Bizet Carmen

In 1943, Oscar Hammerstein Jr. took Georges Bizet's opera Carmen, rewrote the lyrics, changed the characters from 19th century Spaniards to World War II-era African-Americans, switched the locale to a Southern military base, and the result was Carmen Jones. Dorothy Dandridge stars as Carmen Jones, tempestuous employee of a parachute factory. Harry Belafonte plays Joe (originally José), a young military officer engaged to marry virginal Cindy Lou (Olga James). When Carmen gets into a fight with another girl, she is placed under arrest and put in Joe's charge. Succumbing to her attractiveness, Joe accompanies Carmen to her old neighborhood, where, after killing a sergeant sent to retrieve him, he deserts the army. Carmen tries to be faithful, but fortune-telling Frankie (Pearl Bailey) warns her that she and her soldier are doomed. Enter Joe Adams in the role of boxer Husky Miller (a play on Carmen's bullfighter Escamillo), who sweeps Carmen off her feet, ultimately with tragic consequences. Alhough both Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte were singers, their opera voices were dubbed in by LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne.

The movie is a modern remake of Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen. It is shot entirely in Xhosa, and combines both music from the original opera with traditional African music. It takes place in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha. It was translated into Xhosa by Andiswa Kedama and Pauline Malefane, who also play Amanda and Carmen in the movie. The movie tells the story of a cigarette factory-worker, Carmen, and her doomed love affair with police sergeant Jongikhaya.

Antonio, director de una compañía de baile, busca a la actriz perfecta para un montaje de la ópera "Carmen" de Georges Bizet. Creerá encontrarla en una mujer que, precisamente, se llama Carmen. Y a partir de entonces la trágica relación amorosa que surge entre los dos se asemejará a la descrita por la novela de Prosper Merimée en que se basa la ópera.
(Antonio Gades) and Carmen (Laura del Sol) clearly follows the plot of the opera. The entire subplot takes place in rehearsals, and includes a delightful scene of the entire troop spontaneously bursting into a parody of the campy March of the Toreadors. Saura adds scenes that depict the fantasies of the characters, which is an element that the director uses in many of his films…

The movie is a modern remake of Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen. It is shot entirely in Xhosa, and combines both music from the original opera with traditional African music. It takes place in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha. It was translated into Xhosa by Andiswa Kedama and Pauline Malefane, who also play Amanda and Carmen in the movie. The movie tells the story of a cigarette factory-worker, Carmen, and her doomed love affair with police sergeant Jongikhaya.

Carmen is a member of a terrorist gang who falls in love with a young police officer guarding a bank that she and her cohorts try to rob. She leads him on while dragging the two of them closer to their ultimate doom. Jean-Luc Godard intercuts the film with shots of a string quartet practicing Beethoven, and his main protagonist, Carmen, is played by Maruschka Detmers creating a stunning effect in many scenes of extended nudity.

Carmen is a member of a terrorist gang who falls in love with a young police officer guarding a bank that she and her cohorts try to rob. She leads him on while dragging the two of them closer to their ultimate doom. Jean-Luc Godard intercuts the film with shots of a string quartet practicing Beethoven, and his main protagonist, Carmen, is played by Maruschka Detmers creating a stunning effect in many scenes of extended nudity.