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 #52 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 24 wins & 31 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.

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Plot Keywords:

cinema | flashback | film projectionist | coming of age | movie theatre | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

Toto as a child is shown to be left-handed during the school examination sequence, but as a young man he is right-handed as he marks off the days on the calendar. In addition, when in the army, he fires the rifle right-handed.

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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.

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Alternate Versions

The longer versions of the movie, which are not available in English, include the alternate ending wherein Salvatore and Elena meet in a shop upon his return to Rome. A snippet of this scene is in the US version credits, where an old Elena is seen turning around and looking at Salvatore.

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Connections

Referenced in Sardonicast: Sardonicast #41: Midsommar, Southland Tales (2019)

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Soundtracks

Tema della Bicicletta - Bicycle Theme
Written by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

A breath of fresh air blowing away the cobwebs of Hollywood "blah" films.

I have seen this film at least a dozen times and each time I am carried away to a small village in Italy, where the dreams of a small boy come true and we can join his spellbinding journey. The Italian language (it is subtitled) adds to the film's beauty and music, the characters are so real you can almost smell them. I am absorbed into "Paradiso" each time I watch it, so that when it is over, I am shocked into the realisation that I haven't actually been anywhere except right there, in my theatre seat. I am not a huge "art house" film fan or indeed enjoy subtitled films (it is hard on the old eyes!) but "Paradiso" is a gem and is worth seeing again and again.

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:

$12,645,096

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cristaldifilm, Les Films Ariane, Rai 3

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1