New York Magazine (Vulture) by Peter Rainer

A rare example of first-rate filmed opera.

Village Voice by Elizabeth Zimmer

Two hours fly by -- opera's a pleasure when you don't have to endure intermissions -- and even a novice to the form comes away exhilarated.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

Conveys the heaving passion of Puccini's famous love-jealousy-murder-suicide fandango with great cinematic innovation.

The New York Times by Dana Stevens

For the most part, it works beautifully as a movie without sacrificing the integrity of the opera.

The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps

Using a single set for each act and cutting minimally, Jacquot seems to recognize his limited ability to make the opera cinematic.

Los Angeles Times by Daniel Cariaga

Altogether, this is successful as a film, while at the same time being a most touching reconsideration of the familiar masterpiece.

San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

Glorious moments aplenty despite director who's just in the way.

Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt

The result is a fine production with splendid singing by Angela Gheorghiu, Ruggero Raimondi, and Roberto Alagna. It joins the very short list of first-rate opera films.

Miami Herald by Marta Barber

Watching a film about an opera can never be as moving as watching the real thing in a great opera house. Musical purists may object to certain details, and film buffs may find the concept unappealing. Yet, for this film and opera lover, Jacquot's Tosca is a treat.

Slate by David Edelstein

It's so exciting to have a perfectly sung and acted Tosca (Avatar) on film that I'm prepared to forgive the new movie, directed by Benoit Jacquot, almost everything. But I sure wish Jacquot hadn't bungled the look and feel.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The result is arty but pointless. The sets are unreal looking and so huge the characters drown in their vast spaces.

Chicago Tribune

You would be better off investing in the worthy EMI recording that serves as the soundtrack, or the home video of the 1992 Malfitano-Domingo production.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

For the broader audience, this seems both suffocating and confusing -- True opera buffs, however, are more likely to feel thrilled, as if they're privy to a private production of the highest caliber.

New Times (L.A.) by Gregory Weinkauf

Audiences are advised to sit near the back and squint to avoid noticing some truly egregious lip-non-synching, but otherwise the production is suitably elegant, a fine retreat from summer cinema overkill.

New York Post by Megan Lehmann

Purists will probably have a conniption at the mere idea of messing with the form, but the worst thing about Jacquot's post-modern treatment is that its incongruity wrenches you out of the story.

L.A. Weekly

This filmed Tosca -- not the first, by the way -- is a pretty good job, if it's filmed Tosca that you want. I'll stay with the stage versions, however, which bite cleaner, and deeper.