EVITA

SYNOPSIS:
Cinderella meets Barbarella…sort of. Evita rises from poverty to national hero through her indomitable will and the willingness to see herself through rose coloured glasses. An opportunist with a heart of gold, her life is an excellent vehicle for operatic storytelling on the big screen.

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
For once, my anticipation was rewarded: I enjoyed this filmic Evita even more than I had expected to, having half forgotten the stage version. Faultless casting, visionary direction, evocative production design and the superb music values all fuse beautifully. Madonna, Pryce and Banderas are outstanding, both in dramatic and musical terms.

"The Lloyd-Webber orchestrations for the film are fully satisfying (assuming your cinema has a decent system), and the photography sensitive. If you don’t reach for the Kleenex at the climax, it’s only because Evita Peron was no saint - Parker and Oliver Stone, with the help of Madonna, were not about to idolise her. Just tell her story.

"Parker, who showed with Mississippi Burning that an outsider can deliver sharp insights into foreign cultures, brings a clarity to the story that helps fuel the musical fire. And who else would have thought of Pryce as Peron?

Review by Louise Keller:
Evita lives up to the hype with a stunning work by Alan Parker, whose vision works wonderfully as a great piece of cinema. The cast is outstanding, and Madonna delivers. Her performance as Eva Peron is inspired. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical score is complex and far from easy to perform, with exacting recitatives and diverse vocals, which Madonna takes easily in her stride. But Madonna brings more to the role than her singing and acting talent. She also brings her own personal controversy, which enriches her persona of Evita. Antonio Banderas’s pathos and latin charm works to advantage in his role of Che, and this reviewer was most pleasantly surprised at the clear timbre of his vocals. Jonathan Pryce is a strong and effective Peron: the three leads complement each other greatly. To make an all-music film emotionally satisfying is no easy feat, and Alan Parker has done this triumphantly. Don’t miss it!

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(US)
CAST: Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce, Jimmy Nail

PRODUCER: Robert Stigwood, Alan Parker, Andrew G. Vajna

DIRECTOR: Alan Parker

SCRIPT: Alan Parker, Oliver Stone, based on the musical; (lyrics Tim Rice, music Andrew Lloyd Webber

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Darius Khondji

CHOREOGRAPHER: Vincent Paterson

EDITOR: Gerry Hambling

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Brian Morris

MUSIC: Andrew Lloyd Webber

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Brian Morris

RUNNING TIME: 134 mins

RATING: PG

AUST DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: 13 February, 1997