Cinema Paradiso (1988)

A filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Writers:

Giuseppe Tornatore (story), Giuseppe Tornatore (screenplay)

Stars:

Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili

Top Rated Movies #51 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 24 wins & 32 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Antonella Attili	...	Maria Di Vita - Younger
Enzo Cannavale	...	Spaccafico
Isa Danieli	...	Anna
Leo Gullotta	...	Usher
Marco Leonardi	...	Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita - Teenager
Pupella Maggio	...	Maria Di Vita - Older
Agnese Nano	...	Elena Mendola
Leopoldo Trieste	...	Father Adelfio
Salvatore Cascio	...	Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita - Child
Tano Cimarosa	...	Blacksmith
Nicola Di Pinto	...	Village Idiot
Roberta Lena	...	Lia
Nino Terzo	...	Peppino's Father
Jacques Perrin	...	Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita - Adult
Philippe Noiret	...	Alfredo

Storyline

A boy who grew up in a native Sicilian Village returns home as a famous director after receiving news about the death of an old friend. Told in a flashback, Salvatore reminiscences about his childhood and his relationship with Alfredo, a projectionist at Cinema Paradiso. Under the fatherly influence of Alfredo, Salvatore fell in love with film making, with the duo spending many hours discussing about films and Alfredo painstakingly teaching Salvatore the skills that became a stepping stone for the young boy into the world of film making. The film brings the audience through the changes in cinema and the dying trade of traditional film making, editing and screening. It also explores a young boy's dream of leaving his little town to foray into the world outside.

---

Plot Keywords:

film projectionist | cinema | flashback | movie theatre | funeral | 

---

Taglines:

A celebration of youth, friendship, and the everlasting magic of the movies.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

By the end of the twelve month period for 1924, Italy's entire film output had not exceed 20 titles. As 220 titles were released during 1920, by 1924, Italian cinema was slowly dying.

---

Goofs

After several boys are seen admiring an image of the curvaceous Rita Hayworth in what appears to be a new publicity photo for Gilda (1946), the song "Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered" is heard, sung by Jo Ann Greer dubbing for Hayworth, but this recording is from Pal Joey (1957) which wouldn't come out for another decade.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Maria Di Vita - Older: [in Italian]
[on the phone]
Maria Di Vita - Older: Yes, Salvatore di Vita. You mean you don't know him, Miss? That's right, and I'm his mother. I've been calling from Sicily, all day long. I understand, he's not there.

---

Alternate Versions

Originally presented at the EuropaCinema Festival in a 173-minute edition. It was there released in Italy at 155 minutes; after a very poor box office performance, the film was pulled out of circulation and shortened to 124 minutes. After it won the Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes festival and the Best Foreign Film Oscar, it was re-released in Italy on video first in its initial 155 minutes cut and then in the original 173-minutes director's cut.

---

Connections

Referenced in De Avond van de Filmmuziek (2015)

---

Soundtracks

Ripensandola - While Thinking About Her Again
Written by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

Classic

This 1988 Italian film (released in the US in 1990), is back with a full 51 minutes added on. This seemed like a stupid idea...there was nothing wrong with the original. The directors cut (which was 1/2 hour longer) was considered a mess. Also, for this release, an extra 1/2 hour was added! I expected the worse. Well, I was pleasantly surprised that this 3 hour version is better than the 2 hour one.

This story follows the life of Salvatore. He's born in a tiny Italian village and we see him as a little boy in the 1930s, an adolescent in the 40s-50s and an adult in the 80s. It basically is about his love of movies and the one true love of his life--Elena. They are in love but she comes from a rich family and he lives in poverty. How can they be together?

POSSIBLE MINOR SPOILER IN NEXT PARAGRAPH!!!!

The cut movie in the US excised a lot of the Elena subplot and concentrated on Salvatore's love of movies. There's nothing wrong with that, but Elena disappears quite suddenly. This full version explains what happened between them and fleshes out the characters more. It also reveals a crucial surprise at the end.

The performances are all fantastic--especially by the gorgeous young actor playing Salvatore as a teenager. Elena is also stunning. The film has beautiful cinematography and a haunting music score. The 3 hours flew by for me. I didn't want it to end!

So...beautiful music, attractive stars, good acting, compelling story and some incredible romantic sequences. A must-see!!!!

Bring plenty of Kleenex though--I cried a least 5 times!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

23 February 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cinema Paradiso: The New Version

Filming Locations:

Bagheria, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,552, 4 February 1990

Gross USA:

$12,397,210

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,953,675

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cristaldifilm, Les Films Ariane, Rai 3

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min 174 min (director's cut) 123 min (recut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1