Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Kultur Video
• VHS Release Date: June 27, 1995
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303522521
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,523 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It is almost a quarter of a century since Maria Callas died. But the years have done little to diminish interest in this most iconic of divas. The debate surrounding the real quality of that voice continues to be fanned by her devotees and detractors, intermittently reaching fever pitch with the arrival of another biography or the commercial release of a newly discovered live recording. Tony Palmer's 1987 film portrait, now available on DVD, towers over the bulk of contributions to the Callas industry because it manages to be both passionate about its subject and objective about the forces that shaped a great musical talent and then left it in ruins.

Lengthy interviews with colleagues and confidants embrace both Callas's undoubted theatrical genius and the emotional traumas that propelled her stumbling private life. The scene is set from the moment this documentary's producer, John Ardoin (himself a Callas biographer), declares the story of Callas the woman to be one of the great tragedies of our time. From that point, the film forges potent links between the evolution of the diva's artistry through her great performances--Tosca, in particular--and the defiant soul captured in a considerable archive of media encounters that range from the intense and contemptuous to the coquettish. This is 90 essential minutes for anyone interested in the Callas legend. Her story will never be better told. --Piers Ford

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Diva Of Divas., June 5, 2002

By 

F. Gentile (Lake Worth, Florida, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maria Callas: Divina Assoluta [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I, admittedly, am not an opera expert, by any stretch... I've seen a number of productions, enjoyed the spectacle, the talent, but don't know a mezzo from a matzho. But everyone knows Maria Callas. The first time I saw a film of this Anna Magnani with a voice, I was transfixed. I became intrigued with the legend, so I bought this video. I have re-watched several times, and I found it to be informative and revealing. She has been dissected almost more than any public figure,"the greatest", "the worst", "tempermental" ...etc.., they're all here. There are interviews with people from the very beginning of her career, when the ugly-(very large)duckling had few admirers. From her first singing teacher and a fellow student, who, upon first hearing the young Maria sing, says "my own mouth fell open", in awe, from Franco Zeffirelli, who worked with and adored her, from her friends, her "swan" period, her "tantrums", her scandalous affair with and betrayal by Onassis, her decline, her public humiliation by talentless, envious critics who weren't fit to wipe her feet, her lonely end. "Those whom the Gods love, they also destroy"...It offers a candid look at the greatest opera legend ever, who left in her wake detractors, yes, but also many who said seeing and hearing her was a once in a lifetime exposure to an almost supernatural talent..."possessed", as Signore Zeffirelli describes her here. I found this over-all very pleasing, it helped me to understand and better appreciate the woman who revolutionized an art form, and who many consider to be the greatest artist of this century.This film helps explain the continuing fascination. There was only one "La Divina". Long may she live.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not just for La Divina fans, June 9, 2002

By 

Gianluca Del Ponte "aritau" (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maria Callas - La Divina: A Portrait (DVD)

Pretty good documentary on Callas phenomenon. One certainly gets an idea of what it was all about. A bit too much of shallow psychology (Maria the artist, Maria the woman), but all in all it works. Even though there is much overlap with another documentary (Callas - Life and Art) this one is definitely better executed and gives more. If you want just the art part get Hamburg or Paris recital DVDs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maria Callas - La Divina: A Portrait, November 2, 2004

By 

John P. Roach Jr. "Satire" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maria Callas - La Divina: A Portrait (DVD)

I especially liked the approach in this film showing Callas the artist and Maria the woman. This theme carries throughout this wonderful Portrait. There is so little footage of this greatest Soprano of her Century, that every morsel is welcomed. Excerpts from her opera performances worldwide show off her professionalism and talent. A Greek Tragedy that even Euripides would have appreciated, yet the tragedy is ours for the loss of this talented Diva at her age of 53. Callas the artist so talented and Maria the woman, so beautiful yet so vulnerable.