Chatter Box Film

Studiocanal releases a stunning new 4K restoration of 1981 French neo-noir DIVA.

Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix (Betty Blue), it arrives as part of the Vintage World Cinema collection.

The film is a highly stylised work which fused a mixture of French cinematic traditions along with the forthcoming new movement. The fusion was that of Nouvelle Vague with its guerilla style camerawork along with the more hyper-realistic so there is a collision of the old and new but both extravagant formats fusing together to make something. 

Diva is adapted from the 1979 crime novel of the same name and stars Frederic Andrei as the enigmatic postman, Jules, opposite real-life opera soparano Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez as the eponymous diva. Jules makes a bootleg of her recording which may or may not connect a polic chief with a Parisian vice ring. This is a tale of obsession and beauty with imaginative imagery and an atmospheric score.

Shot with flair and actual locations on the streets of Paris which elicits a grimy realism in contrast to the high concept plot with a courier falling in love with an operatic diva.

Unbelievably, this was Beineix’s debut and his work became highly influential particularly upon his compatriot Luc Beeson and the Asian director, Wong Kar-Wai – directors who expertly meld genres seamlessly in their own works. 

A film that was ahead of its time but has sadly been lost to time, the restoration was produced from the original 35mm negative and sound negative

Out from Studiocanal on 6th October on 4KUHD and Blu-Ray.