Product Details

• Actors: Madonna, Jonathan Pryce, Antonio Banderas, Jimmy Nail, Victoria Sus
• Directors: Alan Parker
• Writers: Alan Parker, Oliver Stone, Tim Rice
• Producers: Alan Parker, Andrew G. Vajna, David Wimbury, Lisa Moran
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• VHS Release Date: February 3, 1998
• Run Time: 137 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (264 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304504012
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,883 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This long-awaited adaptation of the Broadway musical, directed by Alan Parker (Fame, The Commitments), features Madonna in her award-winning performance as Eva Peron, the controversial and inspirational First Lady of Argentina, as well as the score from the long-running Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The story of Peron's rise to power with her husband (Jonathan Pryce) is narrated in song by peasant insurrectionist Che (Antonio Banderas), as Evita's glamour, poise, and ultimate tragedy inspire a nation in the midst of political and social upheaval. The film is a powerful one, visually stunning and epic in its scope, and yet highly emotional in both the well-known songs and the performances. Pryce portrays a deeply flawed man, ruthless and yet devoted to his wife. Banderas is a swashbuckling figure, instilling passion in the heart of Eva Peron. And Madonna gives a strong and commanding performance as a woman who loves her husband and loves her people but must fight the stirring passion inside her. Featuring "You Must Love Me," an Academy Award-winning song written for the film, Evita is vivid and powerful entertainment for people who love musicals for both stage and screen. --Robert Lane

From The New Yorker

At last, after years of rumor and negotiation-years that have made it almost as mythical as Eva Perón herself-the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice comes to the screen. The problem is that it remains a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. There are moments when music and lyrics bear only the faintest relation to each other, a tricky state of affairs in a work that is almost bereft of spoken dialogue. This deficit is good news for Madonna, of course-she is barely required to speak or even to act, though she does suggest, rather convincingly, that Evita's outstanding talent was a capacity for growing into an early-model Madonna. The only voices of skepticism belong to Jonathan Pryce, as a sly and troubled Juan Perón, and Antonio Banderas, who prowls through the action as our friendly smoldering narrator. This is a thin tale-poor country girl makes good, and eventually makes the grade as a semi-saint-to which the director, Alan Parker, lends energy with frenzied cutting and vast crowds. The picture blares and blazes at you without letup, and it works best when it's openly theatrical-only when it's over do you sense how little lay beneath the busy surface. It's a movie with hidden shallows. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great movie..., November 10, 2004

By 

R Glasgow (Fairfield, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evita (DVD)

I just purchased this DVD and I remembered instantly why I enjoyed this film so much when it came out. I would just like to answer some of the critiques listed here.

1) The character of Ché was always meant to be a nemesis to Evita, but not the real character as such . In the stage production that I saw, it was a man with the typical beret and machine gun singing to the side of the action. It would have been ridiculous and historically inaccurate to portray Ché as such in the movie version. Ché Guevara was still a medical student when Eva died. I think it is very effective to blend Ché into various characters because it represents the silent and not so silent opposition to the Perón Revolution. The only time the two characters meet for real interaction is when Evita is having delusions. The song argued in that moment perfectly clashes Ché's "idealism" with Evita's "realism." Ché is always there in some form, yet Evita is oblivious to his presence, brushes him off with a quick lyric or purposely chooses to ignore him. This adds a metaphysical dimension to the plot as if Evita were increasingly self-justifying her growing power as a simple tool to help the impoverished.

2) The soundtrack to the movie is not an operatic stage version but the songs are presented using the operatic techniques of repetition. This was done on purpose, not due to a lack of creativity.

3) When I saw this off off broadway, the people that were with me were straining to understand the singing beside the fact that they had no idea about the history of post WWII Argentina. I don't think they enjoyed it as much as they wanted to let on.

4) Madonna sings very well and is completely understood. I had the argument with some friends that heard the soundtrack and thought she was singing off key on the last couple of tracks... Ummm. Not really. She was about ready to pass away in those scenes which in the movie are close-ups. It would have been ridiculous to have anyone belt out the lyrics in such an intimate moment before passing on. It sounds like she is dying, because she is...

5) The cinematography is simply amazing. The funeral scene at the very beginning was incredible as well as the scene where Eva puts her foundation to work. Pictures of the real Evita meeting the Pope and others perfectly match the costumes used in the movie.

6) For me, the main focus of the movie is the strategy of propaganda and how it can dominate reason. The mystery lies in how much of the persuasion was authentically from the heart of the Peróns and how much of it was naked manipulation. The movie captures both aspects and yet leaves them unanswered...Much like the historical analysis of Eva Perón.

This movie is an awesome production ...

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT Adaption of the broadway show - have an open mind., January 28, 2000

By 

bilahn (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evita [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Boy do people miss the point on this movie. You can't present a movie like a broadway show. Everytime this has been attemped, historically, the results are bad, most adaptions of famous shows are only OK at best, some are awful. The medium is totally different, the demands are different, the singing is different, the acting style is different. Yes, the shows usually are "better", in a sense, that's how it was originally written, as a stage play. You have got to really change things to make a successful movie.

So how good an ADAPTION is this? Very good indeed. The story was changed to very effectively fit the medium. Madonna stretched herself unbelievably to do this role, and I think she did very well. You may quite validly prefer the stage version of Evita (I like both), but its almost like apples and oranges. As good as Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin were, they would, if they played it the same way anyway, come off mannered and absurd in a movie context. All the conventions of the stage would be laughable. (unless it was simply, of course, an actual filmed stage production). On the other hand, Madonna and Banderas are not nearly strong and polished enough for a stage. Most of the changes (a few I don't understand), make a lot of sense, when you consider how a movie has to flow.

As for this movie not being deep or historical, its a musical for Pete's sake, not "Saving Private Ryan." I don't know enough about Eva Peron to really say, but I don't see how you could present a real historical drama in a musical context. I think the problem is people don't like or understand opera, which this essentially is. Most of the great operas have ludicrous story lines! Also if you are going to go in knowing you "hate" musicals, "hate" Madonna, then fine, this is not to your taste. Banderas is not a polished singer, but his rough edged singing is very appealing and effective in this context.

The cinematography, costumes are outstanding, and serve the story well. Only as the dying Evita, do I find Madonna not very believable. I think Evita is thrilling, its one of my favorite movies of recent years.

I love the show Evita, and I love this too, but in a very different way.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully made, with wonderful work by the 3 principals., November 4, 1999

By 

AEM (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evita [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I saw this movie when it first came out and loved it, and just saw it again on video. This is one of the most under-rated films of the decade. Hollywood just doesn't like Madonna, which resulted in this wonderfully-acted film being unfairly snubbed by critics and the Oscar establishment. Despite the presence of half the population of Argentina as extras, this is essentially an intimate story that rides on the performances of the three principals--Evita, Peron, and Che. Although Madonna's voice isn't quite up to some of the vocal challenges, her performance is otherwise on the mark. Antonio Banderas surprised me--his somewhat gritty vocal quality is totally appropriate to his character as a peasant revolutionary. Nobody smolders better. His feelings for Evita were intriguingly ambiguous; it was fascinating to watch him veer from hope to contempt to something close to sexual attraction. And Jonathan Pryce is one of the premier musical theater artists of this era. What he does with the rather underwritten part of Peron is a joy to see. Watch his performance of "She is a Diamond"--two minutes of subtle, superb acting with voice, face, body--absolutely wonderful. It seems that most of the naysayers saw the show on Broadway and find the movie a poor comparison. Each should be taken on their own terms. Patti LuPone is undoubtedly stronger vocally than Madonna, but you have to give the latter credit for taking on a huge challenge and (mostly) pulling it off. And I never thought Mandy Patinkin's light tenor was right for Che--Banderas, though not half the singer Patinkin is, has an earthy vocal quality that works better in this role. I recommend this movie highly for all lovers of musical theater.