Diva (1981) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy)
Diva (1981) was the debut film for director Jean-Jacques Beineix (probably better known for Betty Blue). The film languished in Paris theaters for a full year, then suddenly become the hottest ticket in town.
It is the story of a special delivery postman who rides his mini-bike by day, and collects great music by night. He is fixated on Diva Cynthia Hawkins, played by Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, and makes a high quality tape of her during a concert. The Diva has never been recorded before. Some bootleg record makers find out about his recording, and are after him to purchase it, and use it to blackmail the Diva into signing a recording contract with them. 

Meanwhile, the kid actually meets the Diva, and starts a romantic relationship. 

NUDITY REPORT
Thuy An Luu, girlfriend of someone who befriends the kid, shows her breasts

Brigitte Lahaie, in a homage to Marilyn's famous upskirt scene, shows very skimpy panties with some tufts of hair peaking over the top

Are you with me so far? At the same time, a hooker tapes a confession, implicating a police captain, and hides it in the kid's saddle bags just before she is killed. 

Now we have two tapes. They get confused.

DVD info from Amazon.

  • Widescreen 

  • The DVD is very nice quality with an interview with the director, and a very well done English dub
That sets the stage for a film that is both a love story and a thriller. The photography and set design are wonderful, and the score is amazing. There is not one word of voice-over, and very little pure exposition, which is amazing concidering the complexity of the plot.
 

The Critics Vote

  • Maltin 3.5/4

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it a near-classic 7.3 
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a B-. Unless you hate a slow paced European film, you will probably enjoy this.

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