Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Film, Poor DVD, 17 Jan 2006
By A Customer
I don’t wish to criticise this film. It’s actually rather good (and much better than you might expect).My issue is that the DVD itself is rather poor. The non-anamorphic transfer is poor and when blown up to 16:9 is very grainy. The soundtrack seems to be rather low quality – just a poor quality stereo transfer. The region 1 DVD is in 5.1 and much better quality, although that too is in letterbox format. Let’s see some justice done to this film. It deserves better than this. (But I’ve no doubt that a ‘Special Edition’ will appear one day, so we can all buy this film twice!)
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning! Better than one expects!, 22 Oct 2001
The film is grand, combining Lloyd Webber's superb music, Hollywood's effects, masterfully direction and surprisingly fine actor's work. Antonio Banderas is a real star in the film; he adds passion, charm and humour to the story. It's a clever invention of Webber and Rice to introduce a narrator and commentator who helps the audience understand events better and makes us think. In fact Banderas does more than this. He portraits a complex character, angry, criticising, witty and even cynical on the one hand and very emotional with deep feelings and "impossible dreams" on the other. He makes Che one of the main heroes of the story. The last scene is very moving and tense, as Che confesses his sorrow for Evita and at the same time warns Peron of the future. Antonio's Spanish good looks and plasticity suit the role exactly. His singing is expressive and pleasant to hear, and the voice is very strong, good even to the hard parts such as The Lady's Got Potential (great moment, impossible for the stage). Madonna acts wonderfully. She really resembles Eva Duarte de Peron, and her performance is so believable and true that I forget sometimes I'm watching artificial scenes. I can't see the death scene without tears (How she lived, how she shined! But how soon the lights were gone!). However I'm not totally satisfied with Madonna singing. I do not mean that she sings badly, I only want to say that Elaine Paige sings much better. Nevertheless, some scenes (I'd Be Good For You, Rainbow High, You Must Love Me) I did like immensely, and her duets with Antonio I simply enjoyed (Goodnight And Thank You is very amusing, Waltz For Eva And Che is so spirited, it's a masterpiece). I also must mention Jonathan Pryce. He did great job as Peron. His every gesture, expression and look are correct, matching moments and situations. All crowd scenes in the movie are impressive and exciting, making you wishing to join the choir (A New Argentina, And Money Kept Rolling In And Out). I decided to watch the movie for the sake of ALW unforgettable music, but soon I found that Evita is more than a musical on the screen - it's classic. Director, producer, operators and actors did everything to create a powerful epic film, revealing struggles, splendour and tragedy of Eva Peron's life as well as giving a touch of unique Argentine 1940s atmosphere. I would earnestly recommend the film to everyone: it's dynamic, without one unnecessary moment, impressive and touching and full of inspiring music.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I thought Madonna suited the role perfectly, 28 Nov 2003
I've read some reviews and seen many critical of Madonna's casting in the film version of the musical Evita. Having never seen the stage show I went with no preconceptions at all and was blown away. The score was wonderful but more than anything Madonna was a revelation and I thought deserved her Golden Globe after many years of critical panning. Unfortunately for Madonna she is often bigger than the film she is in and everyone lines up to knock her. Sometimes she deserves it but not this time. It is no secret that she had to beg for the role but she was right, she has much in common with Evita herself which is why, ultimately, she was perhaps one of the few people who could truly pull off the part as the girl from the gutter who does good. On top of that Madonna's own mother died of cancer at a similar age and she doesn't look unlike her either. Eva Peron had both a hardness and a vulnerability about her, driving ambition and used fame to fill a hole in her life that ultimately consumes her. Madonna is her mirror-image. I cannot imagine anyone else playing Evita now. Madonna showed she CAN sing and had vocal coaching to increase the strength and range of her voice, she was pushing 40 when she made the film and had to play a teenager. She doesn't really pull it off but I can't imagine anyone else could have done better. And as for not being able to act - as someone who goes to the movies a lot and doesn't cry, I found myself bawling my eyes out at the end when Evita dies. Her tears seem real and painful. I watched it a 2nd time and the same thing happened. And to me that is a sign that somebody was truly taking me in with their performance. Antonio Banderas is fantastic as Che (who'd have thought he could sing like that!) and did anyone spot the singer from the Corrs as the maid who gets stomped on? All in all a great musical with a great cast and well worth watching.
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