Cheap Cinema Paradiso (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (DVD) (Giuseppe Tornatore) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Cinema Paradiso (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)

A story of life, frienship, love, boyhood and the emotions we carry deep inside
A msterprice by Tornatorre and Morricone! The critical acclaim is fully deserved - the performances are strong (particularly that of Philippe Noiret in what is one of his best roles), the music is wonderful, the cinematography memorable. <
> <
>Yes, the film is ostensibly about the role that movies play in our lives, but in reality Tornatorre is using the "cinema" as another one of his vehicles (as the ship in "The Legend of 1900") through which he tells us the important story of how important and charater-forming our early friendships, loves, fascinations and disappointments are. As the years are going by, the main character has all grown up, but part of the little boy is still alive insde and it does not take much for the memories to flood the silver screen accompanied with the poignant Morricone music. <
> <
>This movie is a gem for those who like Tornatorre, Italian cinema and a "must see" for all seirous movie fans!

---

Cinema Paradiso
Shot on location in Tornatore's hometown of Bagheria, Sicily, this gorgeously nostalgic semi-autobiographical film pays tribute to the magic and wonderment of movie-going while spinning a bittersweet wartime tale about love and lingering disappointment. A masterly evocation of time and place, mood and feeling spiced with Fellini-esque humor, the decades-long story gingerly unfolds alongside well-chosen clips from Lang, Renoir, and Welles. Tornatore's bold direction of spunky young actor Cascio and Marco Leonardi, who plays Toto as a lovestruck teen, adds to the ease with which we identify with his predicaments. And Noiret is superb as the humble but soulful Alfredo. Winner of an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, "Paradiso" will capture your heart and imagination.

---

Great, But ...
The original release of the movie is timeless storytelling and a great work of art. Ennio Morricone's beautiful music is both uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. <
> <
>In a nutshell, a young boy (Salvatore) loses his father to war. He is befriended by the projectionist (Alfredo) at a local movie house, where he learns to love the cinema. As he grows up in his home town, he experiences the trials and tribulations of adulthood, including the pain of a lost love. He eventually leaves the little town and becomes a famous director in Rome. He returns thirty years later to attend the funeral of his old projectionist friend, who has bequeathed him a single can of film. Upon his return to Rome, he views the film and is transformed by what he sees. <
> <
>This was the perfect end to a great film, but the director (Giuseppe Tornatore) must have felt the need to bring a little more closure to the lost-love bit. So he adds another hour to the movie, including Salvatore's rediscovery of the love of his youth, Elena. They park in a lonely spot near the beach and talk about their lives (fittingly, the flickering of a malfunctioning overhead street light gives the impression that they are at a drive-in movie). Salvatore learns from Elena that the philosophical Alfredo had essentially sabotaged their love thirty years before. <
> <
>And then the two middle-aged lovers "do it" in the car. <
> <
>Sorry, but this kind of "closure" doesn't "do it" for me. For one thing, Alfredo loved Salvatore like a son, and the betrayal bit just doesn't fit in. And while I was happy to see the star-crossed lovers nostalgically reunited for a while, the action in the front seat of the car just isn't my idea of romance (but maybe I'm old-fashioned). <
> <
>Nevertheless, the original movie (which deservedly won the 1989 Oscar Award for Best Foreign Picture) is hard to beat.