Evita
by Alan Parker
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Adri? Collado, Andrea Corr, Antonio Banderas, Gary Brooker, Martin DrogoDirector: Alan Parker
Brand: MADONNA
Primary Contributor: Antonio Banderas
Primary Contributor: Madonna
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Letterbox, 2.35:1
Running Time: 135 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-03-25
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Miramax
Movie Reviews of Evita
Movie Review: You Must Love This Film
Summary: 4 Stars
'Evita' is a brilliant film adaptation of the Broadway musical, written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It tells the story of Argentina's First Lady Eva Duarte de Peron, also known as Evita. Evita was born into severe circumstances. Her father died when she was a little girl and her family (who was considered illegitimate since her father and mother never married) endured poverty and alienation. But all of this struggle lit a fierce fire in her belly, and she struck out on her own as a teenager in search of fame and fortune. This journey took her from radio star and film actress to the First Lady of Argentina. During her prime, she received both incredible admiration from the masses and criticism from the establishment. When she died at age 33 from cancer, she left behind a legacy that still haunts Argentina to this day.
The film features both amazing music and acting. There is wall-to-wall singing and very little spoken dialogue, but I didn't care since I have a deep love for music. However, people who don't care for musicals would obviously be advised to stay away. Antonio Banderas does a great job as the film's narrator Che. He displays great emotional intensity and adds an authentic Latin flavor to the role. And who knew he could sing that well? Jonathan Pryce is an appropriate Juan Peron: charismatic in his own way, but passive enough to stand back in awe of his powerful wife at times.
But the star of the show is clearly Madonna. She put her heart and soul into this role and, given her previously bad films, I was impressed. She clearly feels a connection to Evita, and both women have many similarities. They both lost one of their parents at a very young age, they both possess boundless ambition and strong will, they both received great adulation and scrutiny, etc, etc. I'm sure this was a big reason why the part fit Madonna like a glove. Also, Madonna is reportedly responsible for making Eva more dimensional, and therefore more realistic, than the stage version. Tim Rice wrote the musical with Mary Main's slanderous biography, The Woman With The Whip, as a main inspiration. Therefore, Eva was mainly portrayed as a ruthless power hungry tyrant in the play. Eva could be manipulative and domineering at times, but there was also a softer, warmer side to her that the movie version managed to show.
Besides her acting, Madonna's vocal range and quality also improved, compared to her earlier days as a "raw talent". Many complained that Madonna, a pop singer, didn't have the chops to tackle the role that Broadway singers Patti LuPone and Elaine Page played. Well, their voices have different objectives. Its all about context. Broadway singers are allowed to fill up the huge theaters with their huge voices. However, an operatic style would have been too overbearing for a film. A capable pop singer, with a less harsh and simpler style of singing, is much more appropriate for a movie. Plus, all of her experience as a music performer gave her the training to portray emotions convincingly through song. She manages to be alternately passionate ("A New Argentina", "Waltz for Che and Eva"), self-confident ("Rainbow High", "Buenos Aires") and vulnerable ("Another Suitcase in Another Hall", "You Must Love Me").
If you're a fan of Madonna, musicals, or want to learn about a fascinating historical figure, then buy this film. You'll love it.
Summary of Evita
Few times in the history of Hollywood has a film been released with the scope and daring of EVITA! Now, experience this landmark achievement as entertainment megastar Madonna -- in the role of a lifetime -- joins Antonio Banderas (ASSASSINS, DESPERADO) for the year's most talked about motion picture event! Directed by award-winning filmmaker Alan Parker (MISSISSIPPI BURNING), EVITA is the riveting true-life story of Eva Peron (MADONNA), who rose above childhood poverty and a scandalous past to achieve unimaginable fortune and fame. Despite widespread controversy, her passion changed a nation forever! Winner of the coveted Academy Award(R) for Best Song (1996) and 3 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Song) -- critics nationwide hailed EVITA as a triumphant must-see masterpiece -- and so will you!After more than a decade of false starts and several potential directors, the popular Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical finally made it to the big screen with Alan Parker (The Commitments) at the helm and Madonna in the coveted title role of Argentina's first lady, Eva Per?n. A triumph of production design, costuming, cinematography, and epic-scale pageantry, the film follows the rise of Eva Per?n to the level of supreme social and political celebrity in the 1940s. Like Madonna, Per?n was a material girl (she was only 33 when she died); she was instrumental in the political success of her husband, Juan Per?n (Jonathan Pryce). But Eva was also a supremely tragic figure whose life was essentially hollow at its core despite the lavish benefits of her nearly goddess-like status. The film has a similar quality--it's visually astonishing but emotionally distant, and benefits greatly from the singing commentary of Ch? (Antonio Banderas), who serves as a passionate chorus to guide the viewer through the elaborate parade of history. --Jeff Shannon
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