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Life Is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Life is Beautiful
Review: Probably one of the best movies of all time! You lose the whole effect of the movie when you watch it in English. Very inspiring, and touching film. i loved it! It ranks 1 out of all the movies I have seen

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Life Is Beautiful
Review: I first saw this movie with English subtitles. I thought for sure I would not enjoy it due to the subtitles. I was wrong, the movie blew me away! When I watched it again dubbed in English, I didn't enjoy it as much. What gets lost in the translation is Benigni's expressive voice. So expressive in fact that you don't need to understand Italian to comprehend exactly what he's saying. This movie is on my list of Top 10 Best of all time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: See it/Buy it; You'll know what all the fuss is about
Review: I ended up seeing this amazing gem of a film very late. Like those who saw the Oscar Ceremony in '99 where Director/Star Robert Benigni seemed to be "all over" the ceremony, I wondered 'Who is this guy and why should I care?'. I hadn't seen his "little" film at that time.

I was firmly convinced that "Saving Private Ryan" (which I did see) was the most important film of 1999, way more important than the fun but low-cal, fat-free "Shakespeare in Love". I still stand by that conviction -- but make room for TWO important movies from 1999 by adding "Life is Beautiful".

As affecting as "Ryan" was, Benigni's "Life is Beautiful" brings humanity -- even simplicity -- to serious subject matter in a way no film maker has done since Charlie Chaplin. That's a bold claim, but rent "Modern Times" (or Chaplin's lesser "The Great Dictator") and then watch Benigni's film. Surely, he was a "student" of Chaplin films, but he does not merely copy Chaplinesque filmmaking. That would be too easy and not worthy of praise -- he takes it and extends it out. And the differences Benigni shows between Europeans themselves (Italians and Germans in particular) are extremely clever and telling about even modern relationships within Europe.

The scene where he "translates" the German guard's orders to the men/prisoners at the concentration camp -- in a way so that his son still "believes" in the game -- is one of the greatest comedy moments I frankly have ever seen on film. It's not only effective, it's extremely bold, given the tightrope-walking nature of the subject matter. Even with the subtitles, NOTHING gets lost in the translation.

In conclusion, I can see where people would criticize this "little" film for its simplistic and fairly unrealistic handling of the holocaust. But I don't think that's the point of this film. Benigni does not pretend to have a "Schindler's List" here. The human spirit is the star and the hero, the Holocaust is the villain that tests it.

See it view it, let it affect you for the way it deals with a simple, single human being's ability to preserve the human spirit in himself and also protect that spirit in his own son and wife, despite all odds against them.

I don't think anybody who has a sense of history and is a father or mother of a child, or even just can relate to it as a son or daughter themselves, can see this movie, be open to it, and not designate seeing it as a possible changing point in your own life. Like other famous "events" in your life, you'll remember the day/night you first saw "Life is Beautiful", where you were and who you saw it with.

NOW I know what all the fuss was about over that funny little man at the Oscars in March 1999. (By the way, the clips/trailers they show for this film do not in any way do it justice.)

I don't often plonk down $30 for a DVD. With this film, it was a no brainer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow!
Review: This is one of the most beautiful films about what it means to truly love someone. There are moments in the film that are breath-taking and so moving. The characters seem to steal goodness from a tragic situation.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Life IS Beautiful after seeing this movie
Review: This is the best movie I have ever seen in my life and it is amazingly touching. It really makes you appreciate the lives we have and the freedom we enjoy. It is one that you will watch with your grandchildren.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "The Boy Inside The Man" (Tom Cochrane)
Review: This is truly a story of the power of the human spirit overcoming the very depths of hell! Of course, to convey this you must use locations that portray both the heights of goodness and the depths of evil. To those that thought this movie was over-simplified and at times over-acted, you need to watch it again. The character Guido never grew up...but...instead was a child in an adult's body. If he saw something he wanted...he would find some way to get it. Like a child, he would be the perfect opportunist and be constantly setting the stage for his next manipulation of life! Like a child, Guido believes in overcoming any obstacle by simply "willing" it. Add to this an immagination only a child could possess, and you have Guido. I believe the reason so many of us are moved by this film is that we "see" the child in ourselves and relate to the central character. For this I personally thank Roberto Benigni for bringing out the "child" in me!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Life has changed!
Review: It was very easy for me to be upset for tiny things until watching this movie. I was not very strong and thinking that life is too hard all the time. But now, I am more happy and strong than I have ever been. You should give yourself a chance to see it. I am sure that you will see the difference.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best movie I've ever seen
Review: This was the most original and the most moving movie I've ever seen. It literally brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good movie but ....
Review: If you are the type of person who at the end of a movie can reflect for days on the scenes that you saw ... then buy this movie.

This is a good movie but to get the complete story I recommend to watch the movie more than once. There are many suttle things that are important to the story and are missed easily.

Half of the movie is comedy the other half is drama. Worth buying ..!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Movie of 1999
Review: This movie was one of the best movies I have ever seen. Roberto Benigni was fabulous and the movie had excellent backgrounds. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it or not, because it was in Italian, but once you start reading you will think they are talking English. I recommend you see this movie in Italian. This is a really great movie, and it is worth your money to go out and buy it on DVD or VHS. If you don't believe me, then check out the oscars they won for Best Actor and Best Forign Picture. I laughed and I cried. No doubt in my mine would I hesitate to buy this movie at all.


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