Diva Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Diva Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 6, 2025

Jean-Jacques Beineix's "Diva" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.The supplemental features on the release include new program featuring interviews with the director, cast, and crew members, and new program with French critic Denis Parent. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Deadly music

Note: The text below was first used in our review of Kino Lorber's release of Diva, produced in 2020.

A few months before the lockdowns made it impossible to organize events in my neck of the woods, I attended a rather large reunion party. I was a guest there and for the bigger part of it felt like an outsider, but towards the end, I got lucky and met a very nice couple who had a seemingly never-ending supply of hilarious stories. One of their stories mirrored an experience I had a long time ago, and I would like to share a short version of it because it sums up rather well how I feel about Jean-Jacques Beineix’s directorial debut, Diva. I will address the couple only as Mr. A and Mrs. B, for obvious reasons.

Mr. A and Mrs. B fell in love while they were attending college. Apparently, they noticed each other during their freshman year, but it took another year before they finally went out on a date and then officially became a couple. One reason they could not connect right away was the fact that they had to take classes in different buildings on opposite ends of the campus, so the only time they could see each other was when they went to the library. Another reason was that they both assumed the other was already seeing someone else, so for about a year, they essentially hung out with other people who had better relationship potential. Then one day, fate finally intervened, and the two attended the same party with different groups of friends. (Here comes the crucial part of the story, so pay attention now). Mr. A gathered the courage to approach Mrs. B, but before he did it, he quickly put together a winning strategy -- engage Mrs. B in a long conversation, impress her with his manners and wit, and at the right moment ask for a phone number so that later on he can take her out on a date. So, Mr. A went to work confident that he knew exactly what had to be done, but then spent so much time talking and impressing Mrs. B that by the end of the night, she began wondering whether she was the target of a strange game he and his buddies might have chosen her for. Then this fictional, strange game just about materialized when one of Mr. A’s far less sophisticated buddies decided to prove to a group he had arrived with that straight talk is a lot more effective than a winning strategy and boldly approached Mrs. B as well. He quickly took over the conversation, Mr. A became seriously frustrated and soon after walked away, and approximately ten minutes later, Mrs. B gave her phone number to the wrong person. Two weeks after the party, Mr. A and Mrs. B finally went out on their first date and began deconstructing Mr. A’s winning strategy, and both could not stop laughing because it had gotten just about everything wrong. Its biggest flaw was that Mrs. B did not need to be impressed because she had already seen enough from Mr. A to know that she would love to go out with him, so the more he behaved like a person she had never seen before, the more perplexed and suspicious she became of his intentions. All she needed was a simple and clear sign that he wanted to go out with her as well.

Beineix’s film goes to work to impress with a very similar winning strategy that can be quite perplexing because it ends up unnecessarily complicating its identity, frequently eroding its integrity as well. It tells a story about the repeated misplacement of a cassette with a recording of opera star Cynthia Hawkins' (Wilhelmenia Fernandez) latest concert, which is supposed to be so valuable that mob assassins would kill innocent people to obtain it. When a fan (Frederic Andrei) of Hawkins accidentally becomes the owner of the cassette, his world suddenly spins out of control, but because he can’t immediately grasp the seriousness of the situation, he is transformed into the ‘star’ of quite possibly the most bizarre chase ever staged on the streets of Paris.

There is plenty to like in Diva, but most unfortunately, its stylization is seriously overdone. Indeed, Beineix uses the big chase as a ruse to sell a hugely attractive image of Paris as a giant playground where just about anything could happen, and initially, the trick works quite well. However, as the chase intensifies and the twists become more outrageous, Diva becomes very arty, routinely emphasizing stylization choices which ultimately leave the impression that Beineix is doing a great deal of showboating. As a result, the end product looks and feels a lot like a kitschy action opera, though it is quite clear that the original intent was different.

A few years after Diva premiered in French cinemas, Luc Besson completed Subway, which sells a very unique image of Paris as well. However, its stylization is controlled much better and balanced with a very attractive causal sense of humor. Also, Subway features a classic ‘80s synth-pop/jazz/rock soundtrack by Eric Serra that transforms it into a pretty cool time capsule.

Diva Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Diva arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of Diva, completed by TransPerfect Media on behalf of StudioCanal. This 4K restoration will also be available on 4K Blu-ray in this upcoming 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack.

The overall quality of the 4K restoration is very good. It produces healthy visuals that have an undeniably attractive appearance as well. Also, the 4K restoration is carefully graded to ensure that these visuals have a proper period appearance. I did various comparisons with Kino Lorber's previous Blu-ray release of Diva and on my system I was instantly able to identify several important improvements. First, the density levels of all visuals now remain stable, so the darker areas of Diva, which previously looked a tad loose and noisy, are a lot more convincing. I again felt that some shadow nuances and highlights could have been managed a tad better, but I did not see any troubling anomalies to report. Second, all primary colors are properly locked, and as a result, there are no unpleasant surprises. Several supporting nuances are carefully rebalanced, and I think that the entire spectrum of supporting nuances is more convincing. I felt that only a couple of light blue nuances could have been managed a bit better, but even they looked more convincing in the areas where they are present. The overall color temperature of all visuals remains unchanged. Finally, the dynamic range of the visuals is better. Because of the stylization work throughout Diva, in some areas the upgrade is more pronounced, but it is still quite easy to tell that the previous presentation produces visuals whose dynamic range is inferior. I did not encounter any annoying age-related imperfections to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Diva Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

In America, Kino Lorber presented Diva on Blu-ray only with its original French audio track. I have viewed Diva several times over the years and always with the French track. I used it again to see the new 4K restoration of Diva and thought that it is excellent. It is very healthy and has a wonderful range of nuanced dynamics. I also tested the English track. It shares the same qualities that many English tracks included with Hong Kong action films from the 1980s and 1990s have. Needless to say, it is quite silly and, occasionally, hilarious.

Diva Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Blue as Diva: Memories of a Cult Film - in this new program, Jean-Hacques Beineix recalls how Diva came to exist and comments on its unique style, visual appearance, and use of music. Also included are clips from interviews with actors Richard Bohringer, Frederic Andrei, and Dominique Pinon, composer Vladimir Cosma, and casting director Dominique Besnehard, amongst others. In French, with English subtitles. (72 min).

• Diva, About the Film - in this new program, French critic Denis Parent discusses the arrival of Diva and its success at the 1982 edition of the Cesar Awards (the French Oscars), as well as its relationship with Cinema du Look and the evolution of Jean-Jacques Beineix's career. In French, with English subtitles. (45 min).

Diva Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you have acquired the gorgeous recent 4K Blu-ray release of Luc Besson's Subway and are now determined to explore Cinema du Look, it is practically guaranteed that Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva is already on your radar. It is a curious film, certainly worth seeing, but it is not true that it is Beineix's best. Beineix's Betty Blue, for instance, is a vastly superior film, and Cinema du Look has even more ambitious gems that dazzle with special visuals and unbridled creativity. I am not trying to steer you away from Diva. Rather, I wish to encourage you to seek some of the less talked-about Cinema du Look films as well, because quite a few of them have unjustifiably remained in the shadow of the 'big' ones that mainstream critics have overhyped over the years. This upcoming Blu-ray release introduces a lovely exclusive new 4K restoration of Diva, completed by TransPerfect Media on behalf of StudioCanal. A 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack release streets on the same date as well. RECOMMENDED.