70
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerA rare example of first-rate filmed opera.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumConveys the heaving passion of Puccini's famous love-jealousy-murder-suicide fandango with great cinematic innovation.
- 75Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThe result is a fine production with splendid singing by Angela Gheorghiu, Ruggero Raimondi, and Roberto Alagna. It joins the very short list of first-rate opera films.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleGlorious moments aplenty despite director who's just in the way.
- 67Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-IntelligencerThe result is arty but pointless. The sets are unreal looking and so huge the characters drown in their vast spaces.
- 63New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFor the broader audience, this seems both suffocating and confusing -- True opera buffs, however, are more likely to feel thrilled, as if they're privy to a private production of the highest caliber.
- 63Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneYou would be better off investing in the worthy EMI recording that serves as the soundtrack, or the home video of the 1992 Malfitano-Domingo production.
- 60New Times (L.A.)Gregory WeinkaufNew Times (L.A.)Gregory WeinkaufAudiences are advised to sit near the back and squint to avoid noticing some truly egregious lip-non-synching, but otherwise the production is suitably elegant, a fine retreat from summer cinema overkill.
- 50New York PostMegan LehmannNew York PostMegan LehmannPurists will probably have a conniption at the mere idea of messing with the form, but the worst thing about Jacquot's post-modern treatment is that its incongruity wrenches you out of the story.
- 40L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyThis filmed Tosca -- not the first, by the way -- is a pretty good job, if it's filmed Tosca that you want. I'll stay with the stage versions, however, which bite cleaner, and deeper.