Customer Reviews

Cinema Paradiso (Original and Directors Editions) (Cinema Paradiso: The New Version) [NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain]

5 star:		(303)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Cinema Paradiso is one of my favorite movies. I finally found the new version available for rent through Netflix when I couldn't find it in any Blockbuster.
For those who have already seen Cinema Paradiso it needs no introduction. For everybody else, it won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film in 1989 and features one of the most nostalgic treatments of the role of movies in people's lives. Ennio Morricone's theme song has also been recycled in countless commercials and movie montages and trailers.
What's good about the Director's Cut or "New Version" DVD is that one can view the director's cut with added scenes on one DVD side and the originally released version on the other.
For those of us who wanted some kind of closure to Toto and Elena's relationship, the Director's Cut has it-- there's about an hour more of footage of their relationship. The new version also more footage of Toto's military service and his adulthood. The added scenes somewhat mute the focus of the movie, so I could see why they were originally cut out. But, at the same time, the added scenes fill in the blanks that originally made a lot of us think, "Hey-- What about...?" And although Toto's childhood scenes are, as far as I can tell, unchanged from the original version, we also find out more about Alfredo.
After finishing the New Version I appreciated the original version better. I highly recommend the new version not because it makes Cinema Paradiso more of a masterpiece, but because it adds more characterization to what, arguably, is a masterpiece. The added scenes can be a bit superfluous, but they show how important editorial decisions are to shaping the structure and momentum of a movie.

I became aware of the existence of over 50 minutes of additional scenes in this film in the past two years. The original, pruned version received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990. I have owned the video for a decade. Then, last summer, the "new version" was shown in limited release, and a DVD was promised. With the addition of the deleted scenes, an entirely different film is created. Owning this DVD is owning a brand new version of the film's events.

Initially, the film was considered too long, and massive scenes were cut, removing any and all references to whatever happened to Salvatore's great love, Lina. The original version of the film focused mainly on the young boy, fatherless in post-WWII Sicily, bonding with the childless cinema projectionist, Alfredo. The young Toto grows into the teen-aged Salvatore, who falls in love with the beautiful and unattainable Lina. They are parted. That is the last we see. Salvatore returns to his village many years later to attend the funeral of Alfredo, and the film is told nearly entirely in flashback.

In this version, Salvatore is reunited with his lost love when he returns for the funeral. To think that this entire plot was removed from the film initially is almost unthinkable. There are other parts of the film that could have been edited to keep these additional scenes in. I don't know what the producers, directors or the studio were thinking when they edited a huge part of the movie out.

Well, now the film is complete. Whereas the original version focused mainly on the relationship of Toto and Alfredo, we now see a conclusion to Toto and Lina as well. And, we understand the ending of the film in an entirely, much less sentimental light. Salvatore has spent the bulk of his life mourning his lost love, not returning to his village, and not knowing of Alfredo's hand in the matter. He is facing life-changing decisions, and must ultimately dip into a pool of acceptance and forgiveness. Without the addition of these scenes, the point is lost.

This was an excellent film to begin with, now it is nearly perfect. It is bittersweet and touching, and all the more realistic with the deleted scenes returned. If you own the original version, you must own this version. You will see this film in a completely different light.

I must have watched this film 25 times and i know I'll watch it 25 more. I can't wait to watch it with my newborn daughter when she is old enough to understand. The message of hope and love is so strong in this film. When I visited the small Sicilian town of my father's ancestors I saw the same hope and love amongst its people. In a place that is in such dire straits by our standards I saw loveing people who truly cared about one another, whose love went so far beyond the materialistic. This movie portrays this so well. ALl that we see and hear, Alfredo is perfect what a father he would make and did make to young Toto. Toto's mother's resilience in contacting him. The scene at the end when Toto is seeing all the people he new from his youth, older and still in the same situation yet still happy and hopeful, and when our homeless friend walks through and states "La piazza mia." who can say they didn't cry but with a smile on their faces. A true masterpiece, I think I'll go and watch it right now. It truly is Paradiso.

Cinema Paradiso is a definite classic and is a must-watch for any self-respecting film buff. I first watched this movie (the cut-version) in 1994 on television. I loved it so much that I watched it frequently on tape thereafter. I think I've watched it 2 times a year (on average) and that would make it 20 times by now!

The innocence of childhood, the passion of first loves, the cruel reality of adulthood are all depicted to perfection in the movie. Its bitter-sweet ending tops the theme of the whole movie off and it never failed to make me tear. I had so many questions each time after I watched the movie and that in itself, further reinforced the various main themes of the story: lost loves and most importantly, the great sense of regret that is a result of a lifetime filled with multitudes of unanswered questions. It was incredibly disappointing as I knew I'd never know the answers to all the questions that I had about the film. I had great pity for Toto as well as he'd never know. But this was all before I realised that there was an uncut version.

I upgraded to the DVD version sometime ago but never got around to watching it. I loaned it out to a friend and got it back months later. I decided to watch it on a particularly boring afternoon. As I knew the film so well, I realised that there were scenes in the DVD version which I never saw in the 'old' version. As I watched further, more of such scenes came up. And it dawned on me that this version could contain some answers to the many questions which I had! I watched it right to the end and it still made me tear. But this time, I was touched not by the storyline itself but by the fact that all the questions that I ever had about the film have finally been answered. A chapter in Toto's life had finally been closed and for myself, it was also like closing a chapter in my own 'cinematic life'.

I suggest all interested viewers to watch the 'cut' version first, then the 'uncut' version. It's a wonderful cinematic experience and allows you to understand and fully appreciate the true essence of the film. The film was previously cut as it was too long. With the release of the 'uncut' version, it serves to strongly remind the audience of the greatness of cinema, particularly how the same film can invoke such different emotions by the mere act of cutting some scenes.

5 stars - I've seen the original in Italian (at least 25 times) since its release... however, the version we saw in the U.S. was half hour shorter than the Italian release (I was lucky enough to obtain the original length VHS version years ago.) In the original, after 30 years we learn that Elena did come to meet Toto prior to her departure as they had planned but... well ... It would be a crime to give it away (In the hopes that you see the original.) The missing pieces make the ending - and all the pieces in between - fit like a perfect glove. The gift that Alfredo made to Toto (the pieced together clips of missing kissing scenes) has a greater meaning when put in the full context (I still get emotional seeing it.) It's even more poignant than before but, unfortunately, the meaning of a lot of the symbols and scenes, although pretty good in the U.S. release, were catapulted onto a different level in the longer version.

Like many people I've seen this film countless times, and each time I end up blubbering by the end of it. A valentine to the movies, "Cinema Paradiso" tells the story of Toto, a boy in the small Italian village of Giancarlo, who is fascinated with the movies. This is long before televisions and vcrs.This was when movie going was an event to be cherished and savored. Much of the film centers on his friendship with the older Alfredo,(a heartbreaking Philippe Noiret) who runs the projector. But more than that it is a sweeping romance, and a bittersweet story of letting go of our past and moving towards the future. Its setting and characters will transport you for two magical hours and you'll feel like you've just spent time with old friends. My only beef with the DVD version of the film is that in the credits they've removed a scene. Elena, Toto's girlfriend in the film is shown in the final moments of the credits as an older woman. A scene that was obviously cut from the final print of the film. Toto turns, the camera cuts to her turning, their eyes lock, and the credits end. The DVD fades out before we see her. I don't know who's decision it was, HBO's or the director, but it's too bad because it was a neat tag for those people who stay through the credits till the end. Still, a must have movie for collectors.

In spite of some extra scenes that I think are unnecessary, this extended new version of "Cinema Paradiso" stills makes a great impression on me. This Italian masterpiece about the growth of a Sicilian kid (Salvatore Cascio, in a brilliant debut) from childhood, adolescence (in the person of Marco Leonardi), to manhood (in the shape of French actor Jacques Perrin) through movies is marvelous, touching, and truly entertaining.
When I first saw "Cinema Paradiso" back in 1990, I fell in love instantly with it, thus becoming one of my favorite movies. The innocence of Toto as he wants to learn how to handle a projector, thanks to the help of Alfredo (French acting legend Philippe Noiret); the tough times in his adolescence, working as a projectionist, having an impossible romance with Elena, doing military service; and his loneliness as a movie producer in his adulthood. Everything caused me a great impact, and still does everytime I watch this film by Giuseppe Tornatore.

Now, in this extended version, I like the fact that Toto -as an adult -has the chance to see Elena again and discovers why they failed to meet at the Paradiso prior to his departure for Rome. In my opinion, that's the most important new scene of the movie. I really wanted to know that, and now I feel satisfied.
All in all, I still like this great work of love everytime I see it. A work of love towards life, innocence, romance and, above all else, movies. A great homage to cinema.

This movie has been one of my favorite films ever since I first saw it in 1990.It had a perfect musical score, great acting and a magical quality.It perfectly embodied various themes: love for the cinema, remenbrance of our past, love for our father and mother ,or significant figures. It tried to portray remenbrance of that first significant adult love but in my opinion with less success. At the end of the movie you wondered why Elena , Toto's great love, had vanished.
Now after watching the original director's cut I have to say that this is the real movie we should have seen. It's true that it is long, maybe too long, but now the storyline of Toto's great and eternal love for Elena is complete, it gives closure someway to this beautiful love story.In my opinion the final 20-25 minutes of this cut are simply magnificent, tears will probably come, watching two persons deal with facts that affected their lives forever.The movie is less magical but more realistic
I hope the movie is rereleased in DVD in the USA with the two versions. You will truly enjoy it.

A fatherless child in post-World War II Sicily falls in love with the movies shown at his tiny town's Cinema Paradiso, where he pesters an irrascible projectionist into teaching him the trade. Although their relationship is initially based on a love for the audience as a community, they also develop a profound friendship that has powerful and far-reaching effects in both their lives.

There are several cuts of this film, and there seems to be an on-going controversy re which is best, with those who have seen the original Italian cut and the director's cut proclaiming they are greatly superior to the American version. If that is true, they must be very fine indeed, for as it stands the more widely available American version is a brilliant film--charming, touching, and bittersweet. Some have described this as a movie for those who love movies, but I find that only partly true; it is more a film about both community and how the people of our past make us the individuals we have become. The direction is smooth, the cinematography memorable, and the cast--particularly Philippe Noiret as the projectionist Alfredo and Salvatore Cascio as the child determined to befriend him--is very fine. An elegant, loving film; recommended.

The "original" (U.S. theatrical) version of this film has long been a favorite of mine. I had little interest in the newly-released director's cut, but purchased this DVD as it contains both versions. (Note: The "original" version is on side B of the two-sided DVD.) Out of curiousity, I did watch the newer version and the additional footage was, in my opinion, worthless. These scenes did indeed alter the very essence of the film, and I'm puzzled that the director had such a very different intent for the movie.

The real "love affair" of the 1990 version was the father/son relationship between Alfredo and Salvatore. In fact, I always considered the boy/girl romance a superfluous element in the plot. I also appreciated the innocence of this film - an innocence that I believe was one significant reason for it's success. The director's cut trades in that innocence for something much cheaper and less palatable. There are several unnecessary sex scenes. Three primary characters are tainted: Alredo comes off as a liar; Toto's behavior is pathetic; and Elena is robbed of her purity. I was really stunned at the complete transformation in the film's entire message.

This newer version truly diminishes the film in every possible way. I never thought I'd tire of watching "Cinema Paradiso", but the last half hour of this was unbearably tedious. The ridiculous reunion of Salvatore and Elena also serves to lessen the incredible final scene.

As another reviewer noted, some stories are best left untold.