345. Pavarotti; movie review

PAVAROTTI
Cert 12A
114 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, brief images of dead bodies

I have only ever seen one opera in my life and I have to admit that it went a bit over my head but watching Ron Howard's biopic prompted me to wish I had seen Pavarotti live.
In common with many others, I only came into contact with the man they called 'the maestro' when his haunting version of Nessun Dorma became the theme tune to the 1990 World Cup.
Thereafter, as this documentary charts, he became a global superstar, performing with his friendly rivals Placido Domingo and José Carreras as the Three Tenors.
But the film goes back much further than that - chronicling Pavarotti's life from his birth in 1935 to his death in 2007.
This is very much a tribute to his brilliance and paints him as a very warm, caring individual.
It is only when his ex-wife drops a brilliant line saying his entourage would have 'milked a chicken for him if they could' do the audience get the impression that he might have been a tad demanding.
To be fair, it also shines a light on the waves which were created in Italy when he had an affair with a woman who was more than 30 years younger while he was still married.
Both wives and a mistress give their views of him as do Pavorotti's three children.
There are also significant contributions from his peers and friends such as U2's Bono.
And, of course, there is past footage of interviews with Pavarotti, home movies because he enjoyed being on camera and coverage of some of his finest performances.
His voice and the music were so wonderful that I found myself wanting to download an album of it.
They provide evidence that he was one of the greatest singers of all time and along with the tributes add up to a fitting eulogy to him.

Reasons to watch: Comprehensive biopic
Reasons to avoid: A tribute rather than warts and all

Laughs: One
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know?  Pavarotti took a professional singing trip to Wales with his father when he was just a teenager to sing with the “Chorus Rossini”, which would lead him to his first award, the Llangollen International Singing Competition.

Final word. Ron Howard: "The more I dug into the reading and watching performances, I, as a movie director, felt like the close-ups of him singing were akin to Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire or something. He’s so powerful, emotional and expressive." Rolling Stone

Share this post