Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Writers:

Giuseppe Tornatore (story)
Giuseppe Tornatore (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 February 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Plot Keywords:

Projectionist | Village | Young Boy | Film Making | Theater

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 19 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Cinema Paradiso (Australia) (France) (UK) (USA)
Cinéma Paradiso (France)
Cinema Paradiso: The New Version (USA) (director's cut)
Cinema Paradiso (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Cennet sinemasi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Cinéma Paradiso (Canada: French title) [fr]
Cinema Paraíso (Portugal) [pt]
Cinema Paradiso (West Germany) [de]
Cinema Paradiso (Hungary) [hu]
Cinema Paradiso (Brazil) [pt]
Cinema Paradiso (Sweden) [sv]
Cinema Paradiso (Finland) [fi]
Cinema Paradiso (Norway) [no]
Kino Paradiso (Poland) [pl]
Mine aftener i Paradis (Denmark) [da]
New Cinema Paradise (Japan: English title) [en]
Sinema o Paradeisos (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality. (director's cut)

Runtime:

155 min | Italy:170 min (extended version) | 124 min (International version)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 (director's cut) | Spain:T | South Korea:All (original rating) | West Germany:12 (f) | Italy:T | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:10 | Peru:PT | Singapore:M18 (director's cut) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:15 (director's cut) | UK:PG | USA:PG (original rating) | USA:R (director's cut) (2002)

Filming Locations:

Bagheria, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Company:

Cristaldifilm

Trivia:

When Salvatore returns to his home and looks at the room his mother prepared for him, there's a picture on the wall from the movie Lo sceicco bianco (1952), a Federico Fellini movie starring Leopoldo Trieste, who plays Father Adelfio in this movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene of the cinema fire, Alfredo is showing the film to a packed piazza because the theatre is closed for the night but the crowd outside wants more. Yet, when the theatre catches fire crowds of people are shown running OUT of the theatre as young Toto rushes in.

Quotes:

Alfredo: Once upon a time, a king gave a feast. And there came the most beautiful princesses of the realm. Now, a soldier, who was standing guard, saw the king's daughter go by. She was the most beautiful one, and he immediately fell in love with her. But what could a poor soldier do when it came to the daughter of the king...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

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!