Rating: 
Summary: The most unforgettable and extraordinary film I've ever seen
Review: I hesitate to "review" this film, because mere words do not seem enough. This film must be seen to be appreciated. Roberto Benigni is a genious. I have never before seen a film that evokes such a range of emotions. The music, the actors, the story, the feelings blend to create a once-in-a- lifetime film. (Even the English subtitles are a plus, not a minus.) At the end, you will emerge believing that Life is, indeed, Beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece. Say no more.
Review: I put this movie next to wonderful films such as "Il Postino" and "Cinema Paradiso". How do Italians make such delightful movies?
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST FILM I'VE EVER SEEN
Review: I'm a real film buff (even keep a running list of my Top 100 all-time-favorite movies). The first time I saw "Life Is Beautiful" I went home and added it to my Top 10 list. A week later, it had advanced into the Top 5. The movie is a veritable masterpiece -- a brilliant blend of tragedy and comedy, unlike anything I have ever seen in my life, American or European. The story line really stuck with me long after the film was over. What an extraordinary "sacrifice" this father makes to ensure that life WILL be beautiful for his son.After seeing the film a second time, I knew it had made it into my Top 3 All Time Favorites. The third time I saw the movie, I concentrated on all the technical aspects and once again marveled at Benigni's brilliance. Cinema doesn't get any better (i.e. original, memorable) than this. I am only sorry that it did not win the Oscar for Best Picture as well. I can't wait for it to come out on video. It is number one on my list, and I can't imagine another film knocking it out of that position!
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece !!!
Review: A must-see movie. as a jewish and especially as a human being: this one is a spectacular composition of emotional shake out.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie I have seen in ages!!!
Review: This is definatly THE movie to see, and re-see. It is trully magical, making you cry and laugh. Wonderful. Fantastic. Well deserved of the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Go.... Roberto!!!
Rating:
Summary: The most amazing film I've seen
Review: There is no other movie that has been able to make me laugh and cry, simlitaniousy. In a touching story of a father's sacrfice for his son's happiness, humor is mixed in with the disturbing concentration camps plotline. Not to say this film is in bad taste, Benigni is an absolute genius to make a movie this brillant. Despite the subtitles, it is easy to get into, and had it been dubbed, much would be lost. Please see it, it is by far the best movie made this year!
Rating:
Summary: A funny movie that makes you laugh and cry.
Review: I'm only 14 years old, and I saw this movie with my family. This movie involves comedy and tragedy. It is such a good movie and I recommend people of all ages to see it!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Testimony to the Human Spirit and to Love
Review: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, the Grand Prix winner at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, is one of my all time favorite films. The first half of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is the story of Guido (Roberto Benigni), a hotel waiter in 1930s Italy and his courtship of the beautiful Dora (Nicoletta Braschi, Benigni's spouse in real life), with whom he falls immediately in love despite the fact that Dora all ready has a fiancé, the town clerk, a Fascist. Guido also become friends with the German doctor, Dr. Lessing (Horst Bucholz) who is staying at the hotel where Guido works, thus setting up an important subplot that will be resolved in the second half of the film. Eventually, of course, Guido does manage to win Dora's heart and the two marry and have a son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini). Light and airy, this breezy, comedic first half, good as it is, is simply a set-up for the important second half as well as a device to let us get to know and love Guido and Dora, because knowing and loving them will be very important during the film's second half. Fast forward five or six years. The year is now 1945 and Giosue is now five. World War II is entering its final days and the Fascist regime is rounding up all Italian Jews and sending them to death camps, and, as we learned late in this film's first half, Guido is Jewish. One day, what Guido and Dora have feared actually happens and Guido and Giosue are taken into custody. Dora, being a gentile, is spared (technically, Giosue wasn't Jewish, either), however she insists on boarding the train and going to the camp rather than being parted from her beloved husband and son. The men are separated from the women but Guido, of course, knows exactly what's happening. This second half of the film marks a shift from comedy to drama-with-comedic-overtones. In an attempt to shield Giosue from the horror around him, Guido pretends the entire thing is a complex game and, Guido is just the right age to buy it. The "game" Guido concocts is, by necessity, an elaborate one, with rules that change to fit the occasion. All of this is designed, of course, not only to allay Giosue's fears, but, if possible, to save his life. There is comedy in the second half of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, but it's heartbreaking comedy because we know Guido's chances of saving Giosue, let alone himself, are almost nil. And, we know Dora's fate is next to hopeless. Roberto Benigni came under harsh and undeserved criticism for inserting comedy into a film with perhaps history's darkest hour, the Holocaust, as its backdrop. Benigni certainly wasn't mocking the Holocaust or underplaying it, as some have suggested. And, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL isn't a film about the Holocaust. I can't stress this point enough. It's a film about a father's love for his son and the fact that he'll use every weapon at his disposal to protect that son. The fact that comedy was Guido's only available weapon doesn't diminish this film's power and grace one iota. I think people who criticize this film just can't stand the fact the Benigni chose to focus on love and humanity rather than on politics. Personally, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL showed me the horrors of the Holocaust more closely than did the magnificent SCHINDLER'S LIST (and it is a masterpiece of the highest order) because of the close personal connection I felt with Guido and Dora. If one of the first rules of writing is to "make us care" (and it is), then Benigni certainly did that. I cared very much about Guido, Dora and Giosue and I think it would take a very hard-hearted person not to care. What bothers me more about LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is the fact that it seems like two separate films, the first a light romantic comedy and the second a tragedy with overtones of bittersweet comedy. I thought this film, great as it is, could have been seamless with only a few minor changes. Still, this minor criticism isn't nearly enough for me to lower my rating of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL from five stars to four. This is certainly one of filmmaking's finest achievements and Roberto Benigni certainly deserved the award at Cannes and the praise this film has garnered. What he doesn't deserve is the criticism because, really, there is nothing at all to criticize here.
Rating:
Summary: "I want to make love to all of hollywood"
Review: The pride of Italy Roberto Benini in his WWII masterpiece, tastefully combining comedy with drama in an oscar winning foreign film. A must have. Make sure you watch it in Italian with the subtitles.
Rating:
Summary: Great Italian Import
Review: "Life Is Beautiful" is one of the best movies released in 1998. It received seven Oscar nominations and three rightful wins: Best Foreign Film, Best Original Score, and Best Actor(Roberto Benigni). Its plot is brilliant. Such chain of events rarely fit as one credible movie. Benigni's writing brilliance makes everything fit. Amazingly, the plot takes a severe historic tragedy and offers more hope of survival, namely Guido telling his son that this is a game of trying to win the tank. Though nothing about The Holocaust was good, this accurately desplicts the trials of its victims. The movie combines tragedy, magic, and love. The acting is wonderful. Everyone pours their heart and soul through their characters. Their previous research about the real-life victims shines through every scene. Such rough emotions are never held back for a second. The set and the costume designs were manufactured wonderfully. They accurately desplict the styles of 1939-1945. The elaborate settings give the added magical or tragic vibe, depending on the individual scene. "Life Is Beautiful" is a great movie for those looking for a unique, powerful drama. The italian version is much better than the english version. The english version takes away much of the intended emotion. This movie will rightfully become a classic in the near following years.
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