Nuovo Cinema Paradiso

The 1988 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film is, for all its incidental charm, every bit as mushy as the movies it celebrates, elevating a passion for movie-going in a small Sicilian village to a magical experience able to cure any distress, allowing even a blind man to 'see'. The mood of the film is warm and sentimental but its message is, at best, inconsistent: movies, it says, may be wonderful, but are no substitute for experience, and yet after reaching maturity the young protagonist spends thirty years in limbo before reclaiming his childhood innocence in the censored outtakes saved by his now deceased mentor, kindly old theater projectionist Philippe Noiret. Even worse: the films of his youth are presented as escapist daydreams, but his entire life (revealed in flashback from childhood to middle age) is no less an illusion, transformed by nostalgia into a heart tugging, romantic tearjerker. Life, it seems, not only imitates art, but often improves upon it, inadequate dubbing notwithstanding.

Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't seen this classic yet...ok? Don't read this review if you haven't seen at least one version of Cinema Paradiso. First of all, I was born in Italy, so I was extremely proud when Cinema Paradiso won the Oscar for best foreign film as well as the hearts of all movie goers when it was released. Also, I am a hopeless romantic who absolutely adores movies! So this movie was right up my alley on many levels! I saw the shorter version as most of us did when it came out in the US, and only recently saw the full uncut Director's version. It is one of my all-time favorite movies ever--and still is--but I must admit that I did not experience near the same magic or euphoria that the shorter original version gave me many moons ago! Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the extra 51 minutes because I wanted MORE of a great thing, but as the old saying goes, sometimes less is more! Nothing, I repeat, nothing can match the power of the imagination and thus there in lies the magic and the power of the shorter version! By cutting out the extra scenes, we, the audience, were all left up to our own devices and forced to fill in the blanks ourselves with our imagination and our heart! By seeing everything the way we do in the full blown version, well, despite how sweet it was, it left something to be desired. I enjoyed the reunion (al though the whole flashing light effect grew VERY tiresome after awhile) but I could have done without it. Also, the thing that has been eating away at me is the whole question about why in the world Alfredo would (or could!) interfere with his supposed adopted son's first true love! Sure, I've been trying to come up with angles and reasons for his insanely cruel action, but nothing will convince me that the writer/director simply screwed up and should not have made the character do such a dastardly deed! Period! I loved the whole notion that he loved his "son" so much that he forced him to leave town and made him promise never to come back again...because we all knew that Alfredo was right...the only way Toto was going to achieve his dream was by leaving their small town and son of a gun if Fredo wasn't right! However....for him to be the main reason for the breakup of Toto's great love spoils the whole story. I will never watch this version again. I bought the DVD and pray that the original shorter verson that I saw and fell in love with is on the DVD!!! P.S. Some of my all-time favorite scenes come from this movie: The kiss in the rain (which is the cover on the DVD!) The dialogue where Alfredo tells Toto "I don't want to hear you talk anymore. I want to hear people talking about you!" The montague at the end of all the kisses and censored scenes. The haunting images of Elena on Toto's little movie projector...

This movie definitely is one of my all time best movies. Director Giuseppe Tornatore placed himself in the list of the best directors. The usage of an excellent background score is a trademark of his movies and this movie is not at all a different case. He is also a master in getting best performances out of children and adolescents. Marco Leonardi was the pick of the whole cast. Also watch Melena for those trademarks of Tornatore. The character of Alfredo is one of the most unforgettable characters. The way emotions captured in a camera is way beyond naturality. Overall, this is a great movie with ultimate teamwork with everyone contributing. I just loved the movie very much.

This 1988 Italian film (released in the US in 1990), is back with a full 51 minutes added on. This seemed like a stupid idea...there was nothing wrong with the original. The directors cut (which was 1/2 hour longer) was considered a mess. Also, for this release, an extra 1/2 hour was added! I expected the worse. Well, I was pleasantly surprised that this 3 hour version is better than the 2 hour one. This story follows the life of Salvatore. He's born in a tiny Italian village and we see him as a little boy in the 1930s, an adolescent in the 40s-50s and an adult in the 80s. It basically is about his love of movies and the one true love of his life--Elena. They are in love but she comes from a rich family and he lives in poverty. How can they be together? POSSIBLE MINOR SPOILER IN NEXT PARAGRAPH!!!! The cut movie in the US excised a lot of the Elena subplot and concentrated on Salvatore's love of movies. There's nothing wrong with that, but Elena disappears quite suddenly. This full version explains what happened between them and fleshes out the characters more. It also reveals a crucial surprise at the end. The performances are all fantastic--especially by the gorgeous young actor playing Salvatore as a teenager. Elena is also stunning. The film has beautiful cinematography and a haunting music score. The 3 hours flew by for me. I didn't want it to end! So...beautiful music, attractive stars, good acting, compelling story and some incredible romantic sequences. A must-see!!!! Bring plenty of Kleenex though--I cried a least 5 times!

I should have known to stay away from this movie when it was recommended to me by someone who wouldn't normally be caught dead watching a foreign language film. The best way to describe the kind of movie we're dealing with here is to say that if you liked "Life Is Beautiful" you will like "Cinema Paradiso." People who don't like foreign movies like this one because, if you take away the Italian subtitles, this film is as fake and schlocky as the worst piece of sentimental clap-trap churned out by the Hollywood myth-making machine. Not one single moment of this movie rang true for me. Subtlety was passed over on every occasion for the the most manipulative of cinematic tricks, and the love story that anchors the film is boring and completely missing any sort of sexual spark. I have a feeling that this movie is so beloved because people who in reality have pretty low-brow movie tastes can watch it and feel like they're cinematically smarter. A double feature of this and "Life Is Beautiful" might just be enough to make me lose hope in serious film forever. Grade: D