Opera No. 1 (1994) User Reviews

A fitting tribute to the memory of Adrienne Shelly

[sdhardman-1 · 10/10 · 26 January 2007]

This is a very short mock-opera, very entertaining. Should be of great interest to fans of Hal Hartley, and the late Adrienne Shelly. It is fun, extremely quirky. The music, which I believe to be a Hartley original, is excellent, the actors look at though they are having fun. I found this on a compilation in Canada last year, Possible Films, which is a collection of short films from Hal Hartley, nothing against anything else on the disc, but this is by far and away the highlight of the disc. The basic plot is simple, there is only so much you can do in an 8 minute musical, but two muses set about to bring together a man and a woman, but there are roadblocks. I would highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Rarely good, rarely bad, mostly forgettable

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 22 July 2016]

"Opera No. 1" is a 1994 short film (over 20 years old) by director Hal Hartley. With Parker Posey and the late Adrienne Shelly, it features two somewhat famous actresses, which is not something you get in every short film. And the title already says it, that in here, it is all about the music. And the title of my review says that sometimes it works well and sometimes it doesn't work at all. I personally found James Urbaniak completely miscast sadly and his singing hurt the overall outcome considerably. Others may like him of course (and this also includes Hartley I'm sure), it is all subjective. I do like musical films, but as a whole this one did not leave a lasting impression on me and (despite the title suggesting it) I am glad they did not make a sequel to this little film. One is certainly enough. I do not recommend the watch.