Life Is Beautiful (1997)
"La vita è bella" (original title)

A Jewish man has a wonderful romance with the help of his humour, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Nazi death camp.

Directors:

Roberto Benigni, Rod Dean

Writers:

Vincenzo Cerami (story), Roberto Benigni (story)

Stars:

Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini

Top 250 #50 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 55 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roberto Benigni	...	Guido
Nicoletta Braschi	...	Dora
Giorgio Cantarini	...	Joshua
Giustino Durano	...	Uncle Eliseo
Sergio Bini Bustric	...	Ferruccio (as Sergio Bustric)
Marisa Paredes	...	Dora's Mother
Horst Buchholz	...	Doctor Lessing (as Horst Bucholz)
Giuliana Lojodice	...	School Principal
Amerigo Fontani	...	Rodolfo
Pietro De Silva	...	Bartolomeo
Francesco Guzzo	...	Vittorino
Raffaella Lebboroni	...	Elena
Claudio Alfonsi	...	Rodolfo's Friend
Gil Baroni	...	Prefect
Massimo Bianchi	...	Man with Key

Storyline

In 1930s Italy, a carefree Jewish book keeper named Guido starts a fairy tale life by courting and marrying a lovely woman from a nearby city. Guido and his wife have a son and live happily together until the occupation of Italy by German forces. In an attempt to hold his family together and help his son survive the horrors of a Jewish Concentration Camp, Guido imagines that the Holocaust is a game and that the grand prize for winning is a tank.

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Plot Keywords:

jewish | italy | tank | waiter | restaurant | 

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Taglines:

An unforgettable fable that proves love, family and imagination conquer all.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for holocaust-related thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian German English

Release Date:

12 February 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Life Is Beautiful

Filming Locations:

Ronciglione, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£87,818 (UK) (12 February 1999)

Gross:

$57,598,247 (USA) (1 October 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica, Melampo Cinematografica, Cecchi Gori Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 118 min (English dubbed)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before they go to sleep Guido and Ferruccio have a few jokes about the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, a favorite writer of Adolf Hitler.

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Goofs

Just before Guido is caught by the spotlight at the end of the movie, a woman belonging to the group of Jews being deported smiles to the camera.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Giosué Orefice: [narrating as an adult] This is a simple story... but not an easy one to tell.

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Connections

Featured in Horst Buchholz... mein Papa (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Belle nuit (Barcarolle)"
(1881)
from opera "Les contes d'Hoffmann"
Music by Jacques Offenbach
Libretto by Jules Barbier (uncredited)
Performed by Montserrat Caballé (as M. Caballé), soprano, Shirley Verrett (as S. Verret),
mezzo-soprano
Recorded by RCA Victor
New Philharmonia Orchestra (uncredited)
Conducted by Anton Guadagno (uncredited)

User Reviews

A Movie About Hope

Life Is Beautiful takes the premise that love and hope can survive the most trying of conditions, in this case a Nazi concentration camp. Most everyone knows this very popular and honored film, so I won't belabor the story. Briefly, in my humble opinion, this film deserves all the accolades it's been awarded. A near perfect film, my only gripe is that Mr. Benigni's performance could have been more understated, especially the half of the film that's set in the concentration camp. But this is only a slight complaint. For a joyful, life-affirming movie, Life Is Beautiful is tops. But be forewarned, as its principal backdrop of anti-Semitism and Nazi murder, it is not a very happy movie.