Another film watched for the "How Did This Get Made" podcast, "Yes, Giorgio" is a pretty terrible vehicle to (presumably) try and establish Luciano Pavarotti as an actor. Though he's not good, he's not the main problem with this boring mess.
Famous opera singer Giorgio Fini (Luciano Pavarotti) brings his talent back to America, after a long time away, following a disastrous show at the Met. Ahead of a performance, he loses his voice and a Doctor, Pamela Taylor (Kathryn Harrold) is brought in to help. Despite his marriage, the pair embark on a romance and Pamela eventually comes to have deeper feelings for him than they previously agreed. Then the Met call again to offer him the lead role in a performance of Turandot.
Regardless of your opinion of opera (to be honest, I don't much care for it), that Luciano Pavarotti was one of the worlds greatest ever performers of it is beyond doubt and any time he gets the chance to sing here is when the film it as it strongest. He's not much of an actor, that is for sure, but he's not given that much to do and to act like a spoiled, entitled Tenor probably wasn't that much of a stretch for him.
The trouble is the rest of the film around him is a tedious mess, with a plot barely worthy of a 30-minute soap opera, let alone a lengthy near two-hour movie. I didn't find the romance particularly believable, as Pamela didn't seem the type to be won over by big gestures and that is pretty much Giorgio has going for him. They drift through their tedious relationship before he agrees, without really enough motivation for my thoughts, to take the role at the Met again.
The version I was watching also looked pretty awful, but I'm prepared to concede that was because it was a version on Youtube and not a decent print.
I'd say I've watched worse films to keep in step with the Podcast, but very few that were more boring.
Famous opera singer Giorgio Fini (Luciano Pavarotti) brings his talent back to America, after a long time away, following a disastrous show at the Met. Ahead of a performance, he loses his voice and a Doctor, Pamela Taylor (Kathryn Harrold) is brought in to help. Despite his marriage, the pair embark on a romance and Pamela eventually comes to have deeper feelings for him than they previously agreed. Then the Met call again to offer him the lead role in a performance of Turandot.
Regardless of your opinion of opera (to be honest, I don't much care for it), that Luciano Pavarotti was one of the worlds greatest ever performers of it is beyond doubt and any time he gets the chance to sing here is when the film it as it strongest. He's not much of an actor, that is for sure, but he's not given that much to do and to act like a spoiled, entitled Tenor probably wasn't that much of a stretch for him.
The trouble is the rest of the film around him is a tedious mess, with a plot barely worthy of a 30-minute soap opera, let alone a lengthy near two-hour movie. I didn't find the romance particularly believable, as Pamela didn't seem the type to be won over by big gestures and that is pretty much Giorgio has going for him. They drift through their tedious relationship before he agrees, without really enough motivation for my thoughts, to take the role at the Met again.
The version I was watching also looked pretty awful, but I'm prepared to concede that was because it was a version on Youtube and not a decent print.
I'd say I've watched worse films to keep in step with the Podcast, but very few that were more boring.