The film brings almost nothing new to the subject, rehashes old material, and includes long sections of her performances and interviews that are available on YouTube. There are a few snippets from her private letters and some home movie footage, which are fun to see, but hardly add up to ten minutes of content. Instead it's mostly a series of shots of her wading through a sea of journalists and fans, interspersed with performance footage. Although it's great fun to see her public persona, the wonderful costumes, the self-conscious posing for the cameras, the film actually tells us nothing about the real Maria. Instead, the focus seems to be that public persona: she was the embodiment of glamor and class. Callas is like a prism: there are so many facets to her. A documentary could focus on so many fascinating elements: her unique talent and musical genius, her reputation as a diva, the viscous Italian claques that conjured up this supposed feud with Tebaldi, her childhood and youth in NY and Athens and her relationship with her family, her relationships with men, her post-retirement years hidden away in Paris, so many others. I was hoping this movie would provide new insight, but was very disappointed.
Review of Maria By Callas
