Life Is Beautiful (1997)

When an open-minded Jewish librarian and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor, and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.

Director:

Roberto Benigni

Writers:

Vincenzo Cerami (story and screenplay by), Roberto Benigni (story and screenplay by)

Stars:

Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini

Top Rated Movies #21 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 68 wins & 52 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roberto Benigni	...	Guido
Nicoletta Braschi	...	Dora
Giorgio Cantarini	...	Giosué
Giustino Durano	...	Zio
Sergio Bini Bustric	...	Ferruccio (as Sergio Bustric)
Marisa Paredes	...	Madre di Dora
Horst Buchholz	...	Dottor Lessing (as Horst Bucholz)
Lidia Alfonsi	...	Guicciardini (as Lydia Alfonsi)
Giuliana Lojodice	...	Direttrice Didattica
Amerigo Fontani	...	Rodolfo
Pietro De Silva	...	Bartolomeo
Francesco Guzzo	...	Vittorino
Raffaella Lebboroni	...	Elena
Claudio Alfonsi	...	Amico Rodolfo
Gil Baroni	...	Prefetto

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 | world war two | nazi occupation | tank | holocaust | 

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Taglines:

An unforgettable fable that proves love, family and imagination conquer all. (Canadian one sheet)

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Roberto Benigni was so excited to receive his Academy Award for Best Foreign Film that he stood up in his chair and leaped across several more chairs to get to the stage.

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Goofs

The position of the tank in relation to the paper when Giosuè is drawing in the book store changes.

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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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Alternate Versions

The original Italian theatrical version was 122 minutes long. Benigni later cut 9 minutes out for the American version (removing, among others, all scenes featuring Lidia Alfonsi) and adding a voice over by the adult Giosuè (voiced by Omero Antonutti). This shorter version is the one released on video in Italy.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 20 Best Feel Good Movies (2020)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

The Best Movie I've seen for a long long time

I am surprised about the negative comments that some people made on this web-page. I can see how some people might not experience the same kind of uplift or joy that most of us lived through when seeing the movie. But that some viewers felt insulted and betrayed because the movie did not depict "reality" as it really was or is, is not fair.

I must concur with my fellow proponents of the movie -- it was a great and very satisfying movie. It provided me with something that everyone in one or another shape or form needs -- Hope. The movie showed the cruelty of life and yet managed to shed some light and insight into the beauty of love and life in general.

I urge anyone who has not seen La Vita è bella to go out there and watch it. If we all take with us just little bit of that hope and love that this movie is trying to convey; this world would be a much better place.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed or will enjoy the movie as much as I did.

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax Official Facebook

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian German English

Release Date:

20 December 1997 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Life Is Beautiful

Filming Locations:

Ronciglione, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$118,920, 25 October 1998

Gross USA:

$57,563,264

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$230,098,753

Company Credits

Production Co:

Melampo Cinematografica, Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 122 min (first release)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1