Evita [DVD] [1997]

I saw this at the cinema years ago when it was released in 1996. Saw it at a reduced price here on Amazon and grabbed it straight away. My partner had never seen it so she was suitably blown away by it all and loved every musical manic minute of it. Alan Parker is a brilliant director and this film hits the mark throughout and doesn't miss a beat. I am not a fan of Madonna's but she is perfect for the role and plays Eva Peron very well. However it's Antonio Banderas that steals the film for me with his portrayal of Che. He's incredible in it. If you like the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice then this is a must for you. Very recommended.

Good film

Good interpretation of the original stage show - explains a bit more of the back story than there was time for in the stage show. No Che in the traditional costume tho' - shame, although A B does act the part well and sings, well for an actor, its obvious he's not a singer, but doesn't actually claim to be. Whilst the looks of the eponymous lead are good compared to the original, it cannot compensate for the fact that the original stage performers, and the ones in the recent touring reincarnation of the original, are far better singers, which is even more surprising considering the extensive vocal coaching that M supposedly underwent for the part. Since this is a musical, you would have thought that they could have used better singers.That said, and considering that there is never way any a disc perf. can equal a live perf. of a stage show, its deffo worth the money 'cos you can sit and watch it any time and there is always more you discover with each watching. If the vocal perfs. had been better I would have given it 5 stars.

Good

A great movie and musical...even though it tells you very little about the characters, the rags-to-riches story of Evita Peron makes a fascinating tale, and the choreography, staging and synchronisation of the massive cast of extras are all first-class. It's not the most high-brow of cultural entertainment, but so what? It's not supposed to be. (Though I would be interested if someone made another film exploring Evita and Peron more thoroughly, for someone who edges close to that brand of political populism myself - one might see the recent history of the Conservative Party and Michael Howard in particular as aspiring to a British version of Peronism as an alternative to the corporate blandness of Blairism.)Antonio Banderas as Che, the narrator, is incredible himself, though Jonathan Pryce looks a little too much like Angus Deayton with too much brylcream on for comfort. I am not always sure that the cast is singing their own lines, though - some of the lip-sync is dodgy. Madonna is the best face for Evita, but I agree that her voice needs work before she goes into musicals full-time. She also looks all of her 40 years - and we all know Evita was dead by the age of 33. Another younger actress might have been a better choice, though evidently they needed a megastar leading lady. On the other hand Jimmy Nail suits the part of Migaldi perfectly, though he is quickly discarded in favour of Pryce's statuesque figure and cool, distant demeanour.A good evening's entertainment and education, and some classic, classic songs - my favourite has to be the song where she is getting all tarted up, and the accompaniment to Evita's first meeting with Peron has a good melody. There are only a couple of tunes in the show which sound out of place, and to keep momentum going over two hours the producers have done a good job overall.Viva Evita!

great dvd

Why are ancient, barebones DVDs like these still doing the rounds? It's especially a pity considering the epic that Evita is. A huge, lavish musical (almost entirely sung) based loosely on the life of Eva Duarte Perón, who rose from poverty to fame, eventually becoming the influential wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón, and a woman as loved as she was hated. Andrew Lloyd Webber's soaring music and Tim Rice's lyrics weave through the entire ensemble and the whole film is close to impeccably made. All arrangements of the music are excellent.Madonna and Antonio Banderas both perform their roles with grace and gusto. They both surprise with roles neither were veterans of. Who knew that Antonio Banderas could sing so well? He is furious and captivating as Ché, the movie's narrator. Equally excellent is Madonna in the leading part. She disappeared into the role so seamlessly that Eva Perón seemed to have been brought to life again for production. Madonna got all the mannerisms and hand gestures of Eva down, but even more astonishingly, she reveals a tangible vulnerability under that strong personality. The closing moments of the film are truly heart-breaking, and you wouldn't think that when the characters keep singing to each other. Both Banderas and Madonna were nominated for Golden Globes for their performances, and Madonna rightfully won hers. She came through and proved that, with the right role, she can flat out act.For all these reasons, the quality of this DVD is all the harder to swallow. It's an obsolete release. The very least I demand on a DVD is subtitles and this release of Evita doesn't even scratch that itch. That's right, there are NO SUBTITLES. After this and Sleepy Hollow, I'm seriously starting to hesitate buying DVDs from Amazon.co.uk for fear of no subtitles.

Arrived in good condition and was enjoyable to watch.

Hace años tenia la intención de comprar el DVD pero lo encontré en BR y no dude en comprarlo! EVITA esta magistralmente narrada y musicalizada por Andrew Lloid Webber y como fan de Madonna tenía que tener esta Masterpiece!

Thoroughly enjoyed this movie as I have seen it many times and it never disappoints. Also have the CD, but every once in a while I just want to see the movie and now I have my own copy.

In der Regel kann man mich mit Musicals jagen. Wie kommt es dann, dass mir dieser 129:56 Minuten lange Film von Alan Parker (1944-2020, "Birdy", "Angel Heart", "Fame", Mississippi Burning") sehr gefällt, ich ihn sogar für ein Meisterwerk halte? Auf den ersten Blick sicher, weil er unglaublich monumental verfilmt wurde. Hier wurde geklotzt statt gekleckert, mit tollen Locations und Kulissen und vor allem Tausenden von Statisten, die dann teilweise auch noch alle auf einmal singen. Der Film ist also einfach visuell schon einmal sehr beeindruckend.Und dann sind da noch die unglaublich guten Dialoge, die immer auf den Punkt verfasst sind, und helfen, die Stories zu verstehen. Politik nachzuvollziehen kann manchmal ganz schön mühsam sein, erst recht in einem fremden Land und mit vielen Jahrzehnten Abstand- hier allerdings blickt man durch, lernt Geschichte auf einfache Art. "Dialoge" ist jetzt auch nicht ganz passend, denn gesprochene Dialoge gibt es in dem Film nicht. Bis auf kurze Sequenzen politischer Kundgebung und einem einzgen Satz ("You are dying, Evita!") ist hier absolut alles gesungen. Die Dialoge waren allerdings vor der Musik da, und in ihrer Erstellung gab Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber ihnen anscheinend das stärkere Gewicht, was beim Komponieren dann zu komplizierten und oft seltsam künstlichen Melodiebögen führte. Die Konsequenz, in der das alles im Film ohne gesprochene Szenen umgesetzt wurde, beeindruckt mich jedenfalls ebenso. Musikalisch ist das alles auch unglaublich abwechslungsreich. Es gibt viele sensible Songs, aber dort, wo das Volk in Aufruhr gezeigt wird, hört man auch oft agressivere Töne mit harten Gitarren. Bei dem Film handelt es sich auch keinesfalls um eine kritiklose Beweihräucherung der Person Evita, wie einer meiner Vorrezensenten schrieb- ganz im Gegenteil. Gerade am Anfang wird geschildert, wie Eva Duarte keine Skrupel hatte, mit jedem Mann ins Bett zu gehen, der ihr nützlich erschien und sich "hochzuschlafen". Konkurrentinnen wurden dabei rücksichtslos von ihr ausgebootet. Und auch im Fazit am Ende wird nicht mit Kritik gespart.Madonna ist sicher die richtige Frau für die Titelrolle gewesen, denn singen kann sie, und sich gut verkaufen (wie Eva selbst) auch. Aber auch Jonathan Pryce (der Juan Perón spielt) liefert hier gut ab, und Antonio Bandereas erst recht. Seine Rolle ist interessant, denn er spielt keinen echten Charakter, sondern eine Art omnipräsenten Schatten, der in jeder Lebensphase Evitas als Kommentator, und mehr noch Kritiker, anwesend ist. Der Ton ist logischerweise nur in englischer Originalsprache aufgespielt, mit zuschaltbaren deutschen oder englischen Untertiteln.

Buen audio y visiónado. Extras muy buenos y si lleva su títulos de las canciones en Español. Madonna está espléndida y normal que se llevara el Globo de Oro. Inmejorable

When I first saw Evita it was my senior year in high school that was back in 2001. My cinema teacher played the movie. When I found it had Madonna in it I was like oh great. I wasn't a fan then.It only took a few minutes before I was hooked on the movie. I love all the songs in the movie. There is not one bad song. It's rare I say this about a movie but this one in my opinion is perfect from the second it starts to the second it ends.As soon as I saw the movie I called my local mall and I was thrilled they had the double disc complete soundtrack.I think Madonna & Antonio Banderas were both amazing. Jonathan Pryce was great as Juan Peron. When I started researching the Perons after I saw the movie I was amazed how much Jonathan Pryce looks like the real Juan Peron. Jonathan Pryce was also close to the same age as Juan Peron. I can definitely see why he was picked to play Juan Peron.Madonna looks so much like Eva Peron it's in a way kind of eerie. I do agree with Madonna no one else could have played Eva Peron but her. I don't believe in reincarnation but if it did exist I would have to say Madonna is the reincarnation of Eva Peron. I also agree with Madonna when she said she was born to play Eva Peron.I did own the regular DVD years ago. I decided to buy the Blu Ray edition. I love this movie and I know it is one I will watch over and over. Even though it cost twice as much to get the Blu Ray I know I will get my money's worth out of it.My two favorite songs are Oh What A Circus and The Waltz For Eva And Che. One reason I love Oh What A Circus is Antonio Banderas sounded so passionate about the loss of Eva Peron. What I am about to say is a spoiler. If you haven't seen the movie you might not want to read this part.SpoilerWhen Che (Antonio Banderas) was saying to Eva's picture how Eva let down her people all they wanted was for her to be immortal and that wasn't much to ask for but in the end she couldn't deliver. Then Che calmly bends down and picks up a rock as he throws it at her picture you can see the look of anger he has towards her as he throws the rock it hits her picture causing the picture to fall and the picture to be destroyed. They used a picture of the real Eva Peron.To me that scene is an important and touching scene. We see how Eva's death affected Che. Che is a worker like Eva was. Unlike the other workers Che saw how his Savior changed from her humble beginnings to letting power go to her head. Midway through the movie Che tells Eva she only thinks about doing for herself and she has forgotten her people meaning the workers. Che hints to viewers how Eva was stealing some of the money from the Eva Peron Foundation. Che also didn't believe Eva's words during Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Half way through the song he starts shaking his head. He knows his Saint has started to change.I do think it was a nice tribute to the real Juan & Eva Peron to use their pictures throughout the movie instead of Madonna & Jonathan Pryce's pictures. They used very few pictures of Madonna as Eva Peron. I did like them using the real Peron's pictures. I think by doing that it made the movie more personal and touching. They used very few pictures of Jonathan Pryce as Juan Peron. When Eva & Juan are entering the ball there you can see just how much Jonathan Pryce looks like Juan Peron since Jonathan is wearing an outfit exactly like the real Juan Peron wore in the picture.SpoilerThere is some fiction to this movie. There are no records showing that Augustin Magaldi performed in Eva's home town when she was 15. Another fictional part is the brief reunion between Eva & Magaldi at the charity concert. The truth to that reunion is there wasn't one. It would literally have been 100% impossible for Augustin Magaldi to have performed at that charity concert because the real Augustin Magaldi died five years BEFORE the charity concert.I just saw today the making of special feature (June 1, 2015). I do completely agree when Madonna said she thinks she was sort of possessed by Eva Peron and that Madonna felt some electricity in the air while on the balcony where Eva once stood. Unless Eva possessed her I just can't see how Madonna can make the viewer believe she is Eva Peron while on Eva's balcony in the exact same spot where Eva would stand. From the videos I've seen of Eva giving her speeches on the same balcony Madonna's performance is very similar to Eva's.All I can say is give this movie a chance. It's a really amazing movie. I watched it with my mind set I would hate it. But I was wrong I love this movie. It's because of Evita I became a fan of Madonna's.I also coincidentally got the Blu Ray DVD of Evita today June 1, 2015 which is the birthday of Jonathan Pryce.If you have not seen Evita borrow it from a friend/relative/library or buy a copy. It is truly an amazing movie.Due to Evita I have been researching all I can on Eva & Juan Peron & Peronism. Once you see the movie you will more than likely want to learn more about them. History has never interested me. It never held my attention. But for some reason I want to know all I can about the mysterious Eva & Juan Peron & Peronism.The Blu Ray is much better than the regular DVD. The picture is still wide screen but the black bars are thinner. The image quality is really good compared to the regular DVD. The Blu Ray version has a making of feature it's around 40 minutes. It's definitely worth watching the making of. You get to see how much work it took to make this amazing movie.