Movie/Blu-ray Review: 'Carmen' (1984)
Carmen (1984) Based On: Carmen, an 1875 opera by Georges Bizet. Libretto by Henri Meilhac & Ludovic Halévy based on Carmen, a novella by Prosper Mérimée Adapted by: Francesco Rosi and Tonino Guerra Directed by: Francesco Rosi Starring; Placido Domingo, Julia Migenes-Johnson, Ruggero Raimondi, Faith Esham, John-Paul Bogart, Susan Daniel Theatrical release poster for Carmen. © 1984 Gaumont and Opera Film Produzione On September 20, 1984, six months and six days after its premiere in France, U.S. audiences first saw director Francesco Rosi's adaptation of Carmen, the classic opera by Georges Bizet, Henri Meilhac, and Ludovic Halévy (which was based on the eponymous novel by Prosper Mérimée). Starring Placido Domingo as Don Jose and Julia Migenes-Johnson as Carmen, the film is, as the late Roger Ebert wrote in his contemporary review , "the Raiders of the Lost Ark of opera films." Filmed entirely in Andalusia, Spain and set in 1875-era Sevilla (Sev