Cinema Paradiso

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Summary: A Tribute to the movies
Review: This is a hell of a film ! Simply awesome ! Once you see it you guys will love it and recommend it to everyone who knows a bit about movies. You will remember your first childhood experiences watching movies you still preserve in your thoughts. Give it a try, you won't be dissapointed !

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Summary: Movie Review
Review: Excellent movie, makes me cry every time I see it, and everyone elese who are watching it with me.

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Summary: Cinema at it's best!
Review: Cinema Paradiso is absolutely, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful, passionate, well-made movies I've seen in a long time. The story of a young boy who falls in love with movies, escaping the sadness of war that has taken his father. As a huge movie lover, I can honesty say that this will be a film that I will hold in my heart for a long time, and defend it if need be. As I said before, this is an absolute astounishing film!

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Summary: The storytelling abilities American filmmakers envy...
Review: Always smooth flowing and fresh, where appropriate: heart-warming/wrenching. The energy and beauty that sweats from this movies's pores is like nothing you will have seen. Emotionally it bears similarities with American Beauty. But it runs rings around that film for the people in Cinema Paradiso are real.

The story is simple and universally relatable, I'm sure you've read about it in other reviews, but to me it is a story of nostalgia.

This is one of those films (movies for me are a different breed altogether) where intellectual appreciation is second place to emotional resonance and it pays.

I don't like talking about Directors' stylistics, lets say Tornatore's camera work matches the thematical and emotional requirements of the material perfectly.

The acting is genuine and heartfelt, nobody cares about how they look, its whats under the surface of these people that counts...what makes up their souls. For me an important theme of the film.

Unfortunately the ending didn't work for me. There were no loose ends to tie up because there were never any ends at the beginning of the 3rd act, it was the charm that kept me watching. Although the ending gushed with it, I just shrugged disappointed at the lack of rosebud.

But it was worth buying, and a valued member of my collection.

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Summary: A Must Have for all movie lovers
Review: From the start, the movie grabs your attention and emotion and would not let go. Don't mind about the subtitles (which I suggest you watch with the original Italian audio), you will soon forget that you are reading it. This is one rare movie that you will not forget after watching it. You know you got a 5 star movie when you still remember it even after 10 years back (in my case). Go for it! Bravo! Cinema Paradiso!

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Summary: Best Foreign Picture of the late 20th century.
Review: From Tornatore's brilliant directing, Morricone's heart-aching score, the beautiful acting by unknown players, and the very compelling plot, Cinema Paradiso is the best foreign picture ever released in the late 20th century. Forget Life Is Beautiful, Il Postino, and Like Water For Chocolate. Cinema Paradiso is a brilliant masterpiece! The film has won the Oscar for Best Foreign Picture in its US release year.

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Summary: Beautiful Music for the most beautiful film ever
Review: What can I say? this is the work of a master in film music. It's amaizing that the best melody of the album was written by Morricone's son. This is a must in any soundtrack collection.

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Summary: Cinema Paradiso - Original Release vs. Special Edition
Review: The most important thing at first: I love "Cinema Paradiso"! Although I watched the original version a countless times, I am still deeply moved by the wonderful mixture of joy, happiness, sadness and tragic - all this in the very same moment. This is definatly European cinema at it's best - there is nothing compareable to Giuseppe Tornatores masterpiece in the past and I am quite sure, there is nothing more brilliant to come in the future.

So far for the original version! Not long ago I realized, that there was another version - more than an hour longer. And despite the fact, that for an native German speaker it is a rather a tough experience to watch an Italian movie with English subtitles, I immediately ordered the VHS and a few days later I saw my "Cinema Paradiso" as a "Special Edition".

But now anything I feel is some sort of ambivalence! It's true, the extended version adds a lot of explanation to the movie - mostly at the end of Salvatores youth. It's true, that there is a bunch of question marks in the original version, which become resolved only in this release (e.g. the story of the waiting soldier). And again, it's true, that all layers of the plot now fit together in a proper way.

But the price to pay is too high! Perhaps this is very subjective, but from my point of view much of the movie's magic has gone forever. The wonderful and heartwarming friendship between Salavtore and Alfredo, the key element of the movie itself has become questionable; understanding the motives of Alfredos acting is now totally unreproducible for me. And although the brilliant last scene of the movie hasn't changed at all, this wonderful mixture of joy, happiness, sadness and tragic has suddenly vanished.

People who see this film as one of many others can take the "Special Edition" for its more coherent plot. But guys like me, who want to approach this movie in a completly different way, should reconsider this step over and over again. Even I still think, that this film is a inimitable masterpiece of movie arts, I deeply regret, that "Cinema Paradiso" will never be the same movie, I once fell in love.

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Summary: Italian Version
Review: Some time ago an Italian friend lent me the italian version of this movie ... A whole 20 minutes of this version was cut out in the rest of the world !!! I was shocked with this for the italian version gives you a whole new approach to the end of the movie!

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Summary: MUST-SEE!
Review: Being a newcomer to foreign films, I read reviews to assist me in selecting those cinematic films that seem worth purchasing. That being said: I am not a critic, let alone an "expert" in foreign films, however, I had to "review" this movie because it is such a gem! I won't analyse nor try to explain the movie. All I want to say is I LOVE this movie!! Whether you are a beginner or a veteran to foreign films, I highly recommend this film as one of your MUST-SEE's!! I am proud to add this DVD to my collection and will share it with the world.