Evita (1996 film)
Evita is a 1996 American musical-historical film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name produced by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which also inspired a 1978 musical. The film depicts the life of Eva Perón, detailing her beginnings, rise to fame, political career and death at the age of 33. Directed by Alan Parker, and written by Parker and Oliver Stone, Evita stars Madonna as Eva, Jonathan Pryce as Eva's husband Juan Perón, and Antonio Banderas as Ché, an everyman who acts as the film's narrator.
Evita
- Alan Parker
- Oliver Stone
- Robert Stigwood
- Alan Parker
- Andrew G. Vajna
Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Hollywood Pictures
- Cinergi Pictures
- Patagonik Film Group
- RSO Films[1]
- Dirty Hands Productions[1]
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (North America)
Cinergi Productions (International)
- December 14, 1996 (Los Angeles)
- December 25, 1996 (United States)
134 minutes[2]
United States
- English
- Spanish
$55 million[3]
$141 million[3]
Following the release of the 1976 album, a film adaptation of the musical became mired in development hell for more than fifteen years, as the rights were passed on to several major studios, and various directors and actors considered. In 1993, producer Robert Stigwood sold the rights to Andrew G. Vajna, who agreed to finance the film through his production company Cinergi Pictures, with Buena Vista Pictures distributing the film through Hollywood Pictures. After Stone stepped down from the project in 1994, Parker agreed to write and direct the film. Recording sessions for the songs and soundtrack took place at CTS Studios in London, England, roughly four months before filming. Parker worked with Rice and Lloyd Webber to compose the soundtrack, reworking the original songs by creating the music first and then the lyrics. They also wrote a new song, "You Must Love Me", for the film. Principal photography commenced in February 1996 with a budget of $55 million, and concluded in May of that year. Filming took place on locations in Buenos Aires and Budapest as well as on soundstages at Shepperton Studios. The film's production in Argentina was met with controversy, as the cast and crew faced protests over fears that the project would tarnish Eva's image.
Evita premiered at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, on December 14, 1996. Hollywood Pictures gave the film a platform release, which involved releasing it in select cities before expanding distribution in the following weeks. The film had a limited release on December 25, 1996, before opening nationwide on January 10, 1997. It grossed over $141 million worldwide. The film received a mixed critical response; reviewers praised Madonna's performance, the music, costume designs and cinematography, while criticism was aimed at the pacing and direction. Evita received many awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me"), and three Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture – Comedy or Musical, Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me") and Best Actress – Comedy or Musical (Madonna).
Plot[edit]
At a cinema in Buenos Aires on July 26, 1952, a film is interrupted when news breaks of the death of Eva Perón, Argentina's First Lady, at the age of 33. As the nation goes into public mourning, Ché, a member of the public, marvels at the spectacle and promises to show how Eva did "nothing for years". The rest of the film follows Eva (née Duarte) from her beginnings as an illegitimate child of a lower-class family to her rise to become First Lady; Ché assumes many different guises throughout Eva's story.
At the age of 15, Eva lives in the provincial town of Junín, and longs for a better life in Buenos Aires. She persuades a tango singer, Agustín Magaldi, with whom she is having an affair, to take her to the city. After Magaldi leaves her, she goes through several relationships with increasingly influential men, becoming a model, actress and radio personality. She meets Colonel Juan Perón at a fundraiser following the 1944 San Juan earthquake. Perón's connection with Eva adds to his populist image, since they are both from the working class. Eva has a radio show during Perón's rise and uses all of her skills to promote him, even when the controlling administration has him jailed in an attempt to stunt his political momentum. The groundswell of support that Eva generates forces the government to release Perón, and he finds the people enamored of him and Eva. Perón wins election to the presidency and marries Eva, who promises that the new government will serve the descamisados.
At the start of the Perón government, Eva dresses glamorously, enjoying the privileges of being the First Lady. Soon after, she embarks on what is called her "Rainbow Tour" of Europe. While there, she receives a mixed reception. The people of Spain adore her, the people of Italy call her a whore and throw things at her, and Pope Pius XII gives her a small, meager gift. Upon returning to Argentina, Eva establishes a foundation to help the poor. The film suggests the Perónists otherwise plunder the public treasury.
Eva is hospitalized and learns that she has terminal cancer. She declines the position of Vice President due to her failing health, and makes one final broadcast to the people of Argentina. She understands that her life was short because she shone like the "brightest fire", and helps Perón prepare to go on without her. A large crowd surrounds the Unzué Palace in a candlelight vigil praying for her recovery when the light of her room goes out, signifying her death. At Eva's funeral, Ché is seen at her coffin, marveling at the influence of her brief life. He walks up to her glass coffin, kisses it, and joins the crowd of passing mourners.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Evita grossed $71,308 on its first day of limited release, an average of $35,654 per theater.[74] By the end of its first weekend, the film had grossed $195,085, with an overall North American gross of $334,440.[75] More theatres were added on the following weekend, and the film grossed a further $1,064,660 in its second weekend, with an overall gross of $2,225,737.[75]
Released to 704 theaters in the United States and Canada, Evita grossed $2,551,291 on its first day of wide release.[74] By the end of its opening weekend, it had grossed $8,381,055, securing the number two position at the domestic box office behind the science-fiction horror film The Relic.[75][76] Evita saw a small increase in attendance in its second weekend of wide release. During the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, the film moved to third place on domestic box office charts, and earned $8,918,183—a 6.4% overall increase from the previous weekend.[75][77] It grossed another $5,415,891 during its fourth weekend, moving to fifth place in the top 10 rankings. Evita moved to fourth place the following weekend, grossing a further $4,374,631—a 19.2% decrease from the previous weekend. By its sixth weekend, the film moved from fourth to sixth place, earning $3,001,066.[75]
Evita completed its theatrical run in North America on May 8, 1997, after 135 days (19.3 weeks) of release.[3] It grossed $50,047,179 in North America, and $91,000,000 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $141,047,179.[3]
Critical response[edit]
Evita received a mixed response from critics.[78] Rotten Tomatoes sampled 39 reviews, and gave the film a score of 64%, with an average score of 6.7/10. The site's consensus reads: "Evita sometimes strains to convince on a narrative level, but the soundtrack helps this fact-based musical achieve a measure of the epic grandeur to which it aspires."[79] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, assigned the film a weighted average score of 45 out of 100 based on 23 reviews from critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[80]
Writing for the Hartford Courant, Malcolm Johnson stated "Against all odds, this long-delayed film version turns out to be a labor of love for director Alan Parker and for his stars, the reborn Madonna, the new superstar Antonio Banderas, the protean veteran Jonathan Pryce."[81] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, writing "Parker's visuals enliven the music, and Madonna and Banderas bring it passion. By the end of the film we feel like we've had our money's worth, and we're sure Evita has."[82] On the syndicated television program Siskel & Ebert & the Movies, Ebert and his colleague Gene Siskel gave the film a "two thumbs up" rating.[83] Siskel, in his review for the Chicago Tribune, wrote, "Director Alan Parker has mounted this production well, which is more successful as spectacle than anything else."[84] According to Time magazine's Richard Corliss, "This Evita is not just a long, complex music video; it works and breathes like a real movie, with characters worthy of our affection and deepest suspicions."[85] Critic Zach Conner commented, "It's a relief to say that Evita is pretty damn fine, well-cast, and handsomely visualized. Madonna once again confounds our expectations. She plays Evita with a poignant weariness and has more than just a bit of star quality. Love or hate Madonna-Eva, she is a magnet for all eyes."[86]
Carol Buckland of CNN considered that "Evita is basically a music video with epic pretensions. This is not to say it isn't gorgeous to look at or occasionally extremely entertaining. It's both of those things. But for all the movie's grand style, it falls short in terms of substance and soul."[87] Newsweek's David Ansen wrote "It's gorgeous. It's epic. It's spectacular. But two hours later, it also proves to be emotionally impenetrable."[13] Giving the film a C− rating, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly criticized Parker's direction, stating, "Evita could have worked had it been staged as larger-than-life spectacle ... The way Alan Parker has directed Evita, however, it's just a sluggish, contradictory mess, a drably "realistic" Latin-revolution music video driven by a soundtrack of mediocre '70s rock."[88] Janet Maslin from The New York Times praised Madonna's performance as well as the costume design and cinematography, but wrote that the film was "breathless and shrill, since Alan Parker's direction shows no signs of a moral or political compass and remains in exhausting overdrive all the time."[89] Jane Horwitz of the Sun-Sentinel stated, "Madonna sings convincingly and gets through the acting, but her performance lacks depth, grace and muscle. Luckily, director Alan Parker's historic-looking production with its epic crowd scenes and sepia-toned newsreels shows her off well."[90] Negative criticism came from the San Francisco Chronicle's Barbara Shulgasser, who wrote: "This movie is supposed to be about politics and liberation, the triumph of the lower classes over oppression, about corruption. But it is so steeped in spectacle, in Madonna-ness, in bad rock music and simple-minded ideas, that in the end it isn't about anything".[91]