Celebrated writer, director and producer Don Boyd (War Requiem) brings together 10 of the most world’s most creative and celebrated directors to create Aria, an exciting wholly unique piece of cinematic history.
The directors, Robert Altman (Gosford Park), Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy), Jean-Luc Godard (A Bout de Souffle) Derek Jarman (Caravaggio), Franc Roddam (Quadrophenia), Nic Roeg (Don’t Look Now) Julien Temple (The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle), Ken Russell (Tommy), Charles Sturridge (Brideshead Revisited) and Bill Bryden (The Long Riders) were each given the same brief: to choose a piece of opera music and create a visual representation of it. The result is violent, funny, erotic and more often than not poignant.
From a body-building Armide, to Tristian and Isolde in modern day Las Vegas and Verdi embroiled in a Californian sex farce, Aria transports the audience through the mediums of classical music and engaging short films, in a remarkable collaborative effort. Newly restored and featuring a wealth of new extras Aria - Special Edition makes its DVD debut courtesy of Second Sight Films on 15 June 2009 and there will be a special screening at the National Film Theatre on 9 June 2009 followed by a Q & A with Don Boyd and some of the directors to be confirmed.
