Cinema Paradiso

This movie is such a treasure and I have owned it over the years in a number of different formats.For those who love sentimentality, you are in for a delight as a successful movie director returns home after many year’s absence. Through interactions with his little, old mother, his fellow citizens of the little town and various sentimental items his mother has kept, he is transported back to his youth.Tornatore has captured a beautiful age where community and family were everything and life was simple but lovely too. He takes us back to a time we all look back on with an attachment and fond memories.Maestro Morricone’s score will capture your heart and have you in tears, especially the tracks the great violinist Stefan Grapelli plays on. Listen to those songs and you will realise you are listening to a maestro.The ending of the theatrical release is a real tear jerker and one of the most beautiful endings in cinematic history. It’s worth watching this movie if just for the ending alone.Cinema Paradiso is a terrific tribute to the movie industry and especially the Italian film industry.It is one of those movies you will watch a few times over the years and enjoy each time as much as the first time. Hopefully, your children and grandchildren will experience it too.

I had first seen the movie streaming on Amazon Prime, and it was the theatrical cut of the film. My goodness, is every second of this movie a wonderful sight to behold. The friendship between Alfredo and Toto is one that'll have your heart feeling full, and the interactions between the townsfolk they live around really make you feel like you've been part of their community for years; it all feels so genuine, so lived in. Ennio Morricone's score will stay in your head long after the film is over, particularly the piece that plays during the ending, which is one of the best endings I have ever seen in cinema history. Make sure to have a tissue box because you WILL cry at some point. The Arrow Video restoration is gorgeous and worth every penny. I do recommend the theatrical cut over the director's cut. It's a fantastic film.

Once in a while, a film comes along and dazzles audiences with its smooth viewability, if that is a word, brilliant acting, and well crafted plotline. In the case of Cinema Paradiso, we see these elements combined with a stunningly soothing musical score, excellent cinematography, and a combination of comedic, romantic, and dramatic moments.This film starts in the present, presenting us with the main character, Toto, as an old man, well into his fifties, returning to his hometown to hear his lifetime friend and mentor Alfredo has died. What follows for the duration of the film allows us to see his childhood, his adolescence, and the way he fights through tumultuous times of love, disaster, and peril.Along the way, we are able to see his constant love for the movies and slowly evolving romance with the beautiful Elena. The romantic moments in this movie are especially touching, as are the scenes in which we see Toto struggle to win Elena's love.What makes this film a truly brilliant one is the way everything wraps itself up in the end. We are able to see the people from his youth aged into the present, and the film ends on a perfect close. There are no loose ends to be tied up, and I admit that I became a little teary eyed throughout the last 20 minutes. The scenes of Alfredo's funeral and the destruction of the Paradiso are very sad, and will make you think of good times long forgotten, save but in your heart.I recommend this movie to anyone. I am a college student, and I have loved this movie since the first time I saw it on an airplane when I was 8...admittedly, I can understand and appreciate it much more with age. It is a perfect date movie, and also makes for a nice way to spend an evening with a friend or even by yourself. Buy it today. I guarantee you'll love the story and music.

Arrived quickly! Would buy from them again

Love this movie. A classic.