Cinema Paradiso

Watch: Cinema Paradiso

Unrated

2/2/19902h 4m

Premiere Release (US)

~ An enchanted village. A wonderful friendship. Star-crossed lovers. And the magic of the movies. ~

Overview:

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Status:

Released

Language:

Italian

Buget:

$5,000,000.00

Revenue:

$11,990,401.00

Key words:

parent child relationship
sicily, italy
movie business
kiss
coming of age
flashback
magic realism
haunted by the past
censorship
nuovo cinema paradiso
movie theater
comforting
compassionate

Cast

Philippe Noiret

~ as ~

Alfredo

Jacques Perrin

~ as ~

Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita (adult)

Marco Leonardi

~ as ~

Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita (teen)

Salvatore Cascio

~ as ~

Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita (child)

Agnese Nano

~ as ~

Elena Mendola (teen) / Elena's daughter (in Director's cut)

Antonella Attili

~ as ~

Maria Di Vita (young)

Pupella Maggio

~ as ~

Maria Di Vita (aged)

Enzo Cannavale

~ as ~

Spaccafico

Isa Danieli

~ as ~

Anna

Leo Gullotta

~ as ~

Ignazio, usher

View full cast & crew

Reviews (4)

AG
Andres Gomez
Written 12 year(s) ago
8
Nice comedy-drama about the youth at the small town of an Italian kid.
SP
Shreyance Parakh
Written 8 year(s) ago
10
Soulful

Why did it had to end... The movie was like a breath of fresh air.Every thing about it was so refreshing and soulful that you can never get bored of it.It's one of those movies that you can watch again and again and again...The music, the story, the acting, the direction, the editing, all of it makes this an absolutely beautiful gem of a movie. One of the best movies that i ever saw and will ever see not because it was any different from other movies or better written, directed or acted, but because it's MAGIC, it stays with you.The soul of the movie stays with you beyond the credits.It stays with you forever. I just can't stop smiling remembering the scenes, the smiles on the characters faces, the music... Everybody who wants to FEEL happiness must watch this movie.In one word it's just SOULFUL !!
t
tmdb86370050
Written 8 year(s) ago
9
When you think about cinematography, nowadays you usually think about digital cinematography. But during the early '50s, '60s, and onward, there was a use of this thing called film. Film was what they used in cameras before cameras actually saved them into memory slots digitally. Projectionists actually had to crank the film projectors early on, before the automatic film projectors started coming in, otherwise the film would catch on fire. This movie is about friendship between a projectionist in a film watcher/altar boy, and the film watcher/altar boy was young, maybe 4th grade age. This movie is great! I haven't seen foreign films, in fact, this is the first foreign film I've ever seen. But I'm glad this is the first one to be a foreign film that is a first for me. Want to know why? Because this movie is phenomenal! The little soundtrack that there is has been greatly by whoever composed it. Jacquees Perrin is a good adult version of Toto. The only bad thing I have to say about this is the lack of character development in terms of Elena's character development. I mean, she is a love interest for until Salvatore gets back to the town after his stint in the military, and then she is never heard from again. This movie is a classic, and it is also the definition of a classic. Anyone who watches movies, or plans to see a movie should watch this movie. This is a must see film for any era, and any generation of film viewers.
Filipe Manuel Neto
Written 2 year(s) ago
10
Magnificent.

I saw this movie for the first time a good few years ago, but I only decided to talk about it now, after seeing it again. For me, it is one of the best Italian films ever made. It's like a modern fairy tale, showing us the fascinating side of cinema and reminding us why we love it. Of course, everything passes, and cinema has gone through many phases, it has undergone metamorphoses, and the end of the great classic movie theaters was one of them. And now? The pandemic has shown us that cinema can learn to survive without its theaters. And if we consider the manufacture of televisions and sound systems increasingly “cinematic” and economically viable? Will the living room one day be our own private movie theater, with all the comfort and quality of the big screen?

The future is anyone's guess, and it's as wonderful as it is frightening, but let's put these digressions aside. Anyone who likes cinema should see this film. It has a good dose of nostalgia, it can move the audience (it moves me) and makes us think about life. It's a little difficult to explain, I think it's one of those films that manages to touch something personal in whoever sees it, and that's not easy to translate onto paper because no two lives are alike. It is also worth going to see the various films that appear on the screens of Paradise, and which are very fair tributes to several well-known films.

The cast has very strong names. It is one of the best films of Phillippe Noiret's career, which offers us such a good job that he could well have been nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor that year. Young Salvatore Cascio also does an excellent job and is believable in his role. Enzo Cannavale and Marco Leonardi also do an excellent job. Tornatore's steering is virtually flawless.

Technically, the film is equally remarkable: in addition to accurately recreating the times in which everything takes place, it perfectly shows the technical evolution of cinema, and the way in which the place itself – Giancaldo – changes over time. The choice of filming locations was careful, all the work with props, costumes and sets was meticulous, and the cinematography is very beautiful. The edition does not deserve any repairs, especially if we are talking about the extended version of the film. Ennio Morricone, with his work in this film, gives us one of the best soundtracks of his career, every melody is worth listening to.