filled the disc with a new 4K Restoration and wonderful special features.
The Films
Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva is as cool as cinema gets. It’s also highly complicated and full of itself and knows just how good it is. Basically, one of the most French pieces of Cinema you’ll ever see.
A Postman (Frédéric Andréi) records the performance of an Opera Diva (Wilhelmenia Fernandez). What begins as a simple act of fandom twists and turns into something dark, violent, and sinister. Police, Corruption, Prostitutes, Taiwanese gangster music pirates, and the Diva herself all contribute to the Postman’s adventure that could end with him dying.
Jean-Jacques Beineix’s debut is as fresh and fun as it was when it was released in 1982. Both a thriller and a meditation on art and the artist. The film toes the line between genre potboiler and expressionistic navel-gazing pompousness. That isn’t a critique but a compliment, as Beineix is able to create a heady brew out of disparate pieces that oftentimes are juxtaposed for smashing effect.
One only needs to see the arcade chase followed by the almost dreamlike chase of the Postman by Le Curé (the amazing Dominique Pinon) as he is in a phonebooth being told almost dreamlike prose by the young Alba (Thuy An Luu). The director, as with everything, is commenting on both the genre he is taking on and art and the artist themselves. This is not the only time that Diva finds that heady concoction of exploitation and art; the film is a thesis on those types of juxtaposing arguments of cinema that play even more beautifully now than it had four decades ago.
Beyond being a masterful piece of reflexive cinema, it’s a lush visual treat. The work of cinematographer Philippe Rousselot and set designer Hilton McConnico gives us not just the Paris of Beineix’s dreams but of all of our cinematic dreams. One of lush beauty and dangerous, seedy neon-lit alleys and storefronts. The Postman traverses both the opulence of Paris Hotel Rooms to the dank violence of abandoned shipyards, and all is visually astounding in the way that films are no longer a feast for the eyes. All being caught under the direction of Beineix in collaboration with Rousselot and McConnico.
Diva finds the perfect mixture of both genre and art. The result is a masterwork that even Beineix’s later work (including Betty Blue) could never eclipse.
The Transfers
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is nothing short of perfection in its beauty. Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot’s gorgeous photography is transferred flawlessly to 4K UHD. The film, shot in shades of blues, is perfectly rendered here with the Dolby Vision HDR encoding doing a masterful job giving the film’s color and black levels life in a way that only film does. Grain structure, contrast, and sharpness are all balanced here for an image that tricks the eye into feeling that it’s watching a freshly struck 35mm archival print. Kino continues to showcase just how the UHD format
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- Audio Commentary by Film Critic and Author Simon Abrams
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- Audio Commentary by Film Critic and Author Simon Abrams
- Scene Specific Audio Commentary by Director Jean-Jacques Beineix
- Introduction by Professor Phil Powrie (Author of JEAN-JACQUES BEINEIX) and Eric Grinda
- HOLDING GROUND with Director Jean-Jacques Beineix
- IN THE CAFÉ with Director Jean-Jacques Beineix
- Interview with Star Frédéric Andréi
- Interview with Actors Anny Romand and Dominique Pinon
- Interview with Actor Richard Bohringer
- Interview with Composer Vladimir Cosma
- Interview with Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot
- Interview with Set Designer Hilton McConnico
- Interview with Casting Director Dominique Besnehard
- Theatrical Trailer
The archival audio commentary track by Critic Simon Abrams is heady, intelligent, and fast-paced. Abrams moves quickly through his decertation, and it is a true decertation on the film, Beinex, the Novel its based off, the production, it’s initial small release, it’s cult status, its relationship between Opera and film, it’s aesthetic, his part of the cinema-du-look movement (which Luc Besson, and Leos Carax are a part of) and quotes from the likes of critics WM Higgin and Pauline Kael. It’s a truly great educational commentary track.
The Scene Specific Commentary by Beineix has two options: to be played scene by scene or a “play all” feature. Running 41-minutes in total. Rather than have subtitles, they have Beineix translated from his original commentary track. Beineix does a great job of discussing his philosophical and artistic/thematic point of view. Note that the image is taken from an SD source (possibly the European DVD release).
Introduction by Professor Phil Powrie (Author of JEAN-JACQUES BEINEIX) and Eric Grinda (6:21) – the archival featurette Introduction to Searching for Diva with Phil Powrie and Eric Grinda as they discuss the interviews that are held within the disc. This does a great job of prepping you for all of the interviews. In English.
HOLDING GROUND: interview with Director Jean-Jacques Beineix (11:01) – is the first of two interviews with Director Jean-Jacques Beineix. Beineix discusses the context of making of the film, his theories on filmmaking, where everything came from, the initial failure in France and its resurgence, his disdain for “sellability to America”, the formation of cinema-du-look, the difference between the novel and the film, and more. Beineix speaks English for the interview.
IN THE CAFÉ: Interview with Director Jean-Jacques Beineix (8:33) – is the second of two interviews with Director Jean-Jacques Beineix. The interview picks up right where they left off, discussing specifics of the film with the use of the Rolls-Royce, the duality throughout the film, his use of color (using painting as a metaphor), and much more. Beineix speaks English for the interview.
Interview with Star Frédéric Andréi (5:47) – is an archival interview with the star of Diva. The actor who plays the Postman discusses how original, wonderful, and strange it was at the time of making this film. The interview is in French, not subtitled, but rather voiceover narrated by someone.
Interview with Actors Anny Romand and Dominique Pinon (12:02) – is an archival interview with the Cop and the Villain, aka “le Cure” of Diva. Pinon discusses the origins of the iconic villain and his first role. Romand discusses her casting and her part as one of the detectives chasing the Postman. Both speak English for the interview.
Interview with Actor Richard Bohringer (6:55) – is an archival interview with the Diva co-star. The actor who plays the Gorodish discusses the infamous baguette scene, his working relationship with Beineix, the tensions between the director and producers, and more. The interview is in French, not subtitled, but rather voiceover narrated by someone.
Interview with Composer Vladimir Cosma (10:47) – is an archival interview with the composer. The composer discusses the minimalist approach to the music, what Beineix wanted, and how he wasn’t sure of it, how the unique but very modern sound of specific compositions was created. The interview is in French, not subtitled, but rather voiceover narrated by someone.
Interview with Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot (6:05) – is an archival interview with the Cinematographer. Rousselot discusses how young he was when he made the film, breaking the rules, and the playfulness of the film in his view, how he approached the visuals using blues rather than monochromatic, which Beineix wanted, some fun DIY approaches on how the look was achieved, and more. Rousselot speaks English for the interview.
Interview with Set Designer Hilton McConnico (6:50) – is an archival interview with the Set Designer. McConnico, like Rousselot, discusses his youth and how that informed their approach the making of the film, the blue visual style, and how that informed the production design, and more. McConnico speaks English for the interview.
Interview with Casting Director Dominique Besnehard (7:20) – is an archival interview with the casting director. Besnehard discusses how he collaborated with Beineix on not only casting but also helping get Rousselot, the lower budget nature of the production, how he cast the Diva, and much more. The interview is in French, not subtitled, but rather voiceover narrated by someone.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Diva (2:52); L’Amour Braque (2:11); Mille Milliards De Dolars(2:35); Kamikaze (1:28); Deadly Circuit (3:11);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber has given Diva a beautiful new upgrade to 4K UHD. Highest Possible Recommendations!!!