Carmen [Blu-ray]

Blu-Ray version has beautiful picture and sound, but...
Much has been written in these reviews regarding the great performances and fine quality of filmmaking in Francesco Rosi's film of Carmen. Here I am only going to comment on the new Blu-Ray edition.

The Olive Films Blu-Ray disc of the 1984 film of Bizet's Carmen, featuring Julia Migenes and Placido Domingo, arrived today. I just finished watching it, then compared it to the Columbia-TriStar DVD version.

Columbia's DVD had virtually no extras, just a couple of theatrical trailers, one being for this production of Carmen. It did have a choice of subtitles: English, Spanish, French, or none. It also had 24 scene chapters.

The new Blu-Ray disc form Olive has a magnificent picture with great detail and the stereo soundtrack is wonderful. But it has absolutely no extras, just the film. The English subtitles are permanently on, as though it was like an old videotape where you cannot switch the subtitles on or off. There are no other choices - no Spanish or...

A brilliant film version of Carmen
This film production of Bizet's Carmen, shot on location in southern Spain, is magnificent. The singing and acting are first rate, as are the sound and picture quality of the DVD. Carmen, like Don Giovanni, is a complex, multi-faceted character that can be played a variety of ways. Julia Migenes portrays Carmen with raw sensuality, and it works, as we see her opposite, Don Jose (performed brilliantly by Placido Domingo), unable to escape her womanly powers. The film uses dialogue rather than recitatives, as that is what Bizet intended--Carmen is an opera comique, which means that spoken dialogue (not recitatives) are employed between the singing. The dialogue definitely heightens the drama of Carmen, and it was only after Bizet's death that sung recitatives were unfortunately used in in this opera. Because this is a film version of Carmen, there are many creative and symbolic options that couldn't be done in the opera house. The use of a live bull in the ring is extemely effective,...

Bizet's Carmen in movie form
I've watched this version of Carmen several times and like it more and more each viewing.

This is the first opera I've watched as a movie and the effect is certainly different than before a live audience. I don't think any movie can compare to having the performance done in the intimate setting of an opera house: and this is the reason it took me a while to appreciate this work. Having said that, this production does please the visual and auditory senses. The scenes are beautiful with a pastel quality to them: just enough color for warmth and atmosphere to complement the locations. Some of the views are panoramic while others a close-up.

The roles of Carmen and Don Jose are done by Julia Migenes -Johnson and Placido Domingo respectively. It is hard to imagine two better people for the leads.

Although Julia Migenes-Johnson has a wonderful husky voice that complements her part, it is her acting that is truly outstanding. Swiveling hips, swishing raised...

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