The film initially was not a commercial success after its March 1981 release in France , where it faced bad press and a hostile reception by critics . However , French audiences slowly grew after it was released in the United States and found success there . '' Diva '' played for a year in Paris theaters . David Denby , in '' New York '' , upon its 1982 American release , wrote " One of the most audacious and original films to come out of France in recent years ... '' Diva '' must be the only pop movie inspired by a love of opera . " Film critic Roger Ebert gave it four out of four stars and praised its cast of characters . He called Beineix " a director with an enormous gift for creating visual images " and elaborated on his filmmaking : Ebert also praised the film 's chase scene through the Paris metro , writing that it " deserves ranking with the all-time classics , '' Raiders of the Lost Ark '' , '' The French Connection '' , and '' Bullitt '' . " Since its re-release in 2007 , '' Diva '' has received retrospective acclaim from film critics ; review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 98 % based on reviews from 45 critics , with an average score of 8 out of 10 . Lisa Schwarzbaum of '' Entertainment Weekly '' gave it an A rating and praised its " voluptuous romanticism " . She wrote of the film 's visual ties to cinéma du look , " the movie 's mad excitement hinges entirely on the pleasure to be had in moving our eye from one gorgeously composed stage set of artifice to another . " The film was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival and was also selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 54th Academy Awards , but was not accepted as a nominee
12th Moscow International Film Festival
12th Moscow International Film Festival
Diva (1981 film)