Diva (40th Anniversary)

France/1981—directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix | 117 min.

French postman Jules is on the run across Paris—including a hair-raising, unforgettable motorcycle-and-moped chase through the Métro—hotly pursued by a drug dealer’s hit team, ruthless music pirates, and outnumbered police. And why? Because Jules has a secretly pirated recording by opera diva Cynthia Hawkins, the woman of his dreams (played by real-life American soprano Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez) whose major eccentricity is her “live performances only” policy.

A surprise smash upon its 1982 American release—including sold-out performances at the DFT—Beineix’s dazzling directing debut was a worldwide phenomenon, and singlehandedly launched the cinéma du look, an explosion of visually stunning, punk-inspired, super-cool French movies in the early ’80s. Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Diva’s U.S. release with this special 35mm screening—just as originally presented. 

In French and English with English subtitles.

“It’s about the joy of making movies. Every shot seems designed to delight the audience.” -Pauline Kael, The New Yorker