Cinema Paradiso

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Cinema Paradiso

PG,

1988,

2h 3m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

90%

84 Reviews

Tomatometer

96%

50,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

84 Reviews

96%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Young Salvatore Di Vita (Salvatore Cascio) discovers the perfect escape from life in his war-torn Sicilian village: the Cinema Paradiso movie house, where projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) instills in the boy a deep love of films. When Salvatore grows up, falls in love with a beautiful local girl (Agnese Nano) and takes over as the Paradiso's projectionist, Alfredo must convince Salvatore to leave his small town and pursue his passion for filmmaking.

Critics Consensus

Cinema Paradiso is a life-affirming ode to the power of youth, nostalgia, and the the movies themselves.

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Tim Pulleine

Sight & Sound

Jan 11, 2020

Cinema Paradiso itself possesses enough command and self-conviction to demonstrate that movies can still manage to manifest an alternative universe.

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Adam Mars-Jones

Independent (UK)

Dec 6, 2018

Giuseppe Tornatore, writer and director of Cinema Paradiso, knows that the way to make shameless wallowing palatable is to make no great claims for what you are resurrecting.

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Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

metro.co.uk

Sep 6, 2017

A cinema-lover's delight.

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William Stottor

Loud and Clear Reviews

Jul 11, 2024

5/5

One of the greatest Italian films, Cinema Paradiso is a special, timeless classic that will make you smile and weep in equal measure.

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David Parkinson

Radio Times

Jul 1, 2024

5/5

This is both an unashamedly sentimental rite-of-passage picture and a charming reminder of the lost magic of cinema-going.

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Terry Francis

Southern Voice (Atlanta)

May 9, 2023

3/4

The story is drawn from the director Giuseppe Tornatore's childhood memories, presented here as a series of loosely-linked episodes commemorating the importance of movies -- of art -- in the lives of people forced to manage on very little.

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Poe W

Mar 21, 2019

Amazing film of love and growing up. Cant fault it. Beautiful cinematography and music to match. Always a favourite

Anakin R

Mar 19, 2019

Con la versione piu' estesa di quasi tre ore il film prende tutto il suo tempo per raccontare una storia carica di emozione che racchiude numerose e diverse tematiche. Tra queste, completamente evitata nella versione cinematografica, una storia d'amore incredibilmente potente ed intensa che si chiude con un finale che lascia molti spunti su cui riflettere. La nostalgia e' uno dei temi piu' ricorrenti e viene gestita in modo eccellente attraverso le modalita' narrative, che separano la storia in tre diverse fasi della vita del protagonista. Il risultato e' un film denso e carico di significato che merita assolutamente tutti i riconoscimenti ed il successo generale che ha avuto.

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Hagrid S

Dec 1, 2018

Touching movie about the positive influence cinema can have a person's life with an outstanding score.

Harry R

Nov 14, 2018

Tender, moving, beautiful.

Harry M

Nov 6, 2018

This film was almost good.

Theodore L

Oct 6, 2018

A marvelous score and solid performances can't save Cinema Paradiso from a wonderful tale of friendship and a love for cinema to becoming over-sentimental banality, rushing toward the end-skipping over story development and losing its emotional effect.

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Giuseppe Tornatore

Director

Salvatore Cascio

Salvatore 'Toto' Di Vita - Child

Philippe Noiret

Alfredo

Marco Leonardi

Salvatore 'Toto' Di Vita - Teenager

Jacques Perrin

Salvatore 'Toto' Di Vita - Adult

Agnese Nano

Elena Mendola

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Synopsis

Young Salvatore Di Vita (Salvatore Cascio) discovers the perfect escape from life in his war-torn Sicilian village: the Cinema Paradiso movie house, where projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) instills in the boy a deep love of films. When Salvatore grows up, falls in love with a beautiful local girl (Agnese Nano) and takes over as the Paradiso's projectionist, Alfredo must convince Salvatore to leave his small town and pursue his passion for filmmaking.

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Producer: Mino Barbera, Franco Cristaldi, Giovanna Romagnoli
Screenwriter: Giuseppe Tornatore
Distributor: Miramax Films, HBO
Production Co: Cristaldi Film
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 23, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.1M
Runtime: 2h 3m

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