Evita 1996 Alan Parker film staring Madonna

I wish I could see a cinema screening of this... My all time favorite musical film. Madonna is wonderful in it, so are Banderas and Pryce; and it´s beautifully shot.

The newly added song You Must Love me just works

It's surprising there has been no special edition versions of this and took a bit of tracking down on Blu-ray when I was looking to see if that a better version than the original DVD release which was a fuzzy and very dark picture which didn't reflect the cinematic viewing.
We may get some extras with the planned special editions Madonna is releasing of all her albums.
Still wish that the double cd version had featured that wonderful saxophone play out of I'll be surprising good for you that have in the film.

I guess most of you disagree with Miss Patti on this then?…

I do agree with Patti; I was so looking forward to the film and it just ruined the property for me, but other than JCS, I've not been happy with any ALW film adaptation. I think they did a great job with the opening funeral scene with the proverbial cast of thousands that would never fit on a West End stage, but there were far too many establishing shots that killed the momentum of the piece (how many times can you see the same goons trashing newspaper offices?), and the decision to slow down Buenos Aires - good lord - what were they thinking?! I saw the original production with Patti in its tryout period in California and that was one of the highlights of the original production - so much energy pulsing on the stage, fabulous dancers, and I remember my mother calling the upper class part of the ensemble "the penguins." Turning that number into a slower tango was a mistake. I also hated that they took away "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from the mistress and had Eva sing it instead. Entirely changed the meaning of the song, the way that taking away "What I Did for Love" from Morales in the Chorus Line film and giving it to Cassie instead also changed the meaning of the song. Ridiculous. Madonna poses; I don't think much of her acting ability. If you saw Patti's Eva, every look, every movement, every intonation was carefully thought out and organic to the character, especially if you'd seen lengthy archival footage of the real Eva Peron. Madonna simply alternated between aimlessly waving her arms around because that's what she saw Patti do in the television adverts for the stage show, and looking pretty. Looking pretty is hardly acting. Making Antonio Banderas some generic supporting player who functioned as Greek chorus was a chicken move designed to placate the conservative part of the American market that can't stomach South American revolutionaries like Che Guevara. At least the real Che was Argentine and might have had strong feelings about the Perons. Banderas is not exactly a great singer, so again, after having the original American stage actor Mandy Patinkin as our Che, we were spoiled. To sum up, IMO, bad choices for two out of the three leads, too many needless edits that slowed the film down, and low energy compared to the original US stage production. The cinematography and sets went a long way toward grounding it in the Argentina of the 40s/50s, but it would have been much better to have a top quality MT actress who was unknown to the movie going public in the role, rather than someone whose public persona shoved aside the real life woman whose story they were supposed to tell.

It doesn’t matter what you think of Madonna as an actress, this is still one of the best movie musicals from the last thirty years.

Madonna’s casting might have been divisive considering the vocal requirement on stage, but if you put all prior knowledge to one side Madonna really did the role justice and delivered a solid performance.

Madonna was also the first person to have performed both Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber on film*, performing original songs that won both of them an Oscar - and turned up to the Oscars to perform both of them.

She might have proven herself if she and Goldie Hawn had managed to make Chicago in 1999, but I think the way that movie turned out was definitely for the best!

* I think she was the only person to do so until James Corden was cast in Cats?

I'm not sure why people on here think Patti is the benchmark of what Eva should be, she was only repeating what Elaine had originated before her.

Can't stand either of them in the role 🤣

You hit the nail on the head with "nuance". Couldn't agree more. A big stagey performance just wouldn't have worked with the vision Alan Parker wanted. The addition of "You Must Love Me" and the more sympathetic Eva really works for me in the context of the world they created for the film.

I remember liking the film when I first saw it in the cinema all those years ago, and it had a real buzz about it that's never happened since for any stage-to-screen musical since then (except Chicago). It's certainly the best of all the ALW transitions to the cinema, but then the bar isn't high as far as that is concerned. I agree the opening sequences were amazing with the huge production values. But as time as passed, I find myself more in agreement with you. I can understand why Madonna was cast and think she did OK, but it is a shame we didn't have someone who could do the original keys and some of the real 'ecstasy' moments of the stage show are totally ruined (e.g. the transition to 'Buenos Aires' and the electricity of 'A New Argentina').

I thought Banderas was fine. Che was an everyman in the original conception and in later revivals; it was Hal who wanted him to be Guevara...and that really wouldn't have worked with Parker's very naturalistic take. It's Pryce who I thought was really miscast. Doesn't look OR act like Perón...he just comes across as entirely weak and indecisive and a bit wet. Makes you wonder why on earth the descamisados would take over central Buenos Aires on 17 October 1945 or why he'd even have two presidencies.

I find myself a bit colder towards the film now mainly because I don't like the dumbing down of the material (basically to get permission to film on location, they had to tone down a lot of the scathing commentary from the stage libretto) and it feels a bit like an extended Madonna video rather than an actual film, with a lot of the drama replaced with newspaper front-pages swirling around to present a comic-book history.

But all in all, it's an OK take. Not a patch on the original, but very few things are.

I personally think Madonna was the perfect choice (Despite her limited vocal abilities). She embodied Eva´s ego and self-centredness perfectly, but she also made the character very human and vulnerable. She, as the real Eva Perón was, is a woman who uses spectacle and her presence to move the crowds. That is why her performance felt very natural. A Patti/Elaine or even Elena Roger interpretation works well onstage, with a limited ensemble and locations; but not neccessarily on film.