Aria (1987)

Films made up of different segments (‘portmanteau films’) rarely turn out satisfactorily. ‘Aria’ certainly disappointed this particular viewer. Its ten segments are made by differing directors including Robert Altman, Jean-Luc Godard, Derek Jarman, Nicolas Roeg and Ken Russell. Rather than homage to cinema, it is meant to be a tribute to opera, but the images distract from the beautiful music by Verdi, Korngold, Wagner, Puccini and others. It is a film that did not need to be made and could be called as supporting evidence by anyone setting out to prove that there is no such thing as collective genius.